Firstly, hello from me at HVO Search – it’s been a while and it’s good to be back from maternity leave!

Secondly, while I’ve been away the rest of the team have been busy working behind the scenes on all sorts of exciting projects I can’t wait to tell you about - but more on that another time.

Here we examine the career “winning streak”. What it is and how you can increase your chances of a winning run of success.

What is a Career “Winning Streak”?

For a lucky few there comes a time in their careers when they seem to be on fire – where they have maximum impact at work and everything they touch turns to gold.

New research recognises this as an identifiable phenomenon; defining it as a career “winning streak”- a period of time in someone’s career when they perform substantially better than their typical performance, with a recurring sequence of high impact work over a period of months or years.

Why Should I Care?

Want to get promoted? Looking to secure a pay rise or a better job? Clearly the more glowing your references and the more examples of success you can point to the more desirable and potentially irreplaceable you become.

From an employers’ point of view, who doesn’t want to have a superstar working for them, driving success?

Chance or Cunning? 

Ok, so there are clearly variables you can’t control at work – your boss, colleagues, the insipid coffee they serve in the work canteen…

But here are 5 ways of increasing your chances of bringing your “A” game to the table and hitting a career “winning streak”:

1. Make sure you’re in the right job at the right time

Too many of us move on before we’ve had the chance to adequately demonstrate our full potential or stay too long in a dead-end job before jumping ship; waiting until we’re completely demotivated before beginning a begrudging job search.

2. Actively plan and manage your career

Don’t wait for your manager to assign you the best projects, clients or tasks – put your hand up at the right time and be transparent with your manager about your career aspirations so they can help you get there by setting objectives that will help you reach your full potential.

3. Make sure people understand what you do

How many of us are guilty of working hard and waiting for others to recognise our achievements? Inevitability they don’t. Managers and colleagues have their own workload and lives to be worrying about so if you don’t make your career success a priority don’t expect anyone else to.

It’s important you make sure people understand what it is you actually do. For example, take a few extra minutes on a conference call to explain the work that was done and challenges faced before delivering the solution/outcome. The more others understand what you do the less likely they are to take it for granted. This is especially true when working with others in different locations – don’t expect them to understand the inner workings of your local office and the amazing things you do on a daily basis just to keep things ticking over.

4. Shout about your success and network

Share success stories and market yourself. This doesn’t mean standing on your desk parading a trophy saying “I’m the best”. Instead, actively network; go for coffee with people in different teams and position yourself in such a way that people will keep you in mind when opportunities arise. Actively network with people outside your organisation too including past colleagues, managers, headhunters etc - This could lead to all sort of opportunities, one of which could be your next career move.

5. Look after yourself to maintain productivity

We can stretch ourselves for short periods of time for peak productivity, but if we spend too long out of our comfort zone our productivity takes a nose dive and it becomes unsustainable. In order to remain productive and ensure career success it’s essential to look after yourself outside as well as in work. 

Now or Never?

The good news is that you stand as much chance of hitting a career “winning streak” in your 20s as in your 60s. Typically people experience just one winning streak in their career but some lucky few appear to be able to replicate this success so there’s everything to play for!

Have your experienced a career winning streak? How did this come about? We’d love to hear from you.

Email me your thoughts.