There are two ways to view career management issues:  from the perspective of working for someone else--or working for oneself.  Given the dramatic changes in the healthcare industry and the workplace dynamics that impact individual success, it's appropriate to consider career development in terms of being in business for oneself. 

A new perspective

Once upon a time, in a bygone era, an individual could reasonably expect to join a company and work there until retirement.  Especially in unionized work environments, the matter of job security was of uppermost consideration in the minds of younger and older employees alike.  The prevailing thought was that if someone worked hard and applied himself, the company would look after his welfare and, in effect, guarantee him a job for life.

Those days are long gone.  Both in the industrial sector and in the healthcare field, the employment landscape has changed considerably.  Companies cannot promise anyone a job for any specific length of time.  Job security is a matter of staying on the cutting edge of one's profession and offering current skills that contribute to the ongoing success of the organization.

From this perspective, it's smart for professionals to focus on "You, Inc."-that is, how to maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace and promote one's services to current or future employer-clients. 

You're the CEO

Think of yourself as an independent businessperson (whether or not you actually work as an independent contractor).  Irrespective of job title, it's possible that you have an impressive array of skills and abilities that make you valuable to your main client:  your current employer.  In exchange for full-time service, you receive a regular paycheck and additional benefits.

For all practical purposes, you are the CEO of  You, Inc.  Essentially you set the standards of performance and goals that mesh with your client's expectations of work output.  Furthermore, you are personally responsible for quality control issues and for ensuring customer service satisfaction on a day-to-day basis. 

This fact gives new meaning to the phrase "The buck stops here."  In the final analysis, you are responsible for your own failure or success.  Any limitations that stand in your way can be overcome.  Likewise, achieving your full potential is possible through dedication, focus and determination.  No one can limit the degree of success that you set your sights on. 
  
By offering your client-employer the highest level of service possible, you make yourself all the more valuable as someone who understands the company's needs and can meet them in timely fashion. 

Assets and liabilities

Consider your assets and liabilities.  The asset side of the ledger can include numerous things:  educational attainment, work experience, specialized skills, financial stability, favorable references, and so on.  An additional asset is the ability to acquire new skills and tailor professional services to the ongoing needs of the client-employer.

On the other hand, a balanced assessment must account for any personal liabilities.   These can include such things as age, personal health, the lack of a certain educational degree or certification, personal or financial difficulty, unavailability to relocate for promotional purposes, etc. 

Successful career development depends on maximizing assets and minimizing liabilities.  Do your education and skill sets prepare you to make a greater contribution to the client-employer?  If so, don't be bashful about exploring that possibility.  Have you thought about acquiring additional skills that would make you a more well rounded professional?  If such is the case, don't hesitate to increase your learning curve and expand your horizons. 

It's an axiom in the employment world:  The more desirable you are to other companies, the more likely your current employer would want to retain your services at any cost.  By increasing your marketability in general, you also enhance job stability with respect to your current employment situation.

Marketing your services

Smart professionals think ahead.  They look beyond their current means of income generation to future opportunities to advance their economic well-being.

Have you thought about marketing your professional services?  If so, the starting point is to determine how marketable you are to other potential client-employers.  To get a handle on this, consider the following questions:

1) What sort of earning curve have you been on over the last several years?  Have salary increases merely kept pace wi