5 Things You Can Do To Advance Your Career

Having a successful career is one of the most important life aspects of contemporary men and women. Success is quite a relative concept and its definition highly depends on each individual and their needs, desires and ambitions. For somebody, a successful career means being high on the corporate ladder, taking up a managerial role, while for others it means having time for their family as well, besides career. Regardless of what it stands for, in order to achieve any kind of success and advance in our career to the desired position, we should make a conscious and purposeful effort and invest our time and will in developing and improving certain skills. If you’re not sure where to start and how to do it, keep reading to learn more about some useful tips to advance your career.

1.   Define success for yourself

As we already briefly mentioned, the concept of success is relative and it means distinct things for various people. It’s okay to have your own, personal definition of success as it looks different to diverse people. What’s important is to consider carefully the things that mean success to you. You can start by thinking about where you are in your career now and where you would like to be, in let’s say, five or ten years. Also, you should be thinking about what you want to achieve now and what in the future, as they might not be the same thing. Think both short-term and long-term. Once you have your definition of success all figured out, it’s time for taking action.

2.   Make a plan and set goals

With a clear concept of what success means for you and where you want to be in five or ten years, you’re ready for the next step which is making a realistic plan and setting some achievable goals. These goals should be clearly set on a timeline. Having a timeline helps you in achieving your goals and a timeline without goals is just a simple timetable. Combining them is what brings success. The goals you set for yourself give you something to strive for and the timeline helps you in tracking them. It’s a good idea to set long-term goals, which you can break into smaller, short-term goals. Achieving short-term goals is what is going to give you motivation and the will to keep up with your plan.

3.   Develop your skills by taking courses

Having a plan and specific goals in mind makes it possible for you to start developing and improving your skills by taking specific measures to achieve them, such as taking courses. There’s a myriad of courses available for taking, but you should focus on those necessary for your set goals and the definition of success. Today, technological advancements have made it possible for us to take many of these courses online, from the comfort of our own homes. This makes it so much easier to fit in with our work and home obligations. However, we should be very careful when choosing a course, as not all of them are plausible. You should aim for rto learning resources that give you access to fully editable digital learning resources as well as certificates.

4.   Ask for feedback

Now that you’ve done some practical things such as taking a course and acquiring a specific skill, you can start using that skill in your everyday work environment. In this stage, it would be good to have some feedback from some senior colleagues or managers. Feedback from peers can provide you with a whole new perspective. In that way, you’ll be able to see whether you’ve mastered it and whether you’re able to apply it correctly. Also, if you’re in a managerial role, you could ask for feedback from your employees. Feedback can be seen as a way of tracking progress and making sure that you’re on the right way. If you have formal reviews only twice a year, perhaps you could schedule more in between.

5.   Keep your motivation at high levels

In order to be able to advance in a career, it’s necessary to keep the motivation at high levels. However, this is not always easy to do. For example, to advance in your career by taking courses online, you need to have certain skills, such as independence, responsibility, persistence and above all, motivation. You need to be self-motivated and determined to endure and succeed. When you’re experiencing a lack of motivation and will to keep on going, you should remind yourself of the goals you’re trying to achieve – it is quite helpful.

Balancing work, family, home obligations and learning is certainly not easy – it requires strong will, high motivation and determination. But once you make a clear plan and set realistic short-term and long-term goals, it becomes something achievable and rewarding.

 Jack Kewell is writer, science editor, naturalist, entrepreneur. He is focused on writing and illustrating books. Also, he is a regular contributor on mountaintechblog