The Power Of Career Capital

First things first - what does career capital mean? Basically it is the set of skills and knowledge a person has, and it can include things like educational attainment, work experience, and job-specific skills. They essentially are human, social, and psychological capital that you would accumulate over the course of your career, all three important because they contribute to an individual's ability to get and keep a good job.

What comes after it is the interesting part. You ready? Research shows that individuals who have more career capital are more likely to get hired, to be promoted, and to earn a higher salary. They are also more likely to be satisfied with their career and to feel like they are making a difference. Because of this, you are more likely to be able to negotiate your lifestyle according to how you want it.

There’s a but! Having a large amount of career capital makes no difference if you don’t know how to use it to your advantage. Think of it this way: You’re a law degree holder with a lot of work experience and you’ve settled in a law firm that requires you to meet clients on a daily basis. However, you are also required to be in the office Monday to Friday, which is not necessarily your preference as you’d rather meet clients over a cup of coffee.

Now this is where you can put your career capital to good use. You’re always on time with your work, you deliver outcomes of the highest quality, and your networking skills are topnotch. This shows you are a valuable asset to the company, and the company is aware of it too. So how you go about this is to negotiate the terms of your working preference by backing it up with the career capital you have. For example, regardless of wherever and whenever you work, you get the job done on time and in perfect order. So use that fact to your advantage and arrange for some flexibility for your in-house office hours where you can instead go out, meet and seal the deal with clients according to your schedule.

Makes sense now? The thing to do is to never give power to the statement “that’s just the way things are” as you hold greater power to change how things work.

If you want to be successful in your career, it is important to invest in your career capital. There are a number of ways to do this. You can get a good education, gain work experience, and build a strong network of contacts. You can also develop positive attributes like motivation and optimism. By investing in your career capital, you are setting yourself up for success. Sounds like a great plan for the future you want, right?

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash