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*This article first appeared on The Guardian Nigeria.
Women have for a long time had multi-faceted roles to play in the society. This has also affected their role in the work environment. Most women are torn between being a career woman or homemaker which might seem difficult.
This to an extent affects many women who then bring in emotions into their work life and go through the challenge of growing in their choice of career.
Many find it difficult to pursue their career goals and end up feeling frustrated at work or hating their tasks. The better thing to do as a woman in the workplace is to play to your strengths at work. How can you discover your strength and play to it?
It’s your responsibility to find what you are interested in
You won’t get what you want if you aren’t sure of what your focus is. If you are after career growth, you should be willing to discover what you enjoy doing the most at your job.
The reality is that many people aren’t happy at their jobs, but this doesn’t mean that they don’t enjoy doing certain mini tasks in their daily job, you can make a career out of doing those little things you enjoy and find ways to grow within or outside your organization.
Take Action
It’s not enough to know that you want something without going for it. Your goals won’t materialize if you don’t make strategic moves towards achieving it.
This means that you should find out what is needed to grow your career. Do decision makers have a particular training? Maybe you should prepare to get such training.
Is there a pattern in how your mentors have gotten to where they are? It’s time for you to strategize your own career growth pattern.
Growth Plan
You need to speak with your boss and discuss your career growth plan. It’s not enough to wait for your boss to give you a raise or a promotion. You should be willing to speak with him/ her about it because it’s your responsibility. It’s ideal to do this during a performance review.
Let him/ her know that you aim to get certain technical/ soft skills and that you have a target. Your boss will be willing to help you out as much as they can because that is their duty.
Invest in yourself
If you want career growth, then you should be willing to invest in yourself. Read books that will help you improve on your strengths. If you’ve discovered certain areas of your job that you enjoy, then work towards improving those areas.
Some employers invest in their staff professional development, so be sure to ask for such opportunities when you can.
Always think long-term
What your goals were two years ago may not be what it will be in another two years. You should always be thinking about your growth at every point in time.
You should keep planning, re-evaluating and tweaking your career goals as much as you can to avoid remaining stagnant.
If you are always longing for the best opportunity to do something, now is the time to go for it instead of daydreaming. It will be better for you to nurture these goals now.
Most workers spend many hours at work, it’s only appropriate that you spend those hours doing something you enjoy otherwise it would negate the whole purpose of wanting to have a career.
So it’s important that you recognize your strengths and play to it. Don’t forget to share this article with others and subscribe to the blog to receive exclusive updates right in your inbox. No spams, I promise.
