Roadmap to Success in the Energy and Utilities Industry

For this project you will develop a portfolio that contains a personalized “roadmap”, including artifacts and endorsements, which outline how you will transition your career or business from a current state to a future desired state in the Energy and Utilities Industry. You will use concepts gleaned throughout this specialization and elsewhere. Your Roadmap to Success Project will be submitted in the last week of this course.

By completing each phase of the Roadmap, you will be prepared to submit your final Roadmap to Success Project. Please be sure to save your work, as your efforts in each of phase will help contribute to your final submission.

Phase 2: Self-Assessment

Self-Assessments, also known as self-evaluations, are exercises that may influence how you execute tasks and projects. They provide insight into your strengths and weaknesses. Once recognized, you may choose to implement a strategy to transform weaker qualities into stronger ones. Self-assessments can also help you identify gaps that, unless closed, may hinder your ability to perform a particular task.

We suggest you use the SWOT technique to conduct your self-assessment. SWOT is the acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. A SWOT analysis often contains four blocks, where the “Strengths” and “Weaknesses” blocks include internal factors- those unique to you - and the blocks of “Opportunities” and “Threats” include external factors such as a job posting, a new software release, regulations and procedures.

After reflecting on your SWOT analysis, create a list of action items to focus on as you transition to a future career in the field of Energy. Update your Project Charter with 1-3 action items for you to complete –within an established time period - that leverages your strengths to attain a prospective opportunity.

Additionally, in your Project Charter, list at least one action item to mitigate, or reduce, the risk of a threat adversely impacting you as a result of a one or more of your weaknesses.

Revisit your goal or goals, and if you haven’t done so already, narrow yours to a particular field within the enterprise and locate national job descriptions that coincide with your goal. The U.S. Department of Labor has national O*NET codes related to job titles. They provide demographic information, future projections, and education levels that relate to job titles. Use the information provided in the resource section to become more familiar with this workforce tool.

Find some job codes related to the jobs you want to pursue and then analyze them against your SWOT self-assessment. Does your background provide the foundation for the job or business plan you want to pursue? Are there gaps you have to fill or obstacles you have to overcome in order to be successful?

Next, create a one-page marketing document outlining your skills for the job or business plan you want to pursue. This one-page document will be used as a conversation starter with your contacts, mentors, family and co-workers. You want to choose headings that are relevant to you and your project, so they will inevitably vary based on the goal. Some headlines to consider include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Project summary

• Knowledge, skills, and abilities

• Profit

• Target companies

• Organizations

• Objectives

• Product

• Action plan

• Certifications

• Responsibilities

• Pros & Cons

• Professional experience

In previous roadmap lessons, we suggested tools and techniques to establish your own personal goal. Now that you have a clear goal, we are going to focus on how to pitch your goal in 30-45 seconds. Often referred to as an elevator pitch or elevator speech, a captivating few sentences spoken to invoke intrigue and leaves the audience with an appetite for more.

Whether you are interested in entering the Energy and Utilities Industry workforce or transitioning with the evolving industry, a convincing elevator pitch could help you achieve your goal.

Let’s discuss five common characteristics of well-crafted elevator pitches. Although stated to sell yourself, the following characteristics can easily be adapted to sell an idea or product by replacing “you” and “yourself” with your idea, product or service:

• Concisely state your goal: Introduce yourself by stating your name and what delineates you. Address a problem right out of the gate.

• Articulate how you use your skills: Give a real solution by explaining the benefits you offer. Make others want to know more. State your value proposition.

• Tell a story: Tell a story that shows how you are outstanding. You want to whet the appetite of your audience.

• State what makes you unique: Say something authentic and exclusive to you that distinguishes you from others.

• Do not exceed 60 seconds: Pique interest in less than 60 seconds. End your pitch by re-stating your name.

Together, these characteristics communicate the following: Who you are. What you do. What you are looking for. And… what sets you apart. You want others to recognize what a remarkable person you are and what benefits you’ll bring to them. Remember, the most important question on others’ minds is “What am I going to get out of this?”

Develop a brief (30-45 second) elevator pitch tailored to an audience that will likely help you achieve your personalized goal. Practice it. Say it aloud over and over again. Time yourself. Refine it. And deliver it to your mentors, family and friends. You may submit a recorded or written elevator pitch as an artifact for your final project.

You may download the follo wing resources: