How to move forward in your career
There are few things in life more depressing than the feeling that you’re stuck in a rut.
We all want to feel like we’re making progressing, whether that progress is in our personal or professional life.
If you feel like your career has stalled, then the good news is that it might take just a little bit of perseverance to get the ball rolling again. But exactly what form might this perseverance take? Let’s look a few different ways in which you might get your career moving.
Get networking
You never know when an opportunity will arise. When you meet someone who’ll be able to advance your career, you’ll want to be able to swiftly make a good impression.
This applies to social media networks like LinkedIn, which put professionals in contact with one another. But face-to-face contact is an even more powerful way to form those all-important contacts.
Have a stack of professional-looking business cards waiting in your wallet or purse to casually dispense whenever the opportunity arises – that way, you’ll put across that you’re worth taking seriously as well as providing contact details.
Be more vocal
If you have ideas, but you’re always shy about speaking up in meetings, then you’re not going to be noticed. While it might be daunting to put yourself out there in front of your peers, the rewards can justify the effort.
As well meetings, it’s worth considering how you speak directly to your boss – if you make clear that you’re interested in a given position, you’ll be that much more likely to be considered for it.
On a related note, it’s also important to ask for feedback. This will help you to fine-tune your approach to certain tasks, and demonstrate to your employer that you’re committed to improving.
On the other hand, you don’t want to overdo this, as it may give your employer reason to think that you don’t quite know what you’re doing.
Put in the hours
It’s important to find and maintain a healthy balance between work and play. If you’re burning the candle at both ends, then your productivity may suffer in the long-term.
That said, there’s no getting around the fact that if you want to get ahead, you’ll need to put in more effort than those around you, and that means putting extra hours in. Just be sure that you’re getting the maximum possible productivity out of those hours.
Make a plan
Just about every job interview will feature a question about what your plans are for the future. There’s a good reason for this: those who plan for the future tend to offer more.
So set out your long-term goals on paper, and think about the steps you might take along the way to turn those goals into a reality.
