While careers in digital media – sales, account management, marketing, business development, etc. – represent exceptional opportunities for you in today’s digital landscape, the nature of the industry suggests a pathway to success beyond its explosive and innovative nature.

Key to what drives the industry is competitiveness, growth and adding value.

Consider approaching your career in the same way.  Thomas Friedman, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for The New York Times wrote an article a while back which captures the essence of this approach.  It’s called “The Start-Up of You”.

Key points include:

• Approaching your career as if you are an entrepreneur.
• Being aware that the rising trend in Digital Media and Digital Media Technology is to evaluate employees every quarter, not annually.
• Adding value every hour, every day — more than a worker in India, a robot or a computer? Can he or she help a company adapt by not only doing the job today but also reinventing the job for tomorrow?
• Capitalizing on your network to pull in information and intelligence about where the growth opportunities are — and then investing in yourself to build skills that will allow you to take advantage of those opportunities.

As a digital media professional, you must carve out your own “strategic competitive advantage” that will help propel you to reach your career goals.

Original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/13/opinion/13friedman.html?_r=0