Chemical Processing - June 2008 - (Page 38)

Professional development courses can give you an edge By Cecil L. Smith, Cecil L. Smith, Inc. Job security means having an expertise to sell that someone wants to buy. You’re offering your capability to do something. Prospective purchasers are either your current employer or a future employer with a need for what you’re capable of doing. Yes, we’re all selling! Unfortunately, this concept doesn’t come easily to engineers. Most of us went into engineering expecting a good paying job for life. Those days are gone, maybe forever. The art of selling isn’t taught in engineering school. And in selling, rejection is inevitable — you kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince. But given their nature, most engineers don’t handle rejection very well. Encouraging you to change jobs isn’t my objective. Engineers aren’t like some business types, who switch jobs whenever they can get a bit more money. But you always should be prepared to change. Maybe you’re very happy where you are — but rightsizing, acquisitions and mergers, site closures, bankruptcy, etc., can quickly alter the situation. So, you should develop some expertise that makes you more valuable to your current employer. This increases the chances of retaining your current job during corporate rightsizing and mergers; this same expertise is the ticket to your next job when faced with a plant closure or company bankruptcy. Work experience inevitably leads to specialization. The specific area of specialization ref lects an accommodation between the needs of the employer and the interests of the employee. Engineers traditionally have been very obliging to the interests of the employer. But in today’s environment, you must put self-interest first. Take the worst-case scenario – you’re terminated today. JUNE 2008 chEmicalprocEssiNg.com 38 You now have to sell yourself; a major selling point is your expertise. What is the market, that is, what other employers need this expertise? Who’s the competition? Developing expertise in something that at some point can be outsourced to India may be good for your employer but clearly not for you. PrePare yourself Before you can realistically assess what you should be doing, develop and write down: 1. a statement of your specific field of expertise; 2. an explanation of how this expertise benefits your current employer (especially if you expect the company to provide any support); and 3. a strategy for becoming one of the best in this field — i.e., your plan for professional development. At one time many companies provided in-house programs for professional development; a few still do. But most firms now view developing a plan for professional development as the responsibility of the employee. http://chemicalprocessing.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chemical Processing - June 2008

Chemical Processing - June 2008 Contents From the Editor ChemicalProcessing.com Field Notes In Process Energy Saver Compliance Advisor Achieve Model Operations Bolster Your Condition Monitoring Toolbox Particle Analysis Makes Solid Progress Improve Batch Reactor Temperature Control Improve Your Job Security Plant InSites Process Puzzler Equipment & Services Product Spotlight/Classifieds Ad Index End Point

Chemical Processing - June 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.