People often discuss their career development and growth, looking forward to advancing their careers. However, they don’t realize that these are two different aspects. Do you also believe that both are similar? If yes, then you’re wrong! Continue reading this article as it will clear your thoughts regarding this, and by the end of this, you’ll know even having one of them can help them excel at work.
What Is Career Growth?
Career growth is the process of accelerating up the corporate ladder. It is the activity of progressing from your existing job to a position of greater status, which is most frequently done by promotion. Besides promotion, your career development strategy might also include transferring from your present company to a higher-level position inside a new business.
In the context of professional development, another phrase that is frequently used is “career lattice”. This phrase serves to be a contrast to the conventional organizational structure. Since it implies that growth is not just about moving up but also about taking adjacent steps. For instance, a person who is a sales executive might get promoted to become a marketing and sales executive instead of directly getting promoted to the position of marketing and sales lead.
What Is Career Development?
Career advancement is a continuous process integrating self-awareness and enhancement. As you progress professionally, you enhance your knowledge, technical skills, and connections which will help you advance in your profession.
For instance, at the initial level of your career, you won’t have any experience in a particular work area. However, once you start working, you’ll gradually get to know about the job and the dealings. Then, as you continue, you build up your professional experience and go the additional mile to acquire leadership qualities that will enable you to set up for future development.
To make this stance more clear, let’s take an example of an employee who has just entered the field of marketing. At the initial stage, he is only confined to focus on written content only. However, over time, he might learn to develop videos and visuals. In this way, he is boosting his skill set as well as broadening his horizons.
Difference Between Career Development and Career Growth
These two terms can be differentiated in the following ways:
- Career growth is a result of strategy, while development is a result of change. Hence, to move up the professional ladder, you’ll require to map out and plan your steps. In addition, you must continuously improve yourself to become a better and successful employee.
- Career growth is quantifiable since it comes with a new title and higher compensation. However, career development does not always have a quantitative consequence since it is much more concerned with the quality of work. The process of development entails the recognition of flaws and strengths. It’s about working to make changes and constantly striving for betterment.
- Career growth is accomplished within the long term, while career development is continuous and gradually proceeds. You might not achieve your desired professional position or development goal for several years. However, you will continue to improve, progressing as you gain experience.
Tips for Career Development and Growth
To achieve your professional objectives, you can consider the following tips:
1. Define your goals and keep them simple
It’s vital to have goals in mind, but it’s also necessary to be flexible. Have a defined career path that includes significant and reachable milestones. When you have a clear path to follow, you will feel more in control and have more direction on how to proceed.
Set clear goals for yourself and create a plan to achieve them.
2. Search for Solutions
Find innovative, practical answers to the challenges you face at work. Doing this will push you to develop and improve your abilities. In addition, you may strengthen your innovation muscle by making it a mission to continually seek out new ideas that work better to tackle problems and difficulties in your company’s processes.
Take initiative and be proactive in seeking out new opportunities.
3. Run after skills, not positions
You must focus on developing your technical skills rather than just aiming to achieve the title to increase retention and work satisfaction. Remember that as you keep adding talents to your CV, you will eventually progress and move up the career ladder without even asking for it.
4. Set timelines
One of the best career planning strategies is to stick to a clear timeline to retain your goals on track. This will assist you in getting where you want to go at a faster pace. In addition, establishing clear and approachable milestones along the road helps you break down your goals into manageable bits, providing you more focus and motivation.
Likewise, while establishing a business strategy, ensure that you have made a clear timeline showcasing the goals that the company needs to achieve. For that, utilizing the timeline slides in your presentation can help you present impactfully and innovatively.
Stay organized and manage time effectively.
5. Communicate with your fellow employees
Engaging with your employees is a certain method to improve your abilities and establish yourself as an expert. Doing this will keep you updated with the market trends. You’ll get inspiration that will open your mind to new innovative ideas and give you a chance to show off your abilities to others who genuinely believe in you.
Be a team player and work well with colleagues.
6. Never stop learning
You must seek out learning opportunities. Talk to your manager about how important it is for you to continue to develop your talents and how much value you will provide to the firm. However, if you successfully persuade him, then he might support you by providing the retargets as per the company’s requirements. With a supporting hand, you can continue your education by taking online classes or weekend programs that demand less time and effort.
Be aware of industry trends and developments and adapt accordingly.
7. Healthy criticism is essential
Asking for feedback may help you in developing your career. This way, you’ll receive an unbiased view of your talents, and you’ll gain vital direction for growth if the critique is helpful. Therefore, request regular performance evaluations that cover both your overall growth and specific projects and assignments. Once you’ve identified your weaknesses, you’ll be able to take the required actions to improve or correct them.