Those who get ahead often plan steps in advance. It takes years to be an over night success. Don’t let bad economic news hold you back from thinking forward. When hiring begins to grow you need to be ready. Do you know where you want to be in 1, 2 or 5 years?  When someone asked Oprah what was next five years ago she said she wanted to have her own network; insiders knew she would have it. Each of us is no different when it comes to elevating our career — planning pays off.

At companies the same thing happens; employees are rewarded for planning ahead. Most employees, low-level managers to top vice presidents, are taken by surprise when promotion opportunities arise. The people who actually get the best jobs have been planning their strategy for one year or more. The same rules apply to changing career fields. Don’t wait until you are ready to quit. Launch your new career on the side. Remain employed and take active steps months before leaving. Upward mobility requires looking ahead to make things happen.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 11:43 am and is filed under Blog, Career advice, Career coaching, Career options, career change, career planning, choosing a career, tweet this. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.