Your Career Map - A Guide to achieve your professional goal

1. DOUGLAS ARMS & GREG ARENDT
YOUR CAREER MAP:
A GUIDE TO
ACHIEVING YOUR
PROFESSIONAL
GOALS

2. /02
For finance and accounting professionals,
the following statistics may not come as a surprise.
However, these numbers are well worth considering for the combined picture
they bring into focus:
• The average number of applicants per posted job opening: 118. (source: Forbes)
• The amount by which Applicant Tracking Systems can reduce an applicant’s
chances of getting an interview: 75 percent. (source: Get Real with Your Job Search
Expectations – Kelly Services)
• The amount of jobs never advertised: 80 percent. (source: Forbes)
With so many job applicants tossed out of the candidate pool before a human eye even
scans their cover letters and with so many jobs never even posted to begin with, how
are you going to land your dream job if you simply leave your career progression up to
coincidence and online job boards?
To get your career on the path you want, not the one dictated by job listings, you need a
well-plotted career strategy that guides your career to your goals… even when the road
isn’t clearly marked.
In short, it’s your career trajectory and to achieve it, you need a career map
INTRODUCTION
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
In this eBook, you
will learn about:
• The value of a career map
• Matching your skills to
an employer’s needs
• Landing the job you want
• Mapping the future –
using goals as a guide

3. /03
PART I:
THE VALUE OF
A CAREER MAP

4. What’s your dream job?
Chances are, you can answer that question without any hesitation. Maybe you want to be
a consulting actuary to premier insurance agencies. Or maybe you dream of becoming
a C-suite executive at a top-ranked bank. Or perhaps you’d prefer to be a part-time
financial analyst so you can divide your time between work and family.
Now answer this question:
How will you land that dream job?
If you’re like most of us, you’re probably thinking along the lines of gaining further
experience, acquiring more skills and advancing through various positions until you sign
the employment contract of your dreams.
This might sound like a good route. But look a little closer, and you’ll see there’s no real
direction to it. Without a strategy that’s clearly delineated and has marked stops and
essential stepping-stones along the way, how will you ever reach your goal?
That’s where a well-defined career map comes into play. A career map is a carefully
planned strategy that leads you to your professional goals by means of customized
career management, regular progress evaluations, and, if necessary, course adjustments.
PART I: THE VALUE OF A CAREER MAP /04
A CAREER MAP IS A
CAREFULLY PLANNED
STRATEGY THAT
LEADS YOU TO YOUR
PROFESSIONAL GOAL.

5. /05
A good career map can help you understand how to get to the job of your dreams from
where you are now.
Note: there’s no “one size fits all.”
It uses your specific situation as the point of origin and your end goal as its destination,
therefore your map needs to be customized to your unique professional journey and
adjusted as circumstances occur.
By knowing your route, you’ll be better equipped to make choices that advance your
career. That means that in addition to guiding you, a career map can help make you a more
confident candidate. You’ll lose the ambiguity that oftentimes comes from making the
“most logical” moves and instead, gain the confidence that every choice you make actually
helps advance your career.
It’s important to understand that a career map isn’t always the shortest route possible.
A good career map allows for exploratory detours and even setbacks, while still keeping
your end goal in mind and always getting you back on track towards it.
A GOOD CAREER
MAP ALLOWS FOR
EXPLORATORY DETOURS
AND EVEN SETBACKS,
WHILE STILL KEEPING
YOUR END GOAL IN
MIND AND ALWAYS
GETTING YOU BACK ON
TRACK TOWARDS IT.
PART I: THE VALUE OF A CAREER MAP

