If you are interested in advancing within your career, it is important to be aware of small changes that could help you pounce on your next presented opportunity. By mastering skills such as communication, you can set yourself apart from other candidates. Learn how to tell a good story and present your skill sets in a unique way during a job interview or performance review in order to stand out.
Keep your resume up to date, even if you are not actively seeking a new job. Jot down a list of your accomplishments and keep it updated; you never know when you may be able to use these accomplishments as a tool towards advancement. Learn to be a crucial thinker as the ability to think on your feet is highly desirable in high end careers. Consider joining a professional association related to your industry or obtaining a mentor that you would like to learn. To learn all of the tips and tricks that can help you to advance in your career, review the information that has been provided within the sections below.
Keep Your Resume Up to Date.
Opportunities can arise when they are least expected. Therefore, your resume should remain up to date and polished, even if you are not currently activity searching a job, otherwise, you may find yourself trying to make last minute updates to your resume when it should already be ready to go. Your resume is one of the most important documents that you have to offer potential employers. It is not something that you should ignore for years or rush. What does your resume say about you? Are you proud of it? Does it detail your accomplishments and skills? Does it stand out? Your resume could be the difference between advancing into a higher career and being overlooked in favor of someone else. Employers review dozens of resumes when searching for an ideal candidate, therefore a resume is no place to slack off. If you are not much a writer or you have trouble making your resume really pop, consider a professional resume builder. While there is an upfront fee for this service, the result can be something fantastic. You will find it much easier to update a well formatted and beautifully polished resume than to create a work of art of your own.
Keep a Running List of Your Accomplishments.
As you advance through your career, it is important to keep a list of your accomplishments, both big and small. Even the smallest of victories should be recorded. While some of these accomplishments are likely included within your professional resume, it is recommended that you keep a backup file as well. Accomplishments can be stories of events, previous promotions, publications and degrees — they can also be nice letters from clients that compliment your service or an employee review. Make a copy of these items and save them for your record. Your accomplishments are tools that you can use to enhance your job interviews and performance reviews. Professional resumes can become more powerful and further demonstrate your capabilities when key accomplishments are included.
Join a Professional Association for Your Industry.
Professional associations is a powerful career tool that is often overlooked. The associations that are available to you will depend on your career choice, so it is important to review the associations available within your area. There are associations for a number of industries, including but not limited to:
- Accounting
- Animal care
- Astronomy
- Criminal justice
- Dental
- Design
- Government
- Healthcare
- Writing
There are hundreds of associations and many industries have more than one association that is recognized across the country. Attend meetings regularly as doing so offers a valuable opportunity to meet and mingle with top professionals within your desired field. Participate in any activities that may be offered in order to further your experience and explore new opportunities. Associations look great on your resume and they are helpful in broadening your network.
Find a Professional Mentor
A professional mentor can help you advance in your career by sharing their personal experiences and providing you with practical advice that can help you to succeed. A mentor can be someone who works in the field that you hope to gain footing in, but it can also be someone that displays character traits that you would like to develop within yourself. A mentor should be someone that you would like to learn from in one way or another. You may even be able to find a professional mentor through your association. A mentorship should be defined early on if both parties are on board. Will you meet regularly, such as once a month in order to discuss the obstacles in your career that you are dealing with or the goals that you are working on?
Become a Master at Communication
While technical knowledge and aptitude is important, one of the top skills that employers look for is communication. Your ability to communicate can be an incredible asset, should you take the time to learn how to speak and write clearly. If you have trouble speaking in public settings or if you freeze up during presentations or stutter during meetings, it is important that you take the time to overcome these hurdles in your communication style. Additionally, it is important that all written communication between you and a potential employer is as close to perfect as possible, including your resume, emails and profiles on job search websites.
Learn to Think on Your Feet
Learning to think on your feet, problem solve and avoid problems all together can help you stand out to potential employers. Critical thinking skills are valuable tools that employers keep an eye out for as they can lead to real leadership qualities. Learn to think ahead and devise potential outcomes to the strategies that you may have in mind. With a bit of work, these are viable skills that you can improve on.
Make Their Goals Your Goals
If your boss or a potential employer in a desirable industry is considering you for an advanced position, it is important that you do your research into the company in question. What are the company’s goals and visions? What direction are they going? It is important that you apply for jobs with companies that share the same mindsets that you have as it is important to share a common goal with your employer. You should want the company to succeed. The same can be said when you are on the job. If your supervisor has personal visions on how to get things done in the office , you should be able to see his or her point of view on this vision. Align your vision with your employer, and you will both come out as winners.
Be Someone Special
Is there a skill that you have that you can confidently say that you do better than everyone else? What makes you special as an employee? Did you overcome a major challenge to be where you are now? Your ability to tell a good story is key. Every employer has seen a long list of qualities and skills such as integrity, teamwork, dedication, perseverance — instead of reiterating the same old list, tell a story that illustrates the skills that you possess. This can help you to stand out among other applicants for a position and can really show off your aptitude for the business. Remember, you only get to make one first impression.
By Admin –
