...and other lesser known insider tips for getting ahead in your career Picture the scene. You’ve passed your ACT exams with flying colours, all those hours of hard work have paid off, and you’ve just started your dream job in treasury. Happy days. Then your new CEO asks you to conduct an analysis of the treasury department’s policies and processes, and present your findings to the board. Panic. The only presentation you’ve ever given was about fifteen years ago at university, to a group of very bored and largely hungover fellow students. Memories of malfunctioning laptops, thumbed scraps of paper with ineligible notes on, and the realisation halfway through that you don’t actually know how to use PowerPoint, come flooding back, and you wonder how on earth you’re going to rise to this challenge. And then you remember that article you read on the ACT Learning website about their Career Hub, login, click on Business Skills section, and the terror (marginally) subsides. Because we all face these sorts of challenges, at every point of our career. These milestones can be daunting and overwhelming for everyone, but with the right support, advice and guidance, we can also really surprise ourselves by what we are able to achieve.
At the ACT, we know that this professional ‘toolkit’ is crucial in ensuring that our students and members have the support they need to succeed and progress within their chosen careers. That’s why we have put together this brand new resource – a diverse range of articles, e-learning courses, videos, podcasts, and much much more – all designed to help you develop the key technical, behavioural and business skills outlined in our competency framework. Take for instance the Elevator Pitch Builder; this allows you to devise a punchy, memorable and engaging 60-second self-summary, which you can use in a range of situations, whether it’s during those crucial first moments of a job interview, or at a networking event when introducing yourself to a potential new contact. Maybe you’re ready to start looking for a new role, but feel a bit daunted by the idea of writing a CV from scratch. Take a look at the My Tools section and the interactive CV Builder, which takes you step by step through building a winning CV, with expert advice from industry insiders and hiring managers at each stage. Once you’ve perfected your CV, you’ll want to make sure that the right people are seeing it. Head over to the Job Hunting section to search for vacancies, get advice on working with recruiters, and research potential employers. Or perhaps you have just been promoted to a managerial position, and are looking for some guidance on getting the best out of your staff – simply head over to the Business Skills area, click on the Leadership section, and you’ll find a host of relevant articles, videos and exercises, with expert advice on topics such as conflict management, motivation, and management styles. But it’s not just practical advice the Career Hub provides; you’ll also find a number of self-assessments to help you to understand your own motivations, working style, preferences and values, and how you can utilise these in your current role and desired career path. What’s more, in the Self Development section you can find advice on the all too familiar challenges of work/life balance, with tips on staying energised, negotiating working arrangements, and stress management. We’ve made a short video that gives you a whistle-stop tour of what’s on offer, so why not have a watch and go from there. We’re really proud of the Career Hub, and we hope that you find it to be a valuable resource in your professional development. Best of all, in one click you can link all of your activity on the hub to your ACT CPD record, making your CPD declaration even easier.
We’d love to hear your feedback, so if you do have any comments, please do drop us an email at membership@treasurers.org.
