BCjobs Blog

Personal motivation may be the key to your career success. Personal motivation often overrules other traits. You may think you can excel in business with talent, skills and knowledge alone, but it’s your day-to-day work habits that are the key to maximizing these traits.

When I was a kid, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I knew the things I enjoyed and I knew what I was good at. But somewhere along the way I lost that dream. Looking back, I realize that it was conditioned out of me. Well-meaning people who loved me and cared about me nudged me in more sensible directions and I conformed to their wishes.

Within the current economic climate, reports of job losses and personal bankruptcies affecting Canadians across the country remind us of the volatile and uncertain nature of work. Rapid increases in the unemployment rate can create a sense of worry, panic, dread, and anxiety – even among people whose industries feel fairly “recession proof” (e.g., healthcare, K-12 education, career management practitioners).

If you could go back in time thirty years and tell someone people would actually be buying water in 2005 for prices higher than gasoline, you would probably be severely ridiculed. Go back fifteen years and tell someone that you would actually be able to purchase air in an oxygen bar and they would think you had been hitting the sauce. Water and oxygen are interesting products because they are readily available, free, and vital to life. There has been a demand created for them out of, well, thin air.

Here’s a practical list of my top 10 career strategies to employ if you want to advance your career this year.

Let’s face it –there are high expectations in our society regarding our performance, professionalism, output and activities. It seems I’m supposed to be a high-output, multi-tasking entrepreneurial networker, who’s up-to-date on the latest advances in technology and trends in my sector, while also managing my many relationships and arriving at meetings on time. Whew!

Have you heard the term life-long learning a lot lately? It’s the catch phrase used in the career and education sectors to emphasize the need to stay up to date with the relevant knowledge and skills required in our fast paced knowledge based economy. Although I must agree with the underlying concept of staying ‘up-to-date’, it can all sound so overwhelming and disheartening. Life Loooooooong Learning – schooling for life, night courses forever – ugh!

Did another job slip away from you? Did you feel like you got fired before you got hired? Ever wonder why? There are so many dos and don’ts when it comes to jobsearch etiquette, yet many fail to mention painfully obvious and everyday things that could actually cost you a job.

Companies have them. At least, the good to great ones do. But have you ever considered if you have one and what people think about you? Some people might call it your image.
I see it as far more than that. And the proof is found when good to great companies connect with you.

Many professionals have felt the shock of layoffs during these difficult times — including those who kept their jobs. According to administrative staffing firm OfficeTeam, employees who survive corporate downsizings often must manage heavier workloads and stay motivated while worrying that their jobs could be eliminated next.