SUPERCHARGING YOUR CAREER

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SUPERCHARGING YOUR CAREER
A Certificate Program for Leadership and
Management

• Module 1 - Career Development
• Session 2

by Paul Bryant, P.E., MBA, M.ASCE ASCE Committee
on Leadership and Management
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Leadership Certificate Program
The Supercharge Your Career Certificate
Program is a leadership program for Younger
Members, being developed by the ASCE Committee on
Leadership and Management (ASCE-CLM) The Goals
of the Program are to ? provide a meaningful
education experience for young engineers
actively engaged in professional
development ? provide training in
supercharged competencies ? encourage the
concept of lifelong learning in younger
engineers ? develop a guide for emerging
engineering professionals ? develop a low cost
quality program that will recognize
the leadership accomplishments of younger
engineers
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Program Modules

• The Certificate Program, when completed, will
  comprise 8 modules
•  
• Module 1 Career Development
• Module 2 Personal Leadership Skills
• Module 3 Project Management Skills
• Module 4 Communication Skills
• Module 5 Ethics Individual and Organizational
• Module 6 Developing Winning Teams
• Module 7 Leading Change and Innovation
• Module 8 Managing Conflict

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Certificate Program Structure

• To be hosted by local geographic units and
  presented by a local facilitator.
• ASCE will provide a program in a box, to
  include
• course syllabus,
• a facilitator guide,
• presentation materials,
• handouts, and
• list of suggested resources for sessions.
• Sessions will include training and application
  workshops.
• The first program modules will be available for
  release this year.

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Sample of the Program

• Today is a brief excerpt from the Career
  Development module.
• It consists of a sample presentation and a
  workshop for practical application of skills.
• We need brutally honest feedback (the good and
  the bad!). Dont forget to fill out the feedback
  forms at the end of the session.

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Supercharged Career Development

• Self Promotion, Personal Marketing, Networking

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Career Skills

• What are Career Skills?
• - Tools and techniques that are useful in
  helping young engineers navigate the pitfalls
  and perils of the job environment.
• Why are Career Skills important?
• - Proper knowledge of and preparation in
  career skills allows you to keep your career
  on track.

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Job Search Personal Marketing- Begin with
Career Planning

• What do you want your Career to look like?
• What are your long term(3-5 years) goals?
• What Type of engineering work water resources,
  transportation, land development, or etc?
• Do you want to be in the Private or Public
  sector?
• Location preferred location for life style,
  family, etc
• What are your short term(1-3 years) goals?
• What steps do you need to reach to obtain your
  long term goals?

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Finding the RIGHT Employer 4 U

• Audience Poll
• How many years since you graduated?
• How many employers have you had?
• In how many different divisions, specialties, or
  functions have you worked?

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Self Examination

• Are you a job-hopper?

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Job-hopping- What is It?

• Job-hopping is changing jobs frequently,
  especially as a means of quick financial gain
  and/or career advancement
• Strategic job-hopping is taking a new job
  because it enhances your career and improves pay,
  benefits, or future opportunity

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Job Hopping Activity

• Time allocated 10 minutes

Engineer 1 Engineer 2 Engineer 3
5 years since graduation 5 years since graduation 5 years since graduation
1 employer 3 employers 2 employers
Worked in five different specialties or divisions Single Specialty (water, construction admin, transportation, etc.) Worked his way up through the drafting group into a design position
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Job-hopping Statistics

• Only 3 in 10 workers have been with their
  employer for 10 years
• Boomers work for the same employer three times
  longer than Gen-Xers Gen Y?
• Technical jobs have 40 percent higher mobility
  rates than most jobs
• Free Agents managing their own careers

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Negative Perceptions of Job-hoppers

• Volatility
• May not be considered a long-term hire by a
  potential employer, and thus a bad investment
• Incompetence
• There may be a perception that you did not
  perform in any of your short-term jobs
• Impropriety
• The perception that you are not just a risky
  hire, but also a dangerous one to the firm
• A lack of structure and growth in your life
• The perception that you don't have your life in
  order

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Positive Perceptions of Job-hoppers

• Versatile
• People who job-hop may build their networks and
  skill sets faster and might be more engaged in
  their work
• Top Performer
• Job-hoppers might be top-performers since they
  must deliver immediate results
• Ambitious
• Job changes often result in a 10-15 salary
  increase with a new company, instead of the
  average 3-5 youll get annually if you stay in
  one place

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Job-hopping- Where do you fit in?

• Public, Private, Non-profit, Non-governmental
• Large firm, medium firm, small firm
• Laid back or aggressive culture
• Technical work or management
• International projects or local interests
• Entrepreneurial flair
• It takes time to determine where you best fit-in

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HOWEVER, Before you Hop

• Here are some factors to consider before turning
  in your two week notice
• Examine your employment history.
• Research the potential employer.
• Take into account your past experiences and rate
  of success.
• Dont forget economic fluctuations!

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Session Conclusions

• Be aware of how others perceive job-hopping and
  have an active strategy if you pursue it
• Job-hopping can occur within a firm or across
  firms
• Understand how the workplace has changed from one
  generation to the next
• Dont forget how the economy and life stages
  shape career choices
• Job-hopping can be helpful to find where you best
  fit (size, type, culture of organizations vary)

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Final Thoughts and Comments

• We need your feedback - complete the
  questionnaire
• Contact ASCEs Committee on Leadership and
  Management at professional_at_asce.org with
• Format / Content
• Program Ideas
• Interest in using materials at your local Branch,
  Section or YMF Group
• THANK YOU !

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References

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