3 Habits I Used To Forge My Own Career Path

Believe it or not, job creation does not have to start with human resources or at the management level. Every employee has influence. You do! Your success at job creation depends on your mindset and pitching your idea for the right opportunity to decision-makers at the right time. I created the positions I wanted and needed at different times in my career by applying these three principles in every situation.

Habit 1. Be A Problem Solver

When I was a file clerk, I decided to provide better support to the Customer Service Department by pulling files for customer complaints. I realized a lot of calls were customers complaining that their names were misspelled on the sales contracts mailed out to them. I saw the waste and rework in custom contract paper consumption and the time and cost to retype and re-mail contracts. The complaints were persistent. I did my own investigation. Names were cut off on reservation confirmations due to character limits on the name field and many customers had long Spanish names. The contract secretary used the reservations to enter the customer names. And, the contract secretary proofed her work. 

I volunteered to proof contracts when I was not filing. Until the character field limit could be adjusted, the Sales Manager agreed that representatives were to print out and manually write any corrections on the reservations if the customer had a long name over a certain character limit. Too invested and involved, I did not realize someone was reporting all my activity to the General Manager. I did not know why she called me to her office. She created a new position for me and promoted me to be the Quality Coordinator. I was to proof contracts, start listening to customer calls for other problems to solve, and print and proof membership cards. I had created a new job that I loved. I learned from this experience that if I can find ways to solve “customer” problems, I have an opportunity.

Habit 2. Be enthusiastic

When I started at a marketing firm as an assistant, I was working part time to supplement hours that were cut from my schedule when I was a contract secretary at a timeshare resort. My interviewer at the marketing firm emphasized, “Sonji, this position will never become full-time. I need you to understand that.” I agreed. Although I had no background or experience in marketing, inside I felt there was opportunity for me at this company. At the end of the third week, the owner called me into her office and offered me a new full-time position. How did I make that happen?

Every day I arrived five minutes before my start time, ready to work. I sat straight up in my chair looking around, alert and enthusiastic to learn. Unfortunately, the list brokers I was to assist weren’t quite ready for me and for the first three days when I arrived, there was no work for me to start. I might have drummed my fingers a few times on my desk. I heard the owner reprimand the Managing Broker, “She arrives on time. If you don’t keep her busy she will leave. Get her working.” I used the down time to get to know “everyone.” 

When I saw the Media Manager struggling with a spreadsheet formula, I showed her a new formula to make her work cleaner. By the end of the first week, I was known as a spreadsheet guru and helped many of the buyers with their formulas. I was excited because I had learned Corel Quattro Pro and had found no reason to use it again until now. By week two I was enthusiastically helping Media with spreadsheets and making cold calls for the brokers. Both teams needed me. The media team realized they needed support too and the Media Manager petitioned for my position to be full-time to support her too. The owners agreed. I accepted the full time offer enthusiastically and this launched my career in advertising and marketing. I did it!

Habit 3. Be dynamic

In the last semester to finish my undergraduate degree in Business Analytics, I was on a mission to work in a full-time position in a field that used my degree even if it meant a career change. I was working part time as a buyer at a manufacturing firm and let the Purchasing Manager know my plans. The General Manager asked me to explain my degree and to describe some of my core courses. After explaining BNAL 406 I wondered if my mission would plunge me into a position modeling problems in Arena for the rest of my career, never leveraging any of the work experience I had gained over so many years. Oh no!

To the General Manager and Purchasing Manager, I had been a good employee and they did not want to lose me. When the General Manager offered me a position to work in Inside Sales. I was not thrilled, but I did not say no. I never imagined working in sales. He assigned special projects to analyze sales history and customer sales’ forecasts to recommend price adjustments. I monitored department KPI to identify problems and initiated projects to solve and model solutions. I was using everything I learned. Now that I was familiar with pricing, I was involved in price negotiations for bulk orders with OEMs and resellers.

I was promoted to a new position, Inside Sales Supervisor. I assumed the responsibilities of the Sales Rep and officially owned the responsibility of evaluating annual price increases and stepped into negotiations for custom orders with international clients. I had relieved the GM of some of his responsibilities so he could shift his focus to growth. Now I was to grow the Inside Sales team. If I had not been open to trying something different, I would have missed the opportunity. I learned so much and was able to apply new skills and leverage my career experience in one position.

When you can identify problems, find a way to fill a gap and provide a critical need, these are opportunities for job creation. Keep the mindset to stay open to learning and new ideas. Sometimes you can’t imagine how all the puzzle pieces fit together, but they will. Don’t be amazed at how much control you have over your own career. If you haven’t realized it yet, you are always your own boss!