Well another successful HIMSS Annual Conference just ended and it was record breaking in every sense of the word. The Career Services Center and Career Services Institute audiences were phenomenal and the presentations were full of career pearls of wisdom to take back and use in our career efforts. In retrospect some key factors in the success of a career played out last week. So here are just a few of some successful habits you can utilize to get to where you want to go in your career from those champions who presented at AC13 this year.
Foremost, many of the presenters in the CSC stressed to the audience to reflect first on the positive habits in your life to see what did and did not work for your career thus far. This becomes your base with which to learn and grow your future career path. These lessons learned become invaluable as you move forward in the next phase of your career path.
Other good habits mentioned during the week included such things as gauging your projects in order of importance and tackle one project at a time. Quality of work is more important and crucial than quantity of work at any given time. Staying focused on projects will help you learn more skills and keep your career learning curve moving forward. Second, never pass up an opportunity to engage in projects or processes when asked that you can learn from. Having the ability to be approached for additional projects and opportunities is important but temper it with the importance of your tasks at hand as well. Next comes the team effort. Problems are generally solved when analyzing and dissecting situations from different angles so surround yourself with others who have skills that synergize with yours and learn from eachother. View this as learning from peers and others but also a way to infuse ideas and processes that you might not otherwise think of from your personal vantage point. Next is to know your strengths and use them to move your career forward. Don’t ever feel embarrassed when you make a mistake just own up to it and fix it and move on. Never let pride get in the way of your career because we all need to keep learning something so now is the time. Additionally, always surround yourself with positive energy and remove yourself from negative environments. The negative energy is caustic to a career and your well-being. So make certain you are a positive force in the workplace and let others follow your lead. Finally, provide feedback to those around you when appropriate. Also provide encouragement and support of your teammates. They will respect you even more and not only work more collegiately with you but you will accomplish much more as a unified force!
And remember...Be passionate about your career path and strive to make a difference and learn, learn…learn. Technology is only the enabler; individuals will be the “transformers” of health IT in the years to come!
