5 Brilliant Ways to Improve Your Career Development

If you want to achieve maximum success and happiness in your work, you have to take extra steps to improve your career management. 

As an employee, you are likely to spend more than 40 hours a week at work. You may have also noticed that it’s not enough to render long hours to call yourself successful. Rather, how you spend those long hours is what will carve the future you want for yourself.  Choose to use those hours wisely by improving your career development and seeking opportunities.

Seeking Opportunities

There are a lot of employees who remain complacent in their job position. Instead of thinking past their current job or the next promotion they’d like to have, they feel contented and do not aim to improve. However, this should not be the mindset of an employee, rather, they need to broaden their short-term thinking and continue to grow skills and experience.

The constant need to seek opportunities is one of the best ways to level up your career management. If you want to invest in your career development and progress, there are simple ways you can do:

• Learn and observe other employees in your company. In this way, you can widen your experience in different job positions which can help you increase your skills and value.
• Have you ever heard of the term lateral move? Basically, it’s moving to another role on the same level and similar pay as your current position. While you don’t necessarily have to switch positions, you can just explore other positions to broaden and deepen your experience. For example, you can ask for tasks from your colleagues, so you can learn what type of tasks they do. By doing this, you will learn to handle multiple jobs which can add variety to your usual tasks and knowledge.
• Always strive to learn something new. You can attend personal or online classes to increase your knowledge. While there is a constant surge of new strategies and technologies relevant to your career, you have to make sure you stay in the know. In this way, you can always stay up to date on your job and industry.
• Read books. Hold book clubs at work, so you can share knowledge, concepts, and terminologies with your coworkers.
• Aim to seek a mentor from every department that you would like to explore. One of the best ways to gain knowledge and introduce yourself to opportunities is leaning on someone else’s experience.

Related course: Career Advice from Some of the Biggest Names in Business

5 Brilliant Ways to Improve Your Career Development

According to Dr. Edwin Trevor-Roberts, career development helps employees sustain the management of their careers while building a future-proof and adaptable approach. Moreover, it links drive and motivation to the organization’s talent management strategy. A top-notch company always strive to have talented employees with career development strategy.

So what are other things you must do to improve your career development? 

1. Identify your current position

The first step in a career development plan is to identify your current position in your career. This is the perfect time to reflect on your current skills and strengths.

To identify your current position, it would be helpful to ask yourself these questions:

• What are the natural skills that I have?
• What are my past experiences?
• Do I prefer working alone or with peers?
• What do I enjoy doing?
• What makes me feel excited and motivated at work?

Related course: Creating a Career Plan

2. Identify your destination.

Where do you see yourself five to ten years from now? What is your dream career? Put aside any obstacle, where would you love to be in the future? Include your ultimate career goal in your plan.

It would be helpful to identify your goal by starting small. Given the current skills you have, where would you like to be in two years? Then, think about where you want to be in five to ten years. This is an important step that will require you to envision opportunities that could arise down the road.

3. Perform a gap analysis.

This step in the career development plan determines where you are now and where you aim to be. To do this, you need to find job listings for the goals you outlined as your two-year or five-year career focus. Make sure that the description aligns with your skills and experience and the requirements for your ultimate goal.

You can also consult with your supervisor, mentor, and colleagues to know if there are key items you should add to the list. 

4. Set goals and create a tangible plan.

Successful people who are satisfied in their careers have proactively determined what they want from work. For managers, they must offer and maintain an open-door policy so that employees can discuss ideas with you about their career development. For employees, make sure that you utilize that opportunity by sharing what interests you on your path to career growth.

The best way to do this is to think SMART (smart, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). Following the SMART template can ensure that your goals are achievable within your target deadline.

Related course: Successful Goal Setting

5. Measure your progress.

Career development doesn’t simply end once you’ve created it. You need to keep track of your progress and keep yourself accountable. Visit your list at least two times a year, so you will know if you’re making any progress to achieving your ultimate goal.

It is also helpful to consider milestones as your metrics for career success. A positive performance review, a promotion, and useful contacts are great signs that you’re a step or two closer to your ambition.