6. /06
Your three BIG priorities
Everybody has priorities. Determining where yours lie is the crucial first step in creating
your career map. Consider your stance on the following three BIG priorities:
Work/life balance. What constitutes a healthy work/life balance for you can change
throughout your career. For example, if you have young children, you might want to
spend as much time as possible with them now, then when they’re older, put in more
hours and advance to the next level professionally. If you’re reaching retirement age and
want to work fewer hours, a consultancy position could be an option. Planning ahead as
to what your ideal work/life balance might be during various life stages will allow you to
seek out the professional situations that fit best at those times.
Job satisfaction. What is it that drives you to succeed at your job? Is that aspect present
in your current job? What would most inspire you to accept a new position? For example,
maybe you thrive in a company whose culture aligns with your values. Or perhaps you
want a position that allows you a significant amount of independence. No matter your
answer, determining what brings you the greatest amount of job satisfaction will help you
select the right positions. If you are happy, you will perform better. And others will want
to work with you. Great performance and strong alliances that are willing to promote
your career forward are essential keys to success.
DETERMINE WHAT
YOUR PRIORITIES
ARE IN REGARDS TO
WORK/LIFE BALANCE,
JOB SATISFACTION,
AND FINANCIAL
CONSIDERATION.
PART I: THE VALUE OF A CAREER MAP

7. /07
Financial considerations. According to Forbes, 42 percent of all professionals don’t feel
comfortable negotiating salaries. Yet by avoiding salary negotiations, a professional can
lose out on more than $500,000 by the age of 60. Whether money is your main focus in
your career or not, your qualifications are undeniably worth something. It’s up to you to
define where the balance lies between the value of your contributions to a job and the
compensation you receive.
Based upon your responses to these considerations, you can construct a guiding
model of what your next position should look like.
PART I: THE VALUE OF A CAREER MAP
of all professionals
don’t feel comfortable
negotiating salaries.
According to Forbes,
42%

8. /08
PART II:
MATCHING YOUR
SKILLS TO AN
EMPLOYER’S NEEDS

9. So far, we’ve concentrated on your goals and priorities.
But you should also consider the requirements of a
potential employer.
Ramit Sethi, bestselling author and finance expert, estimates that 99 percent of job
applicants don’t think about a hiring manager’s needs before applying for a position.
That’s why our next step is to briefly cross to the other side of the hiring table to learn
how recruiters and hiring managers make their candidate shortlists. They do this by
dividing roles into three categories.
Category 1: those that require only a core skill-set, while industry background
and experience are flexible
Category 2: those that are somewhat flexible as to the skills required or
industry background
Category 3: those that require an exact skillset and experience match
Every candidate is evaluated based on whether he or she meets the minimum
requirements for a role. When those are met, additional skills and experience can
be the extras that make a candidate stand out from the crowd.
PART II: MATCHING YOUR SKILLS TO AN EMPLOYER’S NEED /09
THE SHORTLIST ‘BULLSEYE’
CATEGORY 2
CATEGORY 3
CATEGORY 1

10. Are you a match?
Knowing which category a role falls into will allow you to evaluate whether you’re a likely
candidate or instead need to acquire more skills and/or experience before applying.
To determine the category of a job that interests you, do your research. Read the job
listing, and note what skills and experience are required. Pay attention to the language
used, such as “five years industry experience required” or “interpersonal skills and the
ability to learn quickly are more important than experience.”
Next, contact the company’s HR department, or contacts you may have within the
organization, to find out more about what the job involves. In addition, speak with any
industry insiders you know who would have an opinion on what this position requires,
and discuss whether they think you’d be a good match.
Remember: you’re not fishing for compliments. Instead, you’re listening intently to
understand exactly what skills this position requires and how you measure up.
PART II: MATCHING YOUR SKILLS TO AN EMPLOYER’S NEEDS /10
KNOWING WHAT
CATEGORY A ROLE
FALLS INTO ALLOWS
YOU TO EVALUATE
WHETHER YOU’RE A
LIKELY CANDIDATE
FOR THE POSITION.

