There’s a myth out there saying public service jobs are “for life”.
In this video, I debunk the myth that these jobs are for life but also provide my suggestions to create “a job for life” and how you can make your job secure no matter where you are working.
These are the key 3 things long-serving public servants are able to achieve to elongate their tenure.
I believe in you! And you can do it just like I did, they did, and my clients are right now!
Watch the video below and hit “Subscribe” on my channel so you can receive all video updates! If you don’t like watching or listening to videos, you can also read the transcript below.
Cheers,
Athena Ali – The Get Noticed Coach
TRANSCRIPT – WILL A PUBLIC SERVICE ROLE BRING YOU SECURITY AND CERTAINTY?
Thank you all for being here.
I’m Athena Ali The Get Noticed
Coach, thank you for joining me live today
in the Public Service
I’m a career coach and strategist and
a government job application specialist.
Now today I’m talking about “will a public
service role bring you
security and certainty?”
Now most people think that public service
roles are very secure, but are
they are secure and as certain
as you think?
I will discuss if you do want
security and certainty in your career then
public service roles are definitely a
good way to go,
but also talk about what it really takes
to stay in the public sector
for as long as some people have.
No job is guaranteed for life
and there is a perception that a public
service job is a career for life, and it
can be, but it’s certainly not definite.
And it’s not for life anymore.
I guess if that’s really your
expectation that you will be in a
secure public service role not having
to expand yourself and grow,
then maybe the sector isn’t for you
because the public sector really is one,
particularly now, that’s
transforming, that really is
needing people who can grow and who can
change with the times
and their technology.
It is really important that if
you want security and certainty in your
career that you have a growth
mindset wherever you go.
There is this big perception in the public
sector that a job is for life or
that they can’t get rid of you.
And whilst it might not be as easy,
there are still processes you still
have to go through regardless.
Security shouldn’t be the only reason you
apply for a public service role,
and I guess it’s the same as money.
You shouldn’t only apply for a role
Because all you want is money,
because as we all know,
money doesn’t always make you happy
and sometimes thinking that your job
is secure also doesn’t make you happy.
There always needs to be
satisfaction in your actual job,
whether it accords with your values or
making a difference or whatever
that might be for you.
But money or security, or security
of that money shouldn’t be the only reason
that you apply for a public service role.
There certainly should definitely be
something more than that, that draws
you to the public service.
Otherwise, you’ll probably find that your role
won’t be secure and it
won’t be certain either.
Because it just won’t bring you
happiness and it’s either you’ll go, or
just like in any other job,
they might want you to go.
What’s important,
is that you enjoy your job,
that you enjoy serving others,
because really, that’s what
the public service is about.
This the biggest factor in
whether you will be
securing your role or not.
The higher the satisfaction you have
in your role the less likely you’re going to want
to move, but also the less likely they’re
going to want you to move because you’re
going to always be working
really productively.
You’re always going to want to be there.
You’re going to work to your highest
values, and as a result,
it’s a win-win for everybody.
So, if you want security
in your job start there.
There are three key things that I
see in people that tend to have much
longer careers in the public service and these three things
help with job security.
The first thing is, don’t just
do what’s in your job description.
Yes, I know we have job
descriptions to give us
an outline of what we’re meant to be
doing every day in our role.
But those who seek out extra assignments
or find themselves on extra panels or
committees or helping out with new
infrastructure that’s coming to the
Department and really participating,
those people will find themselves
in a position to be able to speak
to higher roles when those roles become
available.
It’s really hard to say
you’ve got experience in something
when you don’t have experience in it and the
only way to get that experience,
whether it’s inside your organisation or
outside of it,
is to volunteer to some capacity.
Now, at some point,
if you want to be a manager,
you’re going to have to show people
that you can manage people and you can’t
do that if our current role
doesn’t allow you to do that.
In order to do that,
there may be some projects where you can
lead people so you have to be able to start providing
examples where you have done this.
If you don’t have those examples,
you won’t be able to meet the criteria
for that next role that you
want to apply for.
If you can demonstrate the experience,
you can apply for the role.
When you do that,
you also become visible.
When you become visible,
you’ll be remembered and when you do apply
for roles, you’ll be remembered as the
person that put their hand up and helped
and did something outside
of their job description.
You show them that you are keen
to move on, that you are keen to do
something else.
You shouldn’t fear not
being paid for doing something extra
because at the end of the day,
there are so many other people
outside the public service who do
volunteer in order to get
experience to land their next role.
So why can’t you do that at work where you
do have the opportunities
where they probably wouldn’t say no to you
because you’re already employed there?
Whereas if you go outside
the organisation,
you may have to apply
for another position to volunteer.
Doing it this way makes it easier because
you already have access to people
who are likely to say yes
if you’re willing to do that extra work.
The second thing is make sure you meet all
your deadlines and be really reliable.
People who are in secure roles or stay a
really long time in their roles are usually
people who always meet their deadlines
and are really, really reliable.
If you can get your projects done
on time or within budget, then you’re more
likely to be the person that’s kept on.
You’ll find that your job will be
a lot more secure for that reason.
Exceeding expectations and always meeting
your KPIs means there’s never any reason
for anyone not to want you around.
When your results are reliable your tenure
is longer as well.
People then trust your capabilities,
your skills, and they know
that you’ll do what you say you do.
This also speaks very much
to the public service value of “trust”.
When you’re reliable,
when you’re someone that meets your KPIs
or exceeds them, people trust
that you will be able to do the role.
The third thing that I find people
who have really secure roles in the public
service, is usually people who have great
stakeholder management and
engagement skills.
People who are able
to build relationships with people.
The person that can get along
with anyone or be in a position
to influence and negotiate the best is
likely to be a keeper.
We don’t want
people who are always
disagreeing with everything.
And it doesn’t mean you have to agree
with everything or you have
to be friends with everybody.
But it is helpful when you know how to
talk to people that you don’t agree with.
How do you get along and how do you
resolve issues with people when
you don’t agree on certain points?
And how do you go about
communicating with them?
Those things contribute to,
how long you will stay anywhere.
These skills,
if you possess them,
being able to negotiate or manage people
and talk to people and engage people,
if you’re the type of person that’s really
good at that,
you’ll be invaluable in a public service
role because you have to talk to people
all day, whether it’s people in your
Department, whether it’s Ministers,
whether it’s Councillors, whether it’s,
people outside the organisation,
community consultations or project
consultants and all those people.
The more diverse groups of people you can
engage and communicate with and be able
to resolve issues with,
the more likely you’re going to hang
around in the public service
because it really is
a public role.
Even if your role is internal,
you still have a lot of people
you need to speak with.
So today my thoughts around,
“how secure is your public service career?”
is that no career is secure; ever.
But if you want to make your
tenure longer than shorter,
then those key three things will help
you stay in the public service longer.
Having a growth mindset really is
the key to being secure in any role.
That’s the end of my live today
on whether a public service
career is secure or not.
Now, if you’d like my 6 proven steps
on how to get unstuck and land a public
service career, you can download that below.
If you’d like to book a chat with me,
Thank you for listening in today,
and I hope you’ve enjoyed the broadcast.
Thanks, everyone.
Have a great day.
Cheers,
Athena Ali The Get Noticed Coach
Hi, I’m Athena Ali the Founder of The Get Noticed Coach.
I help mid-career professionals and leaders get noticed, get hired, and get ahead in a public service career they love, increase their income, get flexibility, paid professional development and where they can make a difference to the community.
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