Smart Women Thirst for Knowledge
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“Smart Women Thirst for Knowledge” is a slogan on a coffee mug given to me from a very dear friend. I love this quote and display it in a place I can see it every day--my bathroom. Yes, it’s a cup holder for my toothbrush and tooth paste. May not be your classic toothbrush and tooth paste holder but it works for me!



Seeing that coffee mug this morning reminded me of a radio show I just recorded with a marketing manager from TapSense, the leading mobile advertising exchange. Her message on the show was very similar to “Smart Women Thirst for Knowledge”. She shared with me a very important tip from her mentor and this is it: “assess and craft your career development goals against the external market first--over your internal skill development.” What great advice! If you’re someone wanting to not only ensure your skills are up-to-date but strategic and forward-looking, the market is the place to look! The market is the industry you work in, or an area of interest. It’s a great classroom to observe the latest trends, what consumers are asking for and what service and skills will be in demand as it pertains to jobs and roles of the future. Experts have predicted the world is changing at such a rapid pace that the products and services we know today will be obsolete in a matter of years; we’re already seeing this in the technology industry. These swift changes require new skill sets and expertise.



On this same radio show, I was also introduced to the term: competitive intelligence. Competitive intelligence is defined as being knowledgeable about your competitors through publically available resources such as the news, earnings announcements or through your network of market facing, and client facing colleagues and business teams. I also decided this same term can be utilized as part of your career development plan. Let’s put this into practice….



Competitive Intelligence
  • Know Yourself

  • Know Your Competition


Know Yourself: consistent and current self-awareness will help you navigate opportunities available to you out in the marketplace now and into the future. Reflect on your personal career path and intelligence. Ask yourself: “What is the current or future market opportunity for my unique career path, skills, education and experience? What thread in my career do I want to highlight and build upon? “For example, are you a marketer who wants to step into the fast growing industry of mobile applications, or a food scientist who wants to try her hand at brewing beer? To know your interests and passions at any given time will quickly propel you toward your future.



Know Your Competition: your competition is those vying for the job(s) you want in your chosen industry. So how do you compete? Identify talents to acquire based on what you’ve seen in the job market. It’s important to identify what abilities could set you apart from the competition, i.e. a unique skill set, or capability. Note: the market information you gather will be more informative and progressive than what you will find in our current school systems and colleges.



Smart women thirst for knowledge—and keep an eye on the future.