Why you should audit your own career – Photo credit: atlantablackstar.com
I’m a CPA and auditor by trade. I dissect processes, systems, companies. Heck, I audit my own household and finances, and as much as I try to refrain from (figuratively) dissecting situations and people, it can be quite a bit of a challenge…
Yet, despite my weird tendencies, I’ve found treating your career as a process in need of regular re-examining and sprucing up is actually beneficial. Too often, we forget our careers are dynamic, living processes that ought to evolve right along with us.
Your career is process all in its own. It has its own risks, objectives, and internal controls you can apply to it. And like any other process, it needs some regular TLC, some freshening up, some unplugging and re-plugging. It needs a regular, on-point audit:
1. At least on a quarterly basis, revisit your career. What are you working on? What is your professional environment like? What are you learning? Are you growing or instead regressing?
2. What are your current career risks and objectives? Identify common current risks and pitfalls such as career stagnation, learning apathy or scarcity of opportunity. Pinpoint the related common and personal objectives to these risks, such as upward mobility, learning opportunities for instance. Put it all down in writing and assess where you stand.
3. Do you have any controls in place to mitigate these risks? Now that you know where you stand, what are you doing about it? If you’ve identified a lack of learning opportunities, are you actively seeking those? Are you pursuing certifications and continuous learning to mitigate the issue?
Once you start looking at your career at a process you can evaluate and control, you’ll notice it starts improving in the direction of your choice. Don’t they say you can only attack an issue you are able to see…
What do you think? Do you take time to audit and evaluate your career periodically? If so, how often, and what have you found?
