The Career Success Doctor

The Career Success Doctor guides talented professional women to career success

Marie Colvin: A Woman Who Made A Difference

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Marie Colvin: A Woman Of Courage Who Made A Difference

 

Marie Colvin (1957-2012), RIP

I’ve been very touched by the death of Marie Colvin, a journalist who died for her belief that she must keep reporting the situation in Homs “so that no one would have an excuse to say, ‘I did not know’.” A woman who believed that journalism could curtail the excesses of brutal regimes, and make the world pay attention.

I’ve been following Colvin’s writings since the mid-80s, when she started writing about Middle Eastern affairs. It’s a part of the world that I’ve always been interested in, and I spent time in 1978 travelling in Syria, where I visited Homs.

Back then, Syria was stable – it was Lebanon that was the war zone. Syria was a dictatorship, but people were relatively open in talking about the politics of the country, and they seemed happy enough. They were proud of their culture and their country, particularly when you compared President Assad (the father) with Saddam Hussein next door in Iraq. Certainly whatever oppression people might have been experiencing was not obvious.

How times change.

What struck me about Marie Colvin’s life and death was that she was totally committed to what she did, she had a strong sense of purpose, which drove her forward, and she never let being a woman stand in her way. Even after losing an eye, and ending up in a clinic with PTSD, she still continued her work.

Her death is sad because a brave woman who lived to tell the world about atrocities and oppression died while at the height of her powers. At this point, we can’t yet tell what difference (if any) her death will make to the Syrian situation. But she lived a life to the full, following her dream career, dedicating herself to instigating change where it mattered.

Here’s what her friend and fellow journalist, Henry Porter said about her, in Vanity Fair.

“What was striking about that period was her complete absence of self-pity. I never heard Marie complain about the hardships she endured or the effects of witnessing so much pain. When she was suffering from PTSD, she used to be let out of the clinic and would come round to dinner with her friend Jane Wellesley. My teenage daughters were open-mouthed at the sight of this astonishing woman with an eye patch, listening to her describe what she had done in the previous 20 years. The point, she emphasized with a tipsy flourish of cigarette and wine glass, was that women could do anything they chose.”

I know I don’t have the inclination or the courage to do what Marie Colvin did. But her death has led me to question what I can do to make a difference, to be a woman of courage, knowing that I can do anything I choose.

Why You Should Keep Your Knowledge Up-to-Date

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When you are applying for a new job, it’s really important that you can demonstrate that you keep your knowledge up-to-date.  With some professions, it’s mandatory.  Most professional bodies make annual training a condition of membership, and offer a range of courses to help you.

But what if you aren’t a member of a professional membership organisation?  Why should you bother?  Isn’t that your employer’s responsibility?

Well, firstly, it’s your employer’s responsibility to ensure you have the knowledge you need to do the job you are doing.  Usually they do this by sending you on training courses, or giving you a mentor, or getting you to work alongside someone who knows what they are doing.  They may have you do the work, which someone then checks until they feel you are fully competent (often known as ‘on-the-job training’).  It’s in the employer’s interests that you have the skills and knowledge you need in order to do your job well.

Many employers understand the benefit of expanding the skills and knowledge of their employees, so they will invest in career development, whether it’s sending you on a training course, or paying for a course you want to go on, or allowing you to ‘shadow’ someone doing a more senior job, or a different job from yours.

The problem comes when you want to get promoted, or to find a new job some where else, and you don’t have the skills and knowledge required.  In the case of promotion within the organisation, your boss might be persuaded to provide the training you need.  If you are looking outside the organisation, then it is down to you.

The most successful people tend to be those who are willing to pay for their own career development if they can’t get help from their employer.  It’s one of the keys to landing your dream job or dream career.  They may pay with time – for instance taking on a volunteer role where they can develop a missing skill-set.  One client of mine wanted to develop her finance skills, so, after reading some books on the subject, she volunteered to help the treasurer at her local church to give her some practical experience.

Other people pay with money. For example, when I knew I wanted to have my own business, I took holiday and paid for my own NLP training.  It wasn’t cheap, but it certainly paid off over the long term.  Most of my private clients pay for coaching out of their own pocket, because they understand how it can help them get where they want to be more quickly.

If you’re about to go job-hunting, look at the adverts to see what skills and knowledge employers are wanting in the field you are interested in.  Take some time to assess yourself honestly.  If you haven’t got the right mix of skills and knowledge, or they are out-of-date, think about how you can upgrade them.  Be willing to be really creative in thinking about how you can get access to the training and/or experience you need.