4 SIMPLE WAYS TO GROW YOUR CAREER AT ANY STAGE

It’s probably safe to say that the majority of people in the employment marketplace want to grow their career as much as they can as quickly as they can.
​
However, as is often the case, obstacles arise that can prevent an accelerated climb up the career ladder.  Not to worry, though: there are always things that you can do to keep moving forward.

Sometimes, what’s important is not how quickly you’re moving, but the fact that you’re continuing to make progress and move toward your goals.  The good news is that there are certain things that you can do nearly all of the time that will contribute to this forward motion.

Below are four simple ways to grow your career at any stage:
#1—Engage in training opportunities.
This means any and all opportunities, both the ones offered by your employer and also ones that you seek out on your own.  Continuous training leads directly to personal and professional growth, and that growth leads directly to career growth.  This is definitely one area in which you should strive to be proactive as opposed to reactive or passive.
#2—Accumulate experience.
Once again, more is better.  The more work and professional experiences you’re able to gain, the greater your base of knowledge will be and the wider your frame of reference will be.  The great part about this is that experience doesn’t cost anything.  All it costs is your time, and if you’re willing to make that investment, your career will be the better for it in the long run.
#3—Draw from the knowledge of others.
This can take many different forms, from simply asking questions at work to engaging in a formal mentoring relationship.  No matter how much knowledge you have, somebody has more, and if you can somehow assimilate that knowledge, the farther ahead you’ll be.  Don’t restrict yourself to only people who work in your field, either.  Everybody has something to offer, in one way or another.
#4—Focus on what’s important.
What’s all of this leading to?  In other words, what’s truly important—to both you and also to companies who may want to employ your services?  The answer is your skills, those things that you are capable of doing to help an employer become more profitable.  The first three items in this list all lead to the building of skills.  That’s the “end game,” and that’s what’s important.

What have you done in these four areas, and what are you doing right now?  Could more be done and improvements be made?

The growth of your career could be at stake.