11. Communicating your skills
Once you’ve determined you meet the minimum requirements for a position, you have to
communicate your skills and experience to the hiring manager or recruiter. Combine your
knowledge of the position and the company with industry insiders’ insights to formulate why
you’re a good candidate. Keep the following pointers in mind:
• Make sure to communicate you possess the required skills and experience.
• Give examples to illustrate how your skills helped you meet professional challenges.
For example, your ability to manage matrixed teams was crucial in your current
employer’s implementation of new compliance regulations.
• Individualize your approach. Explain clearly and concisely why you are a good match for
this specific position. For example, if the company works with international clients and
you’ve lived abroad or traveled extensively, highlight how your international experience is
beneficial. Or if your values align with those of the employer, be sure to emphasize that fact.
The average job interview is 40 minutes or less. That means you have under three quarters
of an hour to make yourself memorable. Your confidence should come from being prepared
to fully answer an interviewer’s questions and present a viable win-win match between your
demonstrated skills and those the specific role requires. When you can do this, you’re prepared
to hit a bullseye on any hiring manager’s board.
PART II: MATCHING YOUR SKILLS TO AN EMPLOYER’S NEEDS /11
COMBINE YOUR
KNOWLEDGE OF
THE POSITION AND
THE COMPANY WITH
INDUSTRY INSIDERS’
INSIGHTS TO
FORMULATE WHY
YOU’RE A GOOD
CANDIDATE.

12. /12
PART III:
LANDING THE
JOB YOU WANT

13. /13
When looking for a new position, most of us are primarily
concerned with whether we’re viable candidates. And rightly so.
However, it’s also important that the job you land matches your requirements. According
to the 2014 Kelly Global Workforce Index, 61 percent of workers intend to look for a
job with a different employer within the next 12 months. The participants of the study
cited salary/benefits (60 percent), opportunities for advancement (41 percent) and work-
life balance (36 percent) as the primary reasons for their job dissatisfaction. Though it’s
probable that at the time of the study, some participants had matured in their roles and
were ready for new challenges, many were simply disappointed in their jobs.
Obviously, you don’t want to waste time and energy in a role that’s ultimately
unfulfilling. So wouldn’t an effective approach be to land a job that offers everything
you want and can realistically expect while simultaneously ensuring movement towards
your career goals?
The keyword here is realistic, since your perception of yourself and a role greatly
influences whether a job will meet your expectations.
PART III – LANDING THE JOB YOU WANT
61%
According to the 2014 Kelly
Global Workforce Index,
of workers intend to look
for a job with a different
employer within the next
12 months.

14. /14
Broaden your career scope
To be realistic, you need to evaluate your requirements and skills in relation to a desired
role. After doing the work in the previous section, you might discover some noteworthy
aspects about yourself:
• You might be only suitable for roles in the first category; those that require only a
core skillset and allow for varying experience and industry background.
• You might have a long list of requirements for a role or company.
• Or, you might find there are very few companies or roles that meet all
your requirements.
If this is the case, your next step should be to reduce limitations and broaden your
career scope.
PART III – LANDING THE JOB YOU WANT
AVOID BEING
DISAPPOINTED IN YOUR
JOB BY BEING REALISTIC
IN YOUR JOB SEARCH.
TO BE REALISTIC, YOU
NEED TO EVALUATE
YOUR REQUIREMENTS
AND SKILLS IN RELATION
TO A DESIRED ROLE.

15. /15
Keep the following tips in mind:
• Identify a maximum of three skills you currently possess that are most marketable to
your target employers. Use these skills as the focal points of your résumé.
• Look for opportunities to showcase your focal skills such as networking events,
participating in panels, or contributing to industry publications.
• Evaluate which skills you lack in order to move into the more specialized second and
third role categories, and determine the best way to acquire them.
• Honestly assess whether you’re willing to compromise on some of your requirements
in your next role so you can acquire those skills.
With this knowledge, you’ll be better prepared to evaluate whether a role is likely to
meet your expectations.
PART III – LANDING THE JOB YOU WANT

