Finding a job may be easy, but landing a real career is a different story. Go beyond punching the clock and getting through the day and elevate your work experience by seeking to truly excel at your profession. Here are a few versatile tips that will help you succeed on any career path.
Get to Know the Company
If you want to excel in your current company, it’s vital that you get to know the business in-depth. Can you quote the company’s vision and mission statement? Are you up-to-date on all the latest press releases? Be careful not to get so laser-focused on the minutia in front of you that you forget to step back and assess the bigger picture.
You can get by in your career by diligently completing your daily tasks, but you’ll need to broaden the scope of your vision if you want to truly excel. Consider how your department’s current objectives align with the company’s vision. Do you see ways that you or your team can adjust your activities to enhance the business’s mission? Identifying opportunities for growth and development will help you stand apart.
Set a Meeting With Management
Sit down with your manager and let them know that you’re looking for opportunities to further your career. Seek honest feedback on how you can improve in your current role. Understanding things like what your boss expects from your position, how they measure performance, and how they define excellence will give you essential benchmarks for improving your performance.
Get to know your management team so you can accommodate their style, whether that’s by providing regular, detailed reports or sticking to a broader overview of your monthly accomplishments. Forming a good relationship with your boss can create a wealth of opportunities.
Work With a Mentor
One study found that individuals who worked with a mentor were 20% more likely to get a raise than those who didn’t participate in mentoring. Working with a mentor in the workplace can help you hone your skill set and gain valuable insights on how to chart your future career path. A good mentor will identify your strengths and weaknesses so you can emphasize those things you’re good at and shore up some skills in areas that aren’t as strong. Your mentor may also illuminate career opportunities that you’ve never considered before.
Seek mentorship from a supportive professional who’s further on their career path and possesses admirable characteristics that you’d like to emulate. If your workplace already has a mentorship program, don’t pass up on the opportunity to participate. If it doesn’t, consider speaking with your boss about implementing one.
Scour the Internet for Opportunities
If your current job isn’t quite positioned to get you to the pinnacle of your career, it’s worth keeping your door open for other opportunities. You can automate your efforts easily with a resource like CareerBuilder. What is CareerBuilder used for? Best known as a job search platform, CareerBuilder can deliver personalized email alerts for positions that meet your criteria if you’re considering new job opportunities. It can also keep your resume front and center for potential employers that are looking for someone just like you.
Strengthen Your Knowledge Base
If you want to excel in your career, it’s important that you never stop learning. This could mean taking extra college courses, pursuing advanced certification in your field, or simply hitting the library. Identify a few key skills or abilities that will help you perform your job better. This could be anything from Oracle DBA certification for a database administrator to stronger public speaking skills for an HR coordinator.
Whether you learn best from a book, a library seminar, a college class, or hands-on experience with a volunteer organization, there are numerous ways that you can increase your knowledge base and expand your horizons.
Become a Conference-Goer
Attending industry conferences offers a wealth of benefits. You can network, learn new skills, try the latest tools, and engage in exciting debates. If you want to become an expert in the latest developments and most important happenings in your industry, conferences are the place to go. Pinpoint a few great conferences that are relevant to your business and speak with your manager about attending. Your company may even cover the costs of this enriching opportunity.
Use these suggestions to elevate your work experience from a mere job to a satisfying career. Invest your effort and hours in truly excelling and you can enjoy a new sense of purpose and satisfaction from your career.
