With the economy just starting to claw its way out of the recent recession, a lot of business columns give advice meant to help readers find a new job or create a startup.
What if you like your current job, though, and
you're looking for ways to advance your career, find more job stability and
possibly work towards a promotion?
Make Your Voice
Heard
Sharing your point of view in an interested and
appropriate way is usually encouraged in any corporate setting. If you're in a
meeting and have something valuable to contribute to the discussion, then get
your point across in a direct and enthusiastic way.
Giving feedback or coming to a meeting with
fresh ideas shows that you're engaged with your job and willing to put in more
effort. Your interest and enthusiasm convey a passion that's encouraging for
your superiors to see.
And
if you know about some tool or software that is going to save the company loads
of time, bring it up! Let’s say your organization is using Shopify for
e-commerce and your boss wants quick reports of the data being collected
presented in a visually appealing format. You find this app that works directly with Shopify
to accomplish the task. Let somebody know about it! Efficient innovations in
the workplace are important, be the one producing them.
Take Networking
Seriously
Industry events and professional conferences are
a great way to pick up new skills and increase your exposure. As with meetings,
industry events and conferences are much more profitable if you've done your
homework.
Find out who will be at the conference beforehand,
brush up on their professional competencies and interests, and make a memorable
first impression.
In the internet age, though, it's important to
keep your online professional image current as well. Use Google+ and LinkedIn
intelligently by purging your profile of any questionable pictures and
highlighting your professional competencies and career ambitions.
Try to find a balance between getting your
competencies across and bragging. Ultimately, you want your superiors or future
employers to come away with an image of enthusiasm, passion, professionalism
and competence.
If you're still having difficulty getting
through to other professionals, consider taking a course in influence training. This kind of
course can help you prioritize and achieve win-win outcomes with your peers.
Improve Presentation
Skills
Creating an engaging presentation comes down to
creating content that's customized for your audience yet distilled down to a
few takeaway points. An effective presentation should also have time for
questions and discussion while culminating with a powerful call to action.
Make an objective evaluation of yourself as a
presenter before laying out the material. Consider all of your strengths and
weaknesses from previous presentations and work on being present to your
audience. Try to sidestep any awkward idiosyncrasies in your presentations while
maintaining engagement with your audience through eye contact and distilled,
thought-provoking points.
Many people get tripped up in presentations by
trying to make too many points, which ultimately dilutes the overall message
and call to action. Stick to only two or three points per PowerPoint slide, and
ensure that all of your slides stick to the key issues outlined at the top of
your presentation.
You want your audience to walk away from your
presentation feeling inspired and with a sense of purpose related to your call
to action.
Gain New
Competencies
Consider going back to school or taking a
seminar to keep up with current tech trends and shifts in business. You might
also want to consider credentialed online courses that offer you the chance to
bolster your resume without breaking the bank.
Every job has its own requirements and quirks,
but learning a new skill is a surefire way of putting your name at the top of
an employer's list. Consider, for example, the advantage you'd have if you
picked up a third language as a professional translator or learned a new
programming language as a computer designer.
Evaluate Your
Options
Evaluate where you want to wind up in five
years. Feedback from your superiors can also help you decide whether to
continue working for your current company or whether applying to a new company
would be in your professional best interest, according to the Harvard Business
Review.
https://hbr.org/2012/09/when-to-leave-your-company-to-advance-your-career
Thinking creatively and being realistic about
your career trajectory is essential. Brushing up on your networking skills and
gracefully taking feedback will help you wherever you end up.