16. /16
Conduct a confident interview
Having an objective understanding of what you offer, what you lack and what you’re willing to
do to make up for deficiencies can add to your confidence during a job interview. For example,
if you’re asked what you consider to be your weak point, you’ll be prepared to discuss training
to make up for any insufficiencies in your skill set. This shows the hiring manager that your
understanding of the position’s requirements is as keen as your understanding of yourself, and
that you’re willing to work towards a good alignment of both. Call out examples of how you
overcame deficiencies proactively in the past and what the results were.
Additionally, since you’ve only highlighted a maximum of three core skills, it’s smart to bring up
any additional experience or skills you possess that aren’t highlighted in the job application.
They may help offset any lean spots in your résumé, and moreover, the hiring manager might
recognize them as extremely useful for the role.
If you do your research, are willing to seek out networking and educational opportunities,
and are prepared to compromise on your requirements, your chances of landing a fitting job
skyrocket. And by landing a job that matches where you are right now while providing you with
the opportunity to acquire new skills and further experience, you take another important step
forward on your career path.
PART III – LANDING THE JOB YOU WANT
IF YOU DO YOUR
RESEARCH, ARE
WILLING TO SEEK
OUT NETWORKING
AND EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITIES, AND
ARE PREPARED TO
COMPROMISE ON YOUR
REQUIREMENTS, YOUR
CHANCES OF LANDING A
FITTING JOB SKYROCKET.

17. /17
PART IV:
MAPPING
THE FUTURE –
USING GOALS
AS A GUIDE

18. Now that you’ve landed your next job, it’s time to set further
short-, mid-, and long-term goals.
Goal setting is a key aspect of any career map and allows you to periodically assess where
you are relative to your personal and professional goals.
For example, let’s say your motivation for landing your new job was to acquire junior
management experience on the way to your ultimate goal of becoming a C-suite executive
at a top-rated bank. You have your starting point—a junior management position at a life
insurance company—and an end goal—a C-suite executive position at a top-rated bank.
Your career map will show you how to get from your start point to your end goal. In this
example, you’ll have to move from the life insurance industry to the finance industry and
advance to mid and senior management roles before joining the ranks of the executives.
You’ll likely see multiple routes to your end goal. The trick is to know which ones are most
feasible and will yield the best results. For example, you could work your way up to senior
management in the life insurance field or work in accounting before transitioning to finance.
Or you could simply get into finance at the earliest opportunity, no matter the employer, and
work towards a senior position at your preferred employer.
PHASE IV: MAPPING THE FUTURE – USING GOALS AS A GUIDE /18
WRITE DOWN WHAT
GOALS MAKE SENSE
FOR YOU BASED ON
YOUR PRIORITIES
AND END GOAL.

19. Your career map: your professional GPS
Nobody can set your goals but you. Your priorities greatly influence your professional
choices, making your trajectory unique. That’s why you can’t expect anybody to show
you the way. You can, however, ask for advice and guidance from mentors or other
professionals you respect.
Throughout your professional journey, your career map functions as your GPS. Every time
you stop to assess your progress—and you should do so frequently—you can determine
your position in regards to your next goal. If necessary, you can tweak your course to get
you back on track, just like a GPS reroutes you when you get lost.
Make a wrong turn? The GPS does not give up on you or broadcast “you have failed
to reach your destination”. It simply recalculates the most direct path to get you back on
course to your intended destination.
/19
A PROFESSIONAL GPS
DETERMINES YOUR
POSITION IN REGARDS
TO YOUR NEXT GOAL.
PHASE IV: MAPPING THE FUTURE – USING GOALS AS A GUIDE

