Download this article for printing.

 

Several years ago I was invited to present a session on effective problem solving for a large Safety, Health and Environment conference. As I prepared, I became familiar with the daily challenges faced by safety professionals. I interviewed safety managers. I even toured several manufacturing facilities to see "safety" in action. What I learned has served me well; in fact, in the years following that speaking engagement I have become a safety manager myself, at least where my career is concerned. Perhaps, you should become a career safety manager, too.

 

According to safety industry standards, one of a safety professional's four main functions is to anticipate, identify and evaluate hazardous conditions and practices. After identifying a hazard, the safety professional develops appropriate safety methods or procedures, called hazard controls. Of course, REAL safety professionals are concerned with protecting workers from physical hazards, like exposure to toxic chemicals, falls from ladders, eyestrain and hearing loss. When it comes to managing your career, you don't have hazardous conditions like those or do you?

 

As a prudent "career safety professional," you should anticipate, identify and evaluate hazardous conditions and practices in several areas. (I'll discuss three of these areas in this article.) No matter what your job function, industry or years of service, career hazards may hide nearby. Keeping tabs on each of these areas will take time but your efforts will pay off by making you a more secure and less reactive business professional.

 

HAZARD #1: ABDICATING RESPONSIBILITY

 

The first place to begin in managing the hazards of being in business today is to determine whether you are currently shouldering full responsibility for your career progress. Many of us have spent years building alliances within the walls of our employer's business. We've performed well. We've become comfortable. And, inevitably, the anesthetic of career complacency begins to settle in. We begin to think, "I'm safe. I'm needed here. I'll always have a job within this company." Perhaps our well-meaning managers have even promised as much! (In my opinion, no one can promise us the future.) In such a setting it becomes almost a natural step to abdicate responsibility for continuing career development. We begin to limit our exposure to outside opportunities. We start accepting whatever educational opportunities the company provides, hoping that the training we receive is truly the training we need to remain competitive. We mistakenly assume that whatever direction the company is going is actually the right direction for our careers to be moving. DANGER! Just as if you've fallen from a tall ladder, you may find your career bruised and broken. Your safety harness is an alert, objective view of your career's progress; it's taking 100% responsibility for not only where you've been but also where you are going.

 

CAREER SAFETY TIP: Remember that your career is different from your current job assignment. Take 100% responsibility for managing your career path, even if someone else has promised to take care of you.

 

HAZARD # 2: TECHNOLOGY

 

Anyone who has purchased computer software recently is painfully aware that leading-edge technology skills today can become I-need-an-edge skills tomorrow. The word of the decade is retraining. Gone is the idea that you can learn a skill once and then use that knowledge for five years or more. Managing the hazard of changing technology means looking at your skills as if they were building blocks. Recognize that the skill-blocks that make up your career today must be rearranged and even augmented by new skills if you are to remain competitive. You should also learn about the technology changes that could eliminate your job function entirely. As an example, when I first began my career in public accounting, a large part of my job was manually preparing client work papers. Today that function is entirely automated. I'm thankful that I learned new skills rather than naively thinking that knowing my current job well was all I needed to know. We must also teach ourselves to learn more quickly. We no longer have the luxury of weeks to learn a new software program or computerized procedure; we may not even have days! If your company is not currently helping you to upgrade your technology based skills, help yourself. (See Hazard Area # 1!) Take a continuing education class at a local college; buy one of those wonderful "For Dummies" computer books, subscribe to a technology-friendly publication, or just take some colleagues to lunch once a month to discuss the latest trends in technology. Whatever you do, remember that mismanaging the hazard of technology can be like spilling toxic chemicals − deadly to your career.

 

CAREER SAFETY TIP: Devise a plan to constantly upgrade your technological skills. Work on your ability to learn new systems quickly. Above all, don't let technology scare you.

 

HAZARD # 3: ECONOMY

 

Thinking about the country's economic outlook is only for Washington bureaucrats, right? Wrong! If you want to be able to set and achieve realistic career goals you must understand where your industry, community and job function fit in the overall economic picture. The economic career hazard is like the electricity that powers a manufacturing plant; we don't think much about it until something goes wrong. Only then do we realize just how much our capacity depends on something we can't even see. What is happening in your industry economically? Are the major players in your industry consolidating power? Are the smaller niche players making money or being gobbled up by larger competitors? What about your customer and supplier base? What forces are affecting their ability to buy from you or sell to you? No matter what your industry, your job depends on your company's ability to remain a viable producer of goods or services. Your career (or at least your tenure at your current company) rests precariously on the brink of a major economic upturn or downturn in your industry or community. One of the best ways to track the effect of the economy on your industry is to subscribe to industry journals. You can also become involved in the associations or trade groups that represent your industry or profession. In any case, keep an eye on the big picture of the national (or global) economy to help mitigate the effect of this hazard on your career.

 

CAREER SAFETY TIP: Keep track of major trends in both the customers and suppliers of your company. Also watch the key industry and community players. What do their actions tell you about the changing economy?

 

Whether you are in healthcare, financial services, agriculture or some other profession, career hazards could be creating unsafe working conditions for you. Take time to consider each of these potential hazards, then make a plan to create your own hazard controls. And, as you move forward in your career and life, remember the old safety industry adage "Think Safety: Your Carelessness Hurts You and Others."