Most people strive to have a successful career. In fact, many people work their entire lives to improve their careers and achieve their career goals. This isn’t always easy to do, especially with outside factors like the current employment market being in play. However, there are a few things that you can do to remain proactive and improve your career. Here are six great things to consider when trying to improve your career.
1. Spend Time Networking
A lot of modern success is from networking. Networking allows you to meet new people in your field, and form connections that may help advance your career further. While there are plenty of ways to do this in person, there are even more ways to do it online.
Utilize sites and forums that may help you meet others in your career field. There are plenty of social media websites that can help you connect with others in your business field. By doing so, you’ll be meeting others who can help you climb the career ladder.
2. Ask Your Boss
Depending on the type of relationship you have with your boss, asking them for career advice may be worthwhile. Ask your boss to have a conversation and get their advice on how to climb higher in your company or field. Listen to how they’ve done it, and see if they know anyone who may be able to help you as well. Sometimes talking to a higher-up is a great way to become one.
3. Educate Yourself
Education is an important aspect of being successful for many people. Take some time to learn more about your field or even another. Compiling extra skills and education may help you land better positions and further your career.
For example, if you’re career is in tech and coding, you may want to consider using an online ide. Codio offers a great web-based tool to help develop your coding skills which can potentially further your career. It provides just about everything you’d need, all in one easy-to-use location. Tools like this allow you to learn more and advance your career without the traditional schooling format.
Another way to advance your career and increase your chances of success and promotion is by obtaining certifications in your field. Certifications are a great way to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge to potential employers and clients. For instance, if you’re in the finance industry, you may want to consider obtaining certifications such as the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) to showcase your skills and qualifications. These certifications enhance your credibility and provide you with a competitive edge in the job market. Check Career Employer‘s completely free Series 7 practice exams that can help you identify areas where you may need to improve and allow you to gauge your readiness for certification exams or other professional assessments.
4. Make A Plan
One of the best ways to proactively take control of your career is by planning out your career trajectory and setting clearly defined goals to meet. By doing so, you’ll be giving yourself a clear guideline of what you should do and what you need to do to achieve your goals and advance your career.
If you need help forming a plan, ask someone you may know who is further along in the same career field as you, or at least one that is somewhat similar. Making a plan and sticking to it is a great way to realize your goals and stick to them. It also helps make visualizing your progress much easier to do.
5. Get A Mentor
Another great thing that you can do to proactively take control of your career is to find a mentor and meet/discuss with them regularly. This helps by not only providing a support system but also allowing you to be guided to the next step in your career advancement more easily. This is especially true if your mentor is in the same career field as you are.
6. Change Your Thinking
All too often people struggle to advance their career because their thought process is off. Change your thinking to become more career-driven, not just job-driven. While getting a good job is preferred and important, you’ll want to think about advancing your career as a whole, not just landing the best job.
Change your frame of thought from job-based to career-based. Work on yourself in ways that would also benefit your career, not just your current job. This is useful even if you like your current job. Once you change the way you think, you’ll be able to improve yourself to fit your career, in turn improving your career along the way.
Closing Thoughts
There are many different proactive things that you can do to try and improve your career. From changing the way you think to getting a mentor and making a plan. Educating yourself further is also a fantastic way to improve your career. The more you know, the better you’ll be, and the further your career will go.
