Do You Have a Career Strategy?

Watching a recent ITV documentary about the mercurial football manager Jose Mourinho I was reminded of how important strategy is when developing a career, but how many people actually take a strategic approach?  Do you?

Jose Mourniho will be best remembered in Britain for his time a manager of Chelsea Football Club where in a little over three seasons he won the FA Cup, League Cup and the Premier League twice. Before this he won every trophy in Portuguese and European football with FC Porto and since has become the first manager in Italy to win the treble of league, cup and Champions League (with Inter Milan) and then lead Real Madrid to Spanish league and cup titles.

This isn’t however a post just to praise Mr. Mourinho’s achievements, in fact his trophy haul isn’t the most impressive thing about the man.  Rather it is his strategic approach to his own career that stood out more than anything as being truly remarkable.  Jose had a short, unsuccessful career as a player but from the moment this finished, he planned his strategy to become the most successful manager in the world.  Every decision from gaining a Sport Science degree, coaching in schools and working as a translator for Sir Bobby Robson when the former England manager took charge of Sporting Club in Lisbon, has been made according to a strategy that would ultimately lead him to the verge achieving his goal.

So what lessons are to be learned from the man dubbed the ‘The Special One’ by the British media?  Most importantly to actually have a strategic plan for your career, most people simply stumble from one job to the next in the hope that it is improving their prospects.  Next, educate yourself with the knowledge required to achieve your ultimate goal, learn from people who are already in the position you want to be in, ask them to mentor you if possible.  Then search out opportunities and promotions according to your strategy.  The approach certainly seems to have some benefits, with such a high profile, results based job, when asked if he was able to sleep, Mourinho replied with a smile “yes, I sleep perfect”! Do you?

How Groupon Could Change or Boost Your Career

One of the biggest issues I hear raised by people wanting to change career is “I’m not qualified to do anything else” to which my usual reply is for them to train to do something different, often this is followed by the response ‘it’s too expensive for me to retrain’.  If this is your reason then discount website Groupon could just be the solution.  The site offers discounts based on the principle of bulk buying and requires you to sign-up which this is free to do.

Once signed-up, among the restaurant and spa weekend offers, Groupon regularly throws up some excellent professional courses at greatly discounted prices.  Recent courses include Prince 2 Foundation Project Management for £199 compared to the £499 + VAT if bought directly from course provider SPOCE.  Other courses currently available include SAGE IAB in book keeping for £59 a saving of 85% on the normal £399, ITIL Project Management with exam for £169 a saving of 72% and possibly the best deal the incredible £2,661 or 96% saving on a CISCO Certified Network IT Trainer course, available for a measly £99.  Other bargain courses offered over the last year have included website design and TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language).

All of these courses are carried out online, which may not suit everybody’s learning style although on the plus side most courses allow 12 months to complete, which should give anyone plenty of time to qualify.  So if you’re looking for a change of career or just want to add your CV in order to boost promotion prospects get signed up to Groupon.