Many of us run around and do things without having first set up goals or expectations. Without doing so means that it becomes hard to determine whether or you are successful. Success can only be measured when it is compared to something. And the beauty of it all is that YOU can define your goal, your expectation, what it means for you to succeed.
If you are in a situation where you have not defined a THERE, you are making it difficult for you to move forward and achieve things. Without achieving things, how can you sell yourself to a potential employer?
EXAMPLE:
Amber (not her real name) is working in a job where she is no longer stimulated. This is beginning to show in her work - she is not as enthusiastic, as detail-oriented, as creative or as positive as she once was. She would say that it all started with the new boss, a "slave-driver", one who only focuses on mistakes and does not praise her staff for good work. This boss joined the department 3 years ago. In any case, over the past few years, Amber lost her drive and no longer cares about doing her best anymore. She takes things one day at time, does her office hours, but no more and no less. What she doesn't know is that her boss is trying to figure out a way to get rid of her. Amber has picked up signs that her boss is not happy with her, but never thought that her boss would be as heartless as to try to get rid of her.
RECOMMENDATION:
What should Amber be doing? She can either find a new job or make this one a good place to be. The writing's on the wall... and one should never wait until it's too late, one should always be ready to move BEFORE one gets kicked out!
In either case, she needs to show that she can be successful, that she can achieve goals that people (i.e. bosses) value. So, she needs to determine what the expectations of her boss are... then she needs to break that down into what that means in terms of projects, tasks or daily routines. She needs to set up the expectations for herself, then proceed to meet them or exceed them. She needs to take the iniative before someone takes the iniative and manages her OUT!
Once she can do that, she will either have made her job a better one or else she would be able to compile a list of things she has achieved to impress potential future employers. But doing nothing is NOT a good alternative, because the power to make decisions about her future then lies in someone else's hands!
