7 Ways To Move Forward In Your Career

If you want to progress your career, then there are several things that you can do. Each of them requires time, dedication and patience. However, if you work at it then you will be able to move forward in your career.

You might want to progress for several reasons and that is totally okay. It could be the culture you want to change. It could be that you want more responsibilities or a change of responsibilities. It might be for any reason, but if this is your present situation, here are several ways that you can move forward in your career.

Have Goals

One of the most important things that you can do when you are trying to move forward in your career, is to set yourself goals. If you do not know which direction you want to head in, then it is going to be difficult for you to progress.

You need to be working towards something solid, rather than something vague. This might meant that you set yourself the goal of getting that promotion you have been looking at, or that job that you really want.

You also need to set yourself a deadline. Setting yourself a timescale will help keep you motivated to work towards your goal. Without a deadline, then you can take as long as you like which does not help you.

Once you have your major goals, you want to work out smaller goals that you can use to reach your final destination. These will help you move towards your promotion or dream job. This might include the some of the other points on this list. However, it is important that you know where you are going and what steps you need to take in order to get there.

Networking

It is often said that it isn’t what you know it is who you know. This highlights just how important networking is. Networking takes place whenever you meet somebody in a professional setting. You can certainly attend networking events, but they are not the only place where you will be networking.

Every day that you go to work you should be thinking about networking and how you can make the most of your network. If you know that your boss is more likely to hire somebody that they like, then you can work to get to know them and let them get to know you.

This might be through socializing with them outside of work or talking to them during work. You want to make sure that you are constantly growing and managing your network and that you take advantage of it when the time is right. If you know somebody who works in a company that you want to work in, then you can have them see if there are any openings at the moment or any coming soon.

They might also be able to help you with interview or application advice as they will likely know the kind of candidate that their company is looking for. Make sure that you never underestimate the power of networking.

Training

A great way to progress your career is through training. You can gain valuable skills and qualifications through taking additional training. This might be through taking online courses via places like Udemy, or it might be through getting an accreditation from an organizational body such as getting your CPR certification.

Whatever you choose to do, continually updating and improving yourself is good. It shows your employers and prospective employers that you care about your career, and it helps you perform better at your job.

There are also certain jobs and roles that are exclusively available to people who have specific qualifications. This means that in order to reach your eventual goal you might need to gain a specific qualification.

You need to make sure that you can balance additional learning with your job and that you do not overwhelm yourself. If you start to feel like this might be the case, then there is no shame in it. You might need to take annual leave or request learning leave from work to get back on top of things.

Often your employer will see that you have the potential go a long way and might even pay for you to gain certain qualifications or to attend specific training events.

Take On More Responsibilities

A great way to expand your skills without taking on additional learning is through taking on more responsibilities. You might not earn any more money, but you will certainly improve yourself. You will also show your employers and any future employers that you care about your industry and career.

Additional responsibilities can be a range of things from taking the role of fire warden and ensuring people leave the building safely in the event of a fire, or mentoring new employees. Both show that you care about the company and want to improve yourself. You should speak to your manager about which additional responsibilities there are available to take on.

They will likely be impressed by you for being proactive and they will not forget this when it comes to looking at who to promote and give additional opportunities to.

Stay Up To Date With Your Industry

Staying up to date with your industry will likely mean different things depending on which industry you work in. You might need to keep up to date with recent global events or you might need to read the latest medical journals.

Either way, the more information that you can absorb around what is happening in the industry that you work in, the better. This works for you on two fronts. Firstly, more knowledge will allow you to do a better job at work. You might know about something changing and be able to give better advice to a client or it might let you know exactly how to use a new piece of software.

Secondly, it shows your employers just how serious you are about your career and the industry that you work in. They see that you care enough to spend time outside of working learning and reading about what is happening in your industry. This means that when it comes time for promotions, your name will be higher on the list. It can also be of a great benefit when applying for new jobs or in job interviews because you will have extra knowledge at your disposal.

Keep Your Resume Updated

You should update your resume frequently. This way, whenever you do something good or achieve something in your work or career, then you can add it to your resume and not forget about it. You might be doing a fantastic job and have achieved so much, but unless you tell people about it and can show it on your resume, then it doesn’t mean much when you are trying to push your career forward.

It will make you feel good if you put down your latest achievements onto your resume. You should also update your LinkedIn often in the same way as well. As you update your resume, you will see how much progress you have made since last time. This will help to motivate you to keep going and give you a clear view of where you are in your career and how close you are to some of your goals.

Look Out For New Opportunities

A big part of moving forward in your career is always being on the lookout for new opportunities. It can be hard to leave a company that you have been with for years, but if they can’t offer you an opportunity to progress your career and somewhere else can, then you need to move on.

You don’t need to look every day unless you want to move on quickly, but being aware and not passing up good opportunities will definitely help you move forward in your career.

Enjoyed this article? If you did, then leave a comment sharing other ways you think one can move forward with career. Don’t forget to share this article with friends and family. Subscribe to the blog to receive exclusive updates.

*This is a collaborative post.