20. Exploring your current company
It’s crucial to understand that no matter where you are in your career, when you’re ready
to make a next step, simply looking for a new job is not always the answer. In fact, a
better solution can be to explore new opportunities within your current position and with
your current employer.
Consider this: your employer has a vested interest in your professional success because
it’s good for the company. It follows that having a career conversation with your
supervisor is always a good idea. In fact, the 2014 Kelly Global Workforce Index shows
that 38 percent of interviewed workers stated they’d discussed their careers with their
employers in the past year. Of those workers, 57 percent felt the discussion increased
their opportunities to acquire new skills, and 48 percent agreed it was beneficial in terms
of future advancement opportunities.
/20
38%
According to the 2014 Kelly
Global Workforce Index,
of workers have
discussed their careers
with their employers in
the past year.
57% feel that a
career discussion with
their supervisor increased
their opportunities.
48%agree that a
career discussion with
their supervisor was
beneficial in terms of future
advancement opportunities.
38%
57%
48%
PHASE IV: MAPPING THE FUTURE – USING GOALS AS A GUIDE

21. So before looking for another company, find out how you can meet your requirements
with your current one. Sometimes it’s as simple as collaborating on projects with a
different department, while other times it means relocating to another division.
For example, if you want mergers and acquisitions (M&A) experience to advance
your finance career, approach the M&A people in your firm and ask to be included in
projects. Or if you want to advance to a mid-level management position and there are no
vacancies at your location, discuss with your supervisor whether there are opportunities
at another location.
Remember: making a career move is about gaining a new experience,
not necessarily about finding a new employer.
With a constantly updated career map and regular assessments, you’ll be able to
see where you stand now, where you want to go, and how to use your current career
resources to reach your goals.
/21
YOUR EMPLOYER HAS
A VESTED INTEREST IN
YOUR PROFESSIONAL
SUCCESS. DISCUSS
YOUR CAREER
PLANS WITH YOUR
SUPERVISOR TO FIND
OUT HOW YOU CAN
ADVANCE TOWARDS
YOUR GOALS WITHIN
YOUR CURRENT
COMPANY.
PHASE IV: MAPPING THE FUTURE – USING GOALS AS A GUIDE

22. Let’s return to the questions we asked in Part I of this book:
What’s your dream job and how are you going to land it?
After reading this eBook, you’ve learned how to create your customized career map
and regularly reassess it to guide you to your professional goals. You’ve also learned
to be confident and realistic in your understanding of your goals and priorities.
And you’ve considered how your ability to communicate a deliberate and thoughtful
career progression can be beneficial to your conversations with recruiters, hiring
managers and supervisors.
From now on, continue to be proactive. Use your career map as the touchstone
for your professional goals, and don’t be afraid to reassess those based on
changing priorities.
Ultimately, the most important thing to know about a career map is this: when used
properly and maintained regularly, it will always guide you to the professional place you
want to go.
/22CONCLUSION

23. /23/23
Kelly puts a new employee to work every 33 seconds, and every four
minutes one gets hired full-time by a Kelly customer.
Search for jobs on our Kelly Career Network
®
, join our
Talent Network, or visit www.kellyservices.com to get started today.

24. EXIT
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
DOUGLAS ARMS is vice president for Americas Finance Product Group at Kelly Services, Inc.
He is responsible for the strategic planning, brand management, thought leadership and
profitable growth for the professional and technical workforce solutions provided in the finance
and accounting specialty in North America. For close to two decades, he has held various senior
leadership positions with major national and international staffing firms, most recently holding
positions such as senior vice president and chief talent officer. Douglas is a graduate of the
Montclair State University located in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. In addition, his training includes coursework
at the Institute of Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland and his MBA which is currently being
completed at Saint Leo University.
GREG ARENDT is Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition, Workforce Analytics & HR Shared
Services for Kelly Services, Inc. In his current role, he is responsible for leading the Global
Talent Acquisition, Workforce Analytics and HR Shared Services organizations and is a member
of the Global HR Leadership Team. Greg joined Kelly Services in 2008 as Director, Global
Talent Acquisition and was promoted in 2011 to Senior Director, Global Talent Acquisition and
Sourcing. In 2013, he was named Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition and Sourcing, and was
promoted to Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition, Workforce Analytics and HR Shared Services in 2014.
He holds a Master of Business Administration from Michigan State University—The Eli Broad School of
Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Telecommunications from Michigan State University.