Spring is a time of growth, so why not think about how you can grow your career? No matter how happy you are in your current job, chances are there’s a lot more you could be doing to create future success for yourself.
If you’re ambitious, what can you do to develop new skills in our quickly changing business environment?
1. Pay attention to your environment. If you want to develop professionally, you may have to create your own opportunities. Seek to understand how your company works, how it makes a profit and who the true key people are. Then try to figure out how you can shift your own role so that you’re working on what really matters. This may require networking, walking the halls, going to lunch—put the time in to create a payoff for yourself.
2. Find that time. Putting the time in will require adjusting your schedule a little. Most of us feel pressured by lack of time at work, but ask yourself if you’re focusing on the right things. If you prioritize your time spent on important tasks, you’ll find the time to work toward more important responsibilities.
3. Volunteer for a project on a different team, possibly outside your main area. Getting experience across business lines is just as important as deepening your skill base within your one area. You’ll meet new people, learn new skills, gain a different perspective and maybe develop ideas about future moves.
4. Become a strategist. Figure out what problems the company should be tackling and try to come up with solutions. Or pay attention to what is going on in your industry, keeping up with events and trends, and see whether you can apply them to your company.
5. Expand your network. Go to professional gatherings and meet with people from different companies. If there aren’t any good opportunities for networking in your area or in your field, create one.
6. Learn to delegate. Watch how the managers in your company do it. The ones who are successful are the ones who know how to prioritize their time by passing on certain duties to other people.
The first step in advancing your career is to make sure you’re doing the best that you can do at your current job. But the next step is to ask, “What else can I do?” If your current job doesn’t offer the opportunities to implement these strategies, it may be time to call Synerfac. We’ll work with you to find the position and the company where you can advance!