Many people have a story that follows this pattern. Start small, work hard, wait a longtime, and then finally, make it. But, this post isn't about those stories. This post is about how to take action and effectively land your dream job. So, here are 7 strategies that you can use right now to advance your career:

1) Read the room

One of the best ways to advance your career is understanding how to read a room. It’s having the social and emotional intelligence to accurately identify the landscape and respond with a fitting emotional response. Another way to look at this is, know your audience.

Using charisma, attention to detail, and effective communication skills, you can read rooms effectively. However, it’s not really about how you act or what you do, it’s about how you listen and respond to the wants, desires, and passions of your employer and/or team. This ultimately will bring value to you, your community, and your career.

2) Know what the problems are

Misunderstanding, miscommunication, and lack of expectations are a few of the things that derail careers and relationships. That’s why it’s important to know what the problems are, understand your audience, and deliver on your promises.

When you look at the highest performing professionals in the workplace, you’ll see knowledge and understanding; in many ways it’ll seem like these individuals are able to read the minds of their audiences. When you’re able - and willing - to understand the problems, you’ll be more prepared to provide appropriate solutions. This can relate to your working relationships as well as the advancement of organizations as a whole.

3) Be memorable

When you are memorable, you’re more than just you. Think about it this way: what do you remember about your grandparents? I’m guessing, it’s more than just their names. Likely, you remember their home, smell, sayings, and passions. This is because humans remember memorable things, not just people. So, think about how you can be memorable in a positive light.

Here are a few examples of how you can be memorable in your career:

You use a specific saying all the time
You treat people well consistently
You make jokes or you don’t make jokes
You understand yourself well – your strengths and weaknesses

4) Make your message about them, not simply you.

Everyone likes it when you make a message about them, and not simply about yourself. When you’re able to make your message about those around you and not just yourself, you create trust, and even more importantly, interest.

In a professional setting (i.e. an interview, training, or a review), it’s important to remember that you can actually get your agenda across by speaking directly about - and directly to – the challenges of those around you and how you can help them hurdle those obstacles.

5) Surround yourself with even better people

Create a tribe of contacts who are your biggest believers, who will advocate for you and rally around your messages, beliefs, and goals. But, more importantly, surround yourself with people who will make you look better, and ultimately, be better. When you do this, you create clout as a leader, and will be better prepared to actually be one.

6) Engage your network regularly and thoughtfully

When it comes to advancing your career, it’s important to be consistent, keep people “in the know,” and to be thoughtful and strategic in your approach. When you’re able to do these things, you will actually begin to develop a trusted brand outside of your personal network or in the case of your job, outside of your professional role.

7) Be yourself

Building a personal brand creates a unified experience of you that those outside of your circle can relate to, and it also helps you understand more about yourself. Remember, we’re all different and unique. When you’re true to yourself, you’ll begin to land the jobs you want, in the cultures you’re looking for much more easily.

The above strategies are simple areas that you can control, and use, to advance your career. To learn more about how to take control of your career, click here.

Did you know that the first 90 days at your new job are the most critical to your success? According to Harvard Business Review contributor, Michael Watson, while the POTUS has 100 days to prove himself (or herself), you have 90 days. That’s it.

In fact, professionals who achieve success in their first 90 days have a significant advantage over those who experience setbacks their first quarter.

You want to make each day work for you!

You want each day to boost your chances of long-term success!

You want to experience positive momentum!

Here are 5 things you can avoid doing at work to increase the odds of keeping your job:

1. THINKING YOUR HARDEST WORK IS BEHIND YOU

Let’s face it. You worked really hard at landing your new job. You made cold calls. You networked. You interviewed. And you even negotiated your salary like a pro. The bottomline is that your job-search was successful - you landed your dream job! Congratulations!

In fact, you probably went out with friends and family to celebrate this auspicious moment. We hope you did, because you are awesome!

Enter your first day of work.

As the confetti hits the floor from your celebration the night before, you wheel your chair up to your desk, take a sip of your latte, and dive in.

Relief sets in. “Thank goodness”, you think, “the job search is finally behind me and all of the weirdness associated with it.” Fear of rejection. Shaken confidence. And perhaps a bit of discouragement.

The tension in your neck and shoulders subsides. You breathe a little bit easier. Your cash-flow is actually flowing with cash again!

But before you breathe too easily, understand one thing - starting a new job is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do.

You have a lot to learn. You have a lot of people to build relationships with. You have 90 days to prove yourself to be a good hire - someone that your employers still wants to keep on the payroll on day 91.

Here are some of the things you get to learn:

What does your new company place a premium on?

Team-players who lead by building consensus and using political power?
Or superstar performers who lead with their superior performance, charisma, and expertise?

What is the purpose of most meetings?