How To Improve Your Career Prospects (And Rock The Boat A Little)
If you feel you are stuck in a rut with your career, you’re not alone. About half the workforce report feeling disengaged with their jobs. That’s a substantial chunk. Many more would still prefer to be somewhere else.
You can do what some people do and abandon everything and try to set up your own thing. But there are numerous ways to improve your career prospects, and society is likely to look after you better than if you try to go your own way, which is the current trend.
But what can you do to improve your career prospects and rock the boat a little? Let’s take a look at your options.
Set Some Goals
The first step is to set some goals. Write down where you want to be in five years and what you want to achieve.
At this juncture, you have a choice. You can either play it safe and write down something achievable, or you can jot down your wildest dreams and see where reality takes you.
There are positives and negatives to either choice. If you decide to play it safe, you’ll set an achievable goal and get a sense of satisfaction when you get there. You’ll have moved forward in your life and be closer to where you want to be. However, you’ll miss out on the opportunity to see just how far you can push yourself.
The alternative is to set an outlandish goal. Challenging yourself can push you to achieve your maximum potential, but you may also feel disappointed in five years when you still don’t have what you want.
Network With People In Your Field
Another approach to get your career moving in the right direction is to begin networking with people in your field. Get chatting with individuals and use your expertise and social skills to demonstrate your worthiness to move up the corporate ladder.
If possible, try to position yourself at the center of your network. Be the person who connects others where their needs align. Become an expert matchmaker and someone everyone relies on to get things done. Operating in this way can be exceptionally powerful if you are struggling with other methods.
Increase Your Skills
You can also bolster your career prospects by improving your skills. Having an analytics degree on your CV increases the likelihood of getting into a company where the opportunities for career development are generally good. Having more skills in your mind enables you to take on more responsibility and generate more value in the roles you perform. Companies will take notice.
Make Your Work Experience Relevant
Another underrated strategy is to focus on relevant work experience, even if it is unpaid or something you do in your spare time. Companies want people who have specific knowledge of the approach to work they use.
For example, support you have a computer science degree and want a job at a top firm, like IBM. Every year, this company gets thousands of CVs from identical applicants looking for top-flight positions, so even if you have the skills, hiring managers are likely to pass over you.
The technique to really get a job is to learn the systems the companies use. There’s usually a significant difference between academic education and the tools companies use in the office.
If you can, talk to someone at your target firm and ask them what software or tools they use. Then, learn these and demonstrate knowledge on your CV and in your interview. Show hiring managers you can solve problems and start providing value from day one.
This approach is successful because it does two things that companies love. The first is that it shows you have a genuine enthusiasm to work for their specific firm instead of just applying scattergun for whatever companies will pay you. And secondly, it means that companies don’t need to spend six months training you up on their systems. You’re ready to waltz in on day one, like an experienced employee in another sector, and begin providing value immediately.
Seek Feedback
Another approach to boosting your career is to seek feedback from the people around you. Try to find out what your strengths and weaknesses are so you know where to focus and which areas require improvement.
We all have blind spots that get in the way of providing better services to customers. We don’t have a complete picture of ourselves or how we come across to colleagues.
Getting honest feedback from people is challenging, so be blunt with people. Try to find out what people say about you when you’re not there. It can be painful, but also enlightening and helpful if you want to start moving up in your career.
Develop Stronger Communication Skills
You can also try developing stronger communication skills. Being able to get your ideas and concepts across succinctly in a way people understand is exceptionally powerful.
Practice your writing skills and look for ways to improve how you explain yourself. Be incisive and don’t be afraid to use words that get your ideas across better, even if most people don’t use them often.
You can also practice speaking and presenting to others. Using the latest and most engaging techniques can create a positive impression among your colleagues and encourage them to take you more seriously and consider you a force to be reckoned with.
Remember, while you might have excellent ideas, the corporation as a whole can’t always see them. People form first impressions quickly, so they can be hard to undo.
Use public events to demonstrate your skills and what you can achieve. Don’t be afraid to take a step outside of your comfort zone and do things in new ways.
Believe In Yourself
Finally, you’ll want to believe in yourself. When it comes to career success, confidence is key. Trust your abilities to thrive in your chosen setting.
When you have confidence, people notice and they start considering you to be a person who could lead the company.
Bogdan Sandu, a seasoned designer with 15 years of diverse experience, has been designing websites since 2008.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
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