7 Quick Tips to implement your Exit Strategy for New Beginnings

The days when people worked for the same organization for 20 years are over ever since people began to realize that they the opportunity to earn money based on their multiple talents. This concept started a movement which included online training and education programs, skills workshops for working professionals and detail assignments which allow you to learn other skills to prepare you for the next level career move.

So what happens when you finish the advance professional training, you complete the stretch-assignment tasks that make your organization look great and land the new job? While "winging it" is one approach, it may come off a self-centered.

Leaders tend to have a mini action plan outlining what happens next before the new career launch.
Moreover, a sensible Exit Strategy helps foster a smooth transition between your old organization and new one.

In the field we call this the "Close Out Process."  How does this work?

7 Exit Strategy Quick Tips 

1. Create a plain language transition plan outlining your recent annual goals and accomplishments 
2. Communicate with existing leadership team and be responsive to their questions and comments so they have a good baseline on what needs to happen after you leave
3. Archive old files so that they are accessible to your old team 
4. Connect with your new supervisor(s) to learn what their priorities will be and your requirements even before you get to your desk on day one 
5. Learn the lingo, review the latest news and info about your new job so you are well-versed in their most prolific activities 
6. Reach out to your former internal contacts to announce your departure and share lessons learned 
7. Don't burn bridges before you leave the old job to start the new one. Respectfully communicate with everyone, even those who were not so nice while you worked at the old job. Remember to rise when others do not because your work will always represent your best efforts. 

7 Signs It's Time for Mid-Career Training Refresh

Everyone has peaks and valleys in their career fields, no matter their official title. Some employees start from the bottom and end up becoming the boss over time due to their innovative approach to resolving issues. Others take a stance and lead from the middle and end up moving mountains in support of the organizational annual goals without the need of having an "official title."

There are numerous examples of some staff who excel with or without titles because they are simply great  leaders who remember that learning is a continuous process in life and work. They also recognize when its time to take a pause and proactively refresh their talents.

So how do you know when it's time to enhance your work skills? When you stop being creative every day due to complacency, then it's time to enhance your skills. Check out the list below and kick start your career goals with fresh perspective.

7 Signs It's Time for a Mid-Career Training Refresh

1. Workdays on Autopilot: If you arrive at work everyday and proceed with your tasks in the same exact manner expecting everything to be just so...it's time to try something new. While the old adage of "if it's not broke, don't fix it" may ramble through your head...remember you got to the career of your choice by being on the leading edge. 
2. Multitasking Becomes Your Norm and Not the Exception: First, there is nothing wrong with multitasking except that you may miss an opportunity to learn something new when you spread yourself too thin. The ability to focus and grow you skills requires dedication and commitment is an acquired skill. Now is the time to tap into that so you can really take notice of pearls of wisdom in everything you do. 
3. It was Y2K when You Last Enrolled in a Training Course This is beyond someone saying there is an App for that. Some agencies proactively encourage staff to take professional development training that will be mutually beneficial. So, what are you waiting for? Look up some courses, get selected to take your business skills to the next level and ramp up for your learning adventure. 
4. Your Career Goals Continue to Evolve. Everyone starts with grandiose dreams about their professional lives and many of us achieve them in our own space and time. Moreover, as we begin to excel in our chosen field, we also become more selective about the types of tasks, career paths and organizations we wish to work with. Basically, we all want some sort of work-life balance that does not require us to work 120 hour weeks with no results or recognition. 
5. Narrow Career Fields. Remember when you started your job and all you needed was a degree and you were hired? Times have changed and most organizations expect new hires to have industry-specific credentials and a college education to help them advance their goals. 
6. Organization Transitions are Continuous. Organizations in public and private sector continue to be in a state of flux. This means that organizations are changing, personnel will change and overall goals will change too. So how do you stay on stop of things? Check out free online courses, professional industry workshops and MOOCs for diverse educational opportunities. 
7. Routine Work Assignments are Your Norm. Next time you are in the office or in a work meeting, listen to your your colleagues talk about their work assignments. Are their efforts on the leading edge? Or in support of legacy programs that are about to be decommissioned? If you are not innovating, chances are you have routine work assignments. While that helps to pay the bills, does it feed your passion for the work you enjoy? If not, take an assessment of your  efforts, review your agency's current goals and generate some new ideas to get their. Your  imagination is a limitless possibility of net-gen opportunities. 

Tips and Tricks to Build a Better Blog

By Tracey Batacan

Blogs are a great way to communicate a variety of timely information to vast audiences in bite-sized formats. Some blogs may be very successful while others struggle to maintain their content for niche audiences. So how does one create and sustain a blog? Take a look at some of these tips and tricks to building a better blog. 

• Call for Bloggers: Great ideas come from a variety of viewpoints. One of the best tips for building a better blog is to create and maintain a diverse blogger community ready to share their ideas and blogs. The goal is ensuring you reach out and connect with them on a regular basis via emails, group chats and more to review blog topics and new concepts. Also, create a feedback loop to inform bloggers about their submissions, editorial changes to their content as well ask for input or suggestions about the blog.  

• Blog Process: How many times have you created a new communications tool, but the project did not move forward due to an overly complicated process? Keep the blog process short and to the point from the ideation of topics, through the approval process to the publication and promotion. For example, keep the blogging process at 5 to 6 simple steps. 

• Mobile vs Print: Check your content to make sure it is 508-compliant and accessible to all audiences. Also, folks like to have mobile-ready blogs to take with them on the go so they can share it with other like-minded professionals. Test out your blogs on multiple browser platforms to make sure it meets the best viewing capacity. Lastly, create an opportunity for readers to print your blog collection so they can share it with others. 

• Marketing: David Avrin, author of the book “Visibility Marketing” once said, “at the beginning of the day it’s about quality and at the end of the day it’s about competitive advantage.” Your goal is to create and promote a blog that is relatable, attainable, funny at times, always informative, and serves as the leading edge of news and information. This includes building a strong brand for your blog so that people begin to look forward to the latest updates, share, like, or re-Tweet readily.  So, promote the blog abundantly with zeal to get people talking about new and upcoming content. 
• Take Risks: It is okay to try something new and exciting to launch your blog. Some people feel it is easier to follow existing processes instead of creating new ones. While existing SOPs may serve as a baseline, everything can use a bit of process improvement to make sure the project runs smoothly.  Therefore, the ability to create and maintain a blog that is both visually compelling with great storytelling requires taking a certain amount of risk on everything from the bloggers, to the layout, blog design, and marketing concepts. It may help to change one’s perspective about risk-taking so that your blog can break the mold and release your organization from legacy practices that no longer work.

View the original blog online @FedCommunicatorsNetwork.