WHAT IT TAKES TO STAY IN THE SIX FIGURE WORLD

SEVEN KEY POINTS TO GET IN AND STAY IN THE SIX FIGURE WORLD.

Minto Roy, President and CEO of Premier Career Management Group

1. If you are a recent graduate, don’t buy into the traditional salary increase mindset. You know the one: graduate university, get a position at 30-35K, and work hard to get an increase to 50K after a few years. Find a way into management after 5 years and slide into the 75K level. Then, after 10 years of working like a dog, helping the company grow, you make it into sr. level management at 100K and then hope like hell to stay there for the final 20 years. Retire. This is complete nonsense. Professionals from 25-35 should realize that with a tactical internal and external marketing strategy of their skills and a great intra-company career plan, they can make major leaps in career growth and income in this red-hot labor market.
2. Learn to deal with and ignore those around you that think six figures is a lot of money. The nay-sayers and that often includes family and friends who attempt to rationalize why it’s too tough, or that you’ll have to forfeit your personal life and sell your soul for higher bracket incomes. Most people under six figures think that professionals in the higher brackets only chase money. In fact most high achievers that I deal with know that we ”chase time not money”!

3. You got to six figures with your drive and a plan to get there, but after reaching it, you must create and set higher income targets. You don’t stay at a 100K by wanting to make the exact same amount next year. Shoot higher, two hundred thousand or go way beyond and start thinking and believing you can earn seven figures.

4. Start surrounding yourself and networking with higher bracket professionals. Unfortunately if you are the highest earner in your peer group, then it becomes more difficult to sustain the information edge and strategic edge to maintain and grow your income and career. I’m not saying ditch your friends, I’m saying find higher bracket colleagues to support and exchange ideas with regularly.

5. It’s crucial to develop your network more than ever after making to the higher bracket of income. Companies looking for talent at this level need to see more than just education, skills and achievements. They want professionals that have built and can access and integrate their network within the growth plans of their business. If you don’t have a strong accessible network, then start building relationships to support and, hence, support you.

6. You need to work on soft skills: Likeability, candor, perseverance, managing confrontation, duplication, emotional intelligence and more. These skills are extremely misunderstood and overlooked when assessed by mid-level HR departments. However, these are some of the most coveted characteristics required to move up the corporate ladder.

7. Consider who you take career advice from. Respectfully, most people seek career advice from family, friends and acquaintances. These people might have the best intentions. But do they have the time, resources and expertise to dispense advice that you can use and implement? Will they be accountable to deal with the end-results of their advice? If one of your goals is to reach and remain in the higher income world then make sure you have fun with your family and friends but take career advice from an expert who has been in the higher bracket and has helped others succeed.


Minto Roy
Vancouver/Canada
mroy@careerstodaycanada.com

www.pcmgcanada.com
www.careerstodaycanada.com
www.pcmgexecutive.com

Minto also hosts the Careers Today weekly radio show every Saturday on CFUN 1410am or online at www.cfun.ca
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Minto Roy is the President and CEO of Premier Career Management Group and the host of Canada’s only recruitment radio program, Careers Today, one of the top-rated shows in the BC market. His pragmatic style, combined with a natural ability to motivate people, provides a strong foundation in “Revolutionizing the World of Work.” Minto brings more than a decade of experience in career management and has worked with thousands of clients advising them on their career search and career plans. Minto is a much sought-after speaker and media commentator and has featured on CBC TV, CBC Morning Radio and various Channel M features on immigrant employment. Minto provides expert commentary on employment issues and trends and has been a resource for the National Post, Globe and Mail, Vancouver Province and Toronto Star. Minto is also a regular columnist for the Canadian Immigrant Magazine and the Vancouver View Magazine.


Want to ask Minto a six figure question? He can be reached at mroy@pcmgcanada.com