Strengthen your career, strengthen your future. As new talents enters the workforce, the competition gets tougher. New skills, initiative, strong network, certifications are not just buzz words they are the core to your career success in the coming years.
The more better we are equipped today the more stable the future would be. Here are 7 ways you can work on to strengthen your career in the coming year:
Learn new skills
The first step in progressing is improving yourself. The best way you can do that is by learning new skills. With new technology, skills are evolving fast, the skills gap that you hear now and then is real and present. Keep abreast of new developments in your field of interest and ask you peers and mentors about courses or certifications that might get you up to speed and stay competitive. You should consider enrolling on a course so that you can learn new things. There are many evening classes, and even online courses, that can help you to improve your skill set. If you take the time to learn and gain new skills, you will have better career prospects.
Become more independent
If you are reliant on other people, you will struggle when it comes to learning new skills. You need to ensure that you are the type of person who employers want in their company. If you need others to tell you what to do when you are at work, it means that you are not independent. For an employer, that means that they need to invest a lot of time in training you. Independent people are valuable to businesses, because they can help companies to progress. The two most important steps to being self-reliant are:
- Having the right skills to do your job well
- Time management skills
Research new job roles
The job market is an ever-changing entity. There is no such thing as set job positions anymore. These days, there are new jobs appearing all the time. With the current advancements in technology, there are always new posts on the market. You should make sure that you take the time to research possible roles online. See what positions you could apply for with your current skill set and decide whether they would suit you.
Doing what you always do, most often will give you the same result what you always had. It pays to take a few risks and be adventurous or to explore more. If you feel that in the coming months or years you might not be satisfied with where you are, it is time to look out for better positions and responsibilities.
Where are you currently looking for roles? If you can’t find the right job near you, it might be time to start looking elsewhere for opportunities. These days, you can emigrate to almost anywhere for your career. You can work international and find jobs abroad in your chosen field. The market in your country might be unstable, but some countries have a strong economy, and so have loads of job roles. If you are willing to do whatever it takes to progress in your career, you should start looking at overseas roles right now.
Remove stress from your life
If finding a new job is stressing you out, you will find it hard to concentrate. When people are under a lot of stress, small tasks seem difficult. For example, if you spend all your time worrying about whether you will find a job, you will not have time to start applying for roles. Worse still, you could do a poor job of applying for careers. When you try to rush job applications, they will be bad quality, and you will get nowhere. Stress makes your life harder than it should be. Learn how to deal with stress before you do anything.
The three most important points to de-stress due to work related issues:
- Continuous work does not mean working better, it is important to know when to switch off and when to focus hard
- Delegation helps. You’ll get more done and well in time before the deadlines creep up.
- Your physical and mental wellbeing are interconnected. The more you consider both in de-stressing the better it works. Work out, eat well, sleep and keeping a routine helps both body and mind.
Improve your outlook
Have you ever noticed that positive people get more in life than people who moan? If you have a positive outlook on life, you are likely to achieve more than you otherwise would. People who see things in a positive manner are more likely to chase their dreams and try new things. Sometimes, they fail. Other times, going for what they want pays off. If you are a negative person, you make your life harder than it should be. Use some psychological techniques to change your perspective on life. When you think negative things all the time, it is hard to get out of the habit. If you carry on being a negative person, though, you will never get what you want.
Is it you or is it them or is it just how you see what you see. You might not hate your job as much as you do if you pause to look at a different angle. Or in other circumstances don’t be put off by a couple of failures at work, we develop more by experimenting and nothing falls in place the first time… we most often. Be positive, stay positive.
Visualize your dream job
If you always dream of having an ideal job, but never do anything about it, you will never progress. Sometimes, people moan about their careers, yet they fail to work to improve them. If you are not a proactive person, you might struggle to find ways to move forward in your job search. You need to motivate yourself to take action in finding a new job. The worst thing you can do is give up. Instead, focus on what you want in life and go get it.
If you have no idea what you want to do with your life, you will find it super hard to improve your career. If you lack direction, you may not know where to start when it comes to career progression. You should take some time to think about what you want and how you can get it. If you are struggling to think about roles you might enjoy, you should browse some job forums for inspiration.
Improve your resume
Your resume should summarize everything you are about and make employers want you. If your resume is bland and boring, people will never want to hire you. Make sure that your resume is 100% up to date and that it has all the information on it that an employer might need. People find writing resumes difficult. If you can’t think of things to say about yourself, you should start by making a list. Write down all the things that you think are great about yourself. Don’t be shy – just do it. When you have a comprehensive list of your skills, you can use it to create a fantastic resume.
Your resume is not a piece of paper anymore, it is your online presence, your portfolio or your network.