Articles

As many young professionals go about starting their career with the Boys & Girls Clubs, or any organization for that matter, they are asking the question; "What do I need to do to get ahead? That's usually the point in time in which I say "we need to have a one on one conversation. During the past seven years of my Youth Development career, I've had to counsel many young professionals on matters of wanting to fast track their advancement within this movement.

Typically, one of the first things I share with them is having to pay some dues in your current position with your current organization. The keyword is stability. Like many things we do in life, people are looking to see how long you've been in one position or if you have, bounced around from job to job to job. That does not say much for the types of skills or competencies that you may have acquired. In order to be proficient in any job it requires training, sometimes on the job training and routine. Doing the job regularly and doing the job right are the key elements to excelling in your current position I've discovered that many young professionals, who are in positions from one year to 18 months, think that they are ready to move up to the next level. However, with each level of progression there are bumps, bruises, obstacles, hurdles, etc., along the way. Unless these challenges are tackled head on and viewed as learning opportunities, the likelihood of learning and eventual progression is slow to take place.

Be prepared to take on new challenges while taking the time to master your current day to day responsibilities. However, keep those new challenges to a minimum. Its been my observation that young professionals will gravitate to those things we call resume builders". While additional things may look good on paper, they may not have any degree of value in pursuit of making it to the next level. That's because good, seasoned professionals will ask tough questions like what role did you play and how effective were you? Otherwise you'll find yourself over committed, inefficient and unprepared to deal with the day-to-day grind. Be selective about the types of projects that you choose to get involved in. When those projects come looking for you, ask questions, don't just say yes to the first thing that comes your way, especially if your in box is already full, your desk cluttered and your voice mail box is full.

There is a word that I constantly use with many of our young professional staff, INTEGRITY. I make it a point to stress the simple things that I get from the word integrity. The first one is "walking the talk", simply doing what you say your going to do. Over the years, I've learned that you will gain more respect by living up to what you say. The other one is honesty. You will always gain the respect of others by being honest and up front.

Lastly, choose people along the way who can be a mentor and guide you through some of the rough spots. Be selective in choosing a mentor. You want to find someone who's paid some dues, yet is respected and still moving ahead in some constructive way. Don't pretend that you know everything, because if you're relatively new in the Movement, you don't know everything, so remain open to learning from the right people.

By: Mr. John L. Mack - Executive VP of Operations
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta