Some people are content with the position they currently hold and the amount of money they get to take home each month. But for the competitive ones who have a strong desire to earn and achieve more, they want to do better and experience career advancement. They find joy knowing they get to add value to the company, add more skills to their bank, and get ahead of others through hard work and perseverance. But then, not everyone who wants to excel in their career and climb the career ladder put enough effort to make it work. If you’re keen on achieving your career goals, you can make use of the following effective but not-so-common career advice.
Set Your Goals with Retirement in Mind
We all have career goals that push us to do better each day. But one thing we often forget to keep in mind when setting career goals is to think about our retirement. Just because you’re still young does not mean forgoing your retirement plans already make sense.
Career goals are a great way to give yourself something to look forward to and can help motivate you to keep going each day. If you set career goals while keeping in mind your retirement goals, you will find it easier to stay on track and encourage yourself to stay motivated so you can reach your long term goals.
You should start planning for your retirement as soon as you start earning money. It pays to invest in an insured retirement plan as soon as possible so that you can instantly grow your wealth and enjoy your retirement. Remember that everything only increases in price, and what you consider to be high retirement savings today may not be enough to support the kind life you want in the future.
What You Don’t Know Can Kill Your Career
They always say what you don’t know can harm you. Sometimes, we fail to advance in our career because we are either too blind to see what we are doing wrong or because we choose not to see where we went wrong in the first place.
Even the most successful people in the world made the mistake of letting their blind spot stop them from achieving great things. But how can you know what our blind spot is if you don’t even know you have such a blind spot in the first place? One good way to know this is to ask feedback from people who can honestly tell you what you lack or what you do wrong.
For instance, ask your colleagues and boss what they think you need to work on and improve. You can also ask loved ones who are not afraid to tell you the truth about what they think you need to do to improve yourself. Ask for feedback from people you trust and respect and use their constructive criticism without taking it personally.
Keep in Touch with Those Who Left the Business
It is true that sometimes, it is not what you know that can help boost your career, but who you know. Connections are everything, especially in business. There is no point in being the best in your field if you don’t know who to turn to and can help make your career dreams happen.
If you want long term success in your career, start building connections and start networking even to people outside of the company. Be humble, be friendly, and showcase your talent at every possible circumstance. Don’t simply focus on showing off what you can do inside the company as sometimes, your connections outside are more valuable.
Create solid business connections even with those people who left the company. Keep in touch through email, LinkedIn, and attend networking events with them. You might be surprised by how far you can go for simply befriending and offering solutions to your peer’s problems that have the right connections to the right people.
Do a Self Check at Least Every 18 to 24 Months
How can you tell if you’re stagnant in your career? One way to tell is if you don’t get promoted at least every 18 to 24 months. If this is the case, stop wondering and start asking around what you can and need to improve so that you can fix it asap.
Don’t wait for your current company to change just so you can experience career growth. Continue adding new knowledge and skills to your bank even until you get the attention of recruiters who require your talent. While you’re at it, challenge yourself by asking your supervisors to give you additional responsibilities you don’t get to work on and tell them your career hopes and ambitions.
Wanting to advance in your career is a good choice but only if you are willing to work hard for it. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in a position that offers no potential growth. Keep your long-term goals in mind, continue to add skills, grow your network, and work on your blind spot so you can achieve better career success.
