International companies in China want their management staff to have a big picture perspective with regards to the priorities of the corporation. Such a perspective is critical to one’s ability to direct resources and effort in ways that best fulfill company objectives.
Unfortunately, many mainland professionals do not have the understanding of and exposure to company issues that extend beyond their job function, or that encompass larger industry trends and competitive scenarios. Many are not even aware of what it is they should be seeing. This impacts their ability to meet corporate objectives and inhibits them from being stronger decision-makers and managers. The shortcoming can affect their promotability to higher roles. <For full article>
The past several years have been an unprecedented period for mainlanders striving to improve their standing in life through new career options in many emerging industries and expanding international companies. With a narrow focus and determination, mainland professionals have set out to diligently attain objectives and opportunities placed before them, as if climbing a steep mountain one step and one handhold at a time.
After several years of hard work and a concentrated effort that has brought them a degree of success, they now find themselves halfway up the mountain. This has given them time more recently to pause, lift up their head, and look around to see where they are exactly. Suddenly, however, many are coming to a realization that they are having difficulty in moving much higher. Many more are discovering an even harsher reality. Although they have achieved what they initially sought, which was to go higher than they were before, after all the effort and energy spent, many are realizing that after all these years they may be climbing the wrong mountain. That the mountain and objectives that they’d rather be pursuing, which is better suited for them and which might bring them greater satisfaction and success, is actually not the one they’re on, but a completely different one. It’s an alarming position to find yourself in.<For full article>
Ying Han: Get to know the game you’re playing. Early in your career, focus on know-how and skills. Any experience is good experience. To develop a career plan that responds to your objective, start by envisioning the time frame you’d like your goal to happen in and work backwards from there. The target situations and specific accomplishments that will help move you towards your objective. For example, if you want to manage an office location in China of a major international advertising agency operating by age 35, what will it take to prepare yourself to achieve such a result? What experience should you gain to help you build the skills and knowledge required to be successful at such a level? Where should you work, with whom, and for how long? What kind of network of contacts and resources do you need to build? Outside of the workplace, what other situations can offer you the training and exposure that will help your development? Determining the answers to these questions are a good beginning to putting together a solid career plan. <For full article>
A young software engineer wrote in recently to express her concern about her future. She had just started her job and was already feeling the intense competition from the other engineers in her company. She wanted to know if she would be better off finding a new job that was better suited for her, or to keep working hard in her current position. My advice to her hinged on one question and perhaps the greatest factor that determines what a person should do with regard to selecting their career. That is, did she enjoy being a software engineer? Because if the answer was no, then I believe it will be very difficult for her to be an excellent and, ultimately, very successful one.
Personal Travelogue: A Close Call
When I was 26 years old, after I knew that I did no longer wanted to continue my career as an engineer and before I moved to Asia, there was a period of time when I decided that I wanted to become a lawyer. I even took the qualifying exam and applied to law schools. My idea back then was to represent the poor and underprivileged, and battle injustice in the courtroom. The image I had of being a lawyer was heroic and full of idealism. <For full article>
The other question we always ask candidates is, what do they feel they are especially good at? We want to know what their special qualities and strengths are, that they believe distinguishes them in an exceptional way from others. These areas also referred to as your “competitive advantage.”
Unfortunately, there are many mainlanders whom I have met who appear to be a poor match for the career they are pursuing. Some are professionals who demonstrate excellent communication and outgoing people skills, but who have jobs that confine them to a desk all day as accountants or software programmers. Others might be customer service professionals who are shy, or sales professionals who do not like the whole process and pressure of negotiating and closing deals. As one human resources director put it, “there are no good or bad personalities. But there are good or bad personality fits for certain jobs.”<For full article>
After passing the entrance examination of the Medical Institute of Huaxi, one young woman wondered whether to become a dentist or a gynecologist. She was weighing which position would give her the better career development opportunity and higher earnings potential. Having already been admitted to medical school, I told her that I was fairly certain her future was somewhat secure, whether she become either a dentist or gynecologist. Everyone needs a dentist, and I believe most women use a gynecologist.
Instead, I told her that the question to ask herself was not about which career offered a better development track or better wages. Both will lead to a comfortable, good life. Rather, the most important thing that she should focus on and determine is which profession does she feel she would enjoy doing for the rest of her life. For instance, if she chose to be a dentist, I believe that by age 35 she would be an established, successful professional in that field. But what then? She would still have 15, 20, or perhaps 25 years to spend in this line of work. What if she didn’t really enjoy it. That’s a long time to be doing something that you have little interest or attraction towards..<For full article>
京公网安备11010202008513号 京ICP证101109号 京ICP备12012021号
楼主
发表于 2008-4-13 22:53:00
