In my role as Chief Human Resources Officer I am often asked “What should I do to best manage my career?” I think this is an ongoing question for everyone. After all, a career, in today’s perspective could span over 50 years. Given this length of time I like to view a career as a journey versus a specific destination. So let me share “what’s in my career” at this stage of the journey.
So far, I’ve had 28 years of post college experience. My college education includes Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Business Administration. The jobs I have had include being a Registered Dietitian in a Hospital/Nursing Home, General Management of a Hospital Nutrition Department, Regional Human Resources Manager, District Manager, Operations Vice President and more. The job titles may be interesting but when I think about my career so far it is not the jobs themselves that come to mind. Instead, it is the experiences, challenges, successes, failures that really count.
Here are some highlights of what’s “really” in my career:
- Learning how the science of nutrition impacts well being and that taking care of yourself is the most important job we have
- Managing a staff of 80 diverse individuals and being responsible for business profit and loss at age 23 will provide learnings that you will use every day for the rest of your life
- Treating everyone with respect, fairness and a strong dose of encouragement really does produce strong financial results
- A productive, busy work environment is really the most fun and energizing
- Taking a lateral move to learn a new skill set is as powerful as taking a promotion
- Accepting failure with accountability and learning from it is as powerful as success
- Taking risks is essential to learning and professional growth
I believe how we manage a career is best done through planning a path that ensures learning, risk, new experiences, success, failure, accountability and personal well-being. It is not the destination but the richness of journey that really measures a career.
I wish you well with your career and as it is National Women’s History Month take some time to read about what’s in the career of some famous women.
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Peri Bridger
Chief Human Resources Officer
1 comments:
If you're looking for a job, maybe you're dragging your feet over networking or practicing your interviewing skills. On the job, perhaps you're putting off calling that unhappy customer or having a difficult conversation about an employee's performance. Or maybe you're hesitating over taking the first steps toward kicking off that career change you've been contemplating.
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