On the cusp of 2006, we are all looking forward toward the coming year and back at the last twelve months. Many of us are making resolutions for changing things in 06 whether it is to lose weight, stop smoking, change jobs, or just remember the wife’s birthday. Resolutions are calls for personal change – changes that we want to make. But what about the changes that get thrust upon us? No one likes those changes.
Change causes stress and stress affects all parts of our lives. The top three stressors in life – death, divorce, and relocation – all involve significant change. But as in resolutions, change can bring about good, too. The majority of the time, a client who has experienced a sudden lay-off, will look back after finding the new job and say “I’m better off now than before.” A reduction in force is often the culmination of a series of internal changes that have occurred in a company that have been mismanaged or changes that have not been made for the good.
A survey performed by LeadershipIQ.com recently cited the number one reason that CEOs are fired is due to mismanaging change. Managing change is a success key, whether it is at the corporate level or at the personal level. Nothing stays the same and anticipating approaching changes or reacting effectively to rapid change is vital to career success and corporate success. If you are making predictions for 06, the safest prediction is that things will change. You can be assured of that.
A good way to manage change is to be prepared for it in the first place. Being behind the eight-ball when action is required is a very scary place. If you can prepare for the unexpected and have a contingency plan in place, the crisis – when it comes – will be much less scary, be handled better, and will have a shorter time span.
That is why one of the most important preparations you can make in your career is to have a resume updated and ready to go at a moment’s notice. There is nothing more frustrating than to have a door of opportunity open for you and not be ready to take advantage of it. And there are few things more stressful than to suddenly find yourself out of work and not have the funds to have an interview-winning resume prepared.
If you are considering a job change in 2006, and especially if you are not, you need to get your resume prepared by a professional and have it ready to go. Opportunities come to those who are prepared. Be ready and have a successful 2006.
