There's a temptation to answer such a question with the one Zsa Zsa Gabor gave about life itself: the woman who dies with the most jewels wins. A good construction career would therefore be defined as the one that ends in the glorious success of being the head of the construction monopoly in the country. As we don't have (and will never be allowed to have) such a monopoly construction company, perhaps that answer is just a little too glib though.

As with all and any careers there's a certain amount of luck involved (no real use wanting to be a great basketball player if you're a little short in the genetic inheritance you have, say five foot four and with no ball sense) but past that there's the usual litany of hard work, perspiration, the right education and so on. Sounds immensely boring really but it is one of the unfortunate truths about getting anywhere. As Thomas Edison used to say innovation is 1% invention and 99% perspiration.

However, having given that rather gloomy prognosis there is one very useful shortcut through the system. This is to make good use of the job market itself, gaming the system if you wish. To aid you with this you might want to enlist the help of the good folks here at Talisman of course.

Games might not be quite the right word to use to describe the process but borrowing from economics and maths we should perhaps call it game theory. What we need to note in our planning a good construction career is that our employers, while delighted to have us as the experts we are, are in competition with us as employees for the income of the company. They are trying to maximise profits and we are looking to maximise our own income. While this doesn't mean that we are in opposition, it does mean that at times there is a divergence of interests.

For example, you've been in a job for a few years, have grown as far as that specific job is going to allow you to and are ready to tackle the next step on the ladder. Your employer would very much like you to stay where you are but to make it to the top of the ladder you need to be stretched now.

That's when you reach for the recruitment consultants like those at Talisman. Hey, it's your life, your career. There are three possible outcomes from looking to change companies at such a point. One is that you haven't actually reached that next level as yet and this is something you'll be told pretty quickly. The second is that you have and that you get another job with greater responsibility (and pay!) which is all to the good. The third is that your current employer is encouraged to reassess your talents ('Hey, if someone else wants him he must be good!') and offers you that greater responsibility where you are. None of those three options have any downside to them.

So perhaps the biggest contributor to a good construction career is knowing when to play the jobs market, through Talisman, to your advantage.

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Richard Taylor Edwards, Managing Director of Talisman Executive Resourcing, the leading employment agency that offers employment opportunities in UK.