Your boss is not responsible for your career. You are. They are responsible for your outcome. So, waiting until the annual review time to determine your goals and achievements is not the best idea.
Here are 10 things you can do today to improve your career…
What can you do to improve your career?
- Set small goals
- Stretch yourself
- Get feedback
- Adjust your work
- Be interested in your field
- Read on
- Network
- Get a tutor
- Get protection
- Listen
How can you advance your career faster?
If you want to develop your career faster, you have to “work it every day”. This means that you should work on your career a little bit every day. Make career growth and development a daily habit and you’ll advance your career faster than ever before.
Start developing your career today by doing the following…
1. Set small goals regularly
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When it comes to annual reviews, there is so much focus on goals for the year. A year is a long time, really too long to set tangible, achievable goals. Therefore, it makes much more sense to set smaller goals throughout the year.
Think about your daily work. What could you do to enhance that work? Are there skills you can learn to help you progress? Think about this for a bit, then make a list of goals that address these points. And then when you set goals, give yourself a deadline to learn these things.
When you meet the deadline, evaluate yourself. Seriously. Works. Have you done it? Did you do well? Then ask someone else how they would rate you on these new skills. Then rinse and repeat.
2. Stretch yourself
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The smartest of us say that success is outside of our comfort zone. So, without a doubt, you need to stretch beyond your area of expertise.
Do something that scares you. Don’t like public speaking? Start signing up for presentations at work or networking events. Are you intimidated by putting the minds of your industry out there? Ask someone to guest post.
Whatever gives you the opportunity, sign up today.
3. Get feedback
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While self-assessment is important, so is getting feedback. And it’s important to get constant feedback.
For example, at the end of every meeting I lead, I ask the following questions:
- “What has really worked for you?”
- “What would make it better if?”
You can learn a lot from these two questions. A lot can be learned about your work output and performance from these two questions. Give it a try and see what you learn.
4. Choose your job
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Can you imagine how amazing you accomplished this year? Probably not, because you’re not curating that great work anywhere to review it.
There are countless places for you to store this work in the cloud. When you have a great portfolio of work that you’ve built and are proud of, it’s the same as writing your resume as you go.
It’s also easy to share with your manager during a review. You’ll be better prepared to disappoint them when you have visual proof of your awesomeness yourself.
5. Be curious about your industry
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Spend time each week as a student of your industry or company. Research your industry and company as if you’d be tested on them. Ask questions of people in your area. Ask your boss and co-workers. Ask your company’s customers how they feel.
Develop thoughtful insights about the industry and your company. And don’t be shy about sharing those insights.
6. Read
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Spend time reading blogs big and small. Spend time reading books about your profession. Read business books that stretch your thinking.
At the end of the day. read!
Reading new things can start a conversation when you’re online And you can also build your own career with new ways of doing things and different work-life hacks to make life run a little more smoothly.
7. Network brilliant
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Never, never, never send a standard LinkedIn invite. Ever? We cannot stress this enough. Personalize the message and tell the recipient what you have in common and how you would like to help them. If you don’t know someone, ask someone in your network for an introduction.
A shiny web is about making a positive impression. And it’s not just LinkedIn. Attend industry events and local events and meet as many people as you can. This will also help you get interested in your field.
8. Get a mentor
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Mentors are great resources for all of these elements. Need feedback? Ask your tutor. Need to jump out of industry or company insights. Looking for ways to stretch? Mentor!
9. Get a sponsor
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Conversely, a good defense can also be a huge resource for learning. A sheltered person can destroy some of your paradigms. They can also expose you to new thinking and introduce you to new ways of solving problems and looking at things.
10. ABL (Always Be A Listener)
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Even if you’re really happy in your current role, it never hurts to hear about other opportunities and network with new people in the industry. In fact, that’s what you need to do if you want to grow and improve your career.
Always be open to new opportunities and new connections with people. Plus, it feels really good to be noticed.
Improve your career today by following the above tips. Remember: If you want to win, you have to work at it every day.
Looking for more ways to improve your career?
Become a member and learn how to unlock your true potential to get what you want from work.
This article was originally published on an earlier date.
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