Learn how to position yourself

Positioning yourself means knowing your talents and having a plan to achieve your goals. Find out just how valuable this self-knowledge can be

You've probably already considered what you're doing with your career, what you've done in the past, and what you want to do in the future. Maybe you've had one career your entire working life or maybe you've had ten. No matter how many times you change focus or how much you've progressed, you have to position yourself to succeed.

Positioning yourself is different from marketing yourself. Of course, you need to market yourself, your company and your skills. But positioning yourself is about:

Knowing who you areKnowing what you do wellKnowing what you like to do Knowing what you don't like to doUnderstanding where you want to goUnderstanding where you don't want to doFiguring out how to get where you want to goFiguring out how to avoid going where you don't want to goFiguring out how to change directions when you're on the wrong road

At first glance, these things seem simple. But if you take time to focus on each one, you'll gain a lot of insight and be prepared to position yourself well. Successful people will tell you there are several reasons for their success: talent, connections, luck and positioning.

So what is positioning? It's not playing political games. It is having a clear sense of your talents, your goals and your plan for achieving those goals. If you get good at positioning, you will be able to not only achieve your goals ,but also find unexpected opportunities.