It seems that everyone knows it’s important to grow your career. The only question, however, is how. Unfortunately, it’s no longer enough to work hard and be loyal to your employer. In fact, you may have a co-worker you know doesn’t work as hard as you do or isn’t as smart, but keeps getting promoted anyway.
If you want to secure an upwards career trajectory, you need to work smart, be on the lookout for opportunities, and shift with the business environment you’re in—otherwise, you might find yourself becoming irrelevant. Here are 4 ways to do just that.
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Be Aware
Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you—go ahead and create them. And that means being aware of:
- How your organization works
- Where its profits come from
- Who its key people are
This seems like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many people miss the signs and fail to shift their career goals in the direction of things that matter. Part of why this happens is because of habit and inertia; we’re so used to the routine of our jobs that we can’t pay attention to what happens outside of it, such as networking or meeting new people over lunch.
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Maximize Your Breaks
How many times have you spent a work break doing nothing but browsing Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit? Breaks should be about taking time away from work, but would you rather look at cat memes or do something that’s just engaging but will help you land a promotion?
What you can do is use work breaks to watch training videos, learn a new skill (e.g. a new computer language), or read industry updates—basically, anything to improve yourself.
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Volunteer for Projects Outside Your Responsibilities
There’s a good chance your company has projects that cut across all lines of business, job descriptions, and hierarchies. Look these projects up and find out what they are about, who’s involved, and how you can get in on the action. These kinds of projects are an opportunity to gain experience, new skills, expand your professional network, and unlock new interests that may lead to even more opportunities in the future.
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Address Your Weaknesses
Lastly, assess your current skills and level of experience to determine what needs improvement. Better yet, find someone with the position you’re aiming for and ask how they got to where they are now.
This may help you set new goals, such as:
- Getting a Master’s degree
- Getting certifications
- Picking up a new skill outside your job description
For more career tips and insights, be sure to follow this blog. If you need help looking for possible career and job opportunities, let the staffing services experts of Top Notch Personnel help you. Call our offices at 316-425-4501 to learn more about our recruitment solutions.
