058: How to Position Yourself as a Strategic Hire

Digital Enterprise Society is the authority on the transformation to a digital enterprise, impacting all areas of an organization. Tune in for discussions among industry leaders about operations and action needed to drive digitization principles forward for the future of product development and life cycles.    In today’s episode, Thom Singer tackles the topic of navigating career change during a pandemic.  He is joined by Jan-Bart Smits, the Managing Partner of the Stanton Chase Amsterdam office in The Netherlands and Global Leader for the firm’s Technology and Professional Services Practice Groups.  Together they discuss strategic ways to position yourself now for higher-level positions later in your career.  Jan-Bart offers steps that you can take today to make yourself a critical part of your company’s organization, including expanding your t-profile, increasing the visibility of your contributions, and practical tips for improving your digital communication.    On today’s podcast, you will learn: What technology firms are looking for in executives Fitting into the culture of the company is essential at every employment level  An ability to adapt to the increasing rate of change within the industry is critical  Hard work and the ability to make decisions quickly are essential skills   Tips for positioning yourself as a strategic hire  Post COVID-19, many companies are only hiring for critical positions Take actions now that prepare you to achieve higher-level positions later in your career  Develop your t-profile — the ability to go wide and deep within your specialty as well as within your organization Increase your communication skills so that you can explain products and services in a way that people can easily understand Make your contributions visible so that you are an obvious choice for a strategic hire Fine-tune your video conference and digital communication skills — don’t waste anyone’s time with technical difficulties    Career advice at every level  Do what you enjoy because you will spend a lot of time doing it Look ahead to where you want to be in 10 years, then take steps toward it every day Networking is still the number one way to secure a new position    Do you have an example of extraordinary efforts or innovation during these unprecedented times? We would love to hear your story and possibly interview you for an upcoming episode. Please reach out to us at www.DigitalEnterpriseSociety.org Learn More:    Stanton Chase