Your life is constantly changing. There are seasons of growth and improvement and other times where you feel lost and stagnant. One area that people often feel stuck in is their career. Maybe you’ve been at the same job for too long, or you’re not getting the recognition you deserve from your current position. Each person has unique goals according to their situation, and it’s up to you whether you decide to stay and be happy or push for better things. Some people are content to remain at the same dead-end job for 30 years because they fear change. While others aren’t afraid to make risky moves in the name of happiness.
Tips to Advance Your Career
How do you get to the next level in your career? Is there a way to break through all the barriers that hold you back from moving forward? Here are some steps that can help you achieve career success.
1. Make a Vision Board
Before you make any changes in your career, you need to see where you are now and decide where you want to be. This is a goal-setting session that’s quickly done with a vision board. You have some big decisions to make, and part of the journey is educating yourself. You wouldn’t travel without a map or GPS on vacation, so you shouldn’t make any career changes without a guide either.
2. Take Action
Many people are miserable and want to make changes, but they never dare to do it. Don’t be someone who whines about your problems, as you need to be proactive. When you put yourself into an action role, things will start happening for you.
3. Identify Your Biggest Barriers
What is standing between you and your career destination? There are always roadblocks along life’s highway, and you need to identify what is holding you back. Once you identify what’s causing the trouble, it makes it easier to conquer it so you can move forward.
4. Get an Adviser
You might feel stuck because you don’t know where to look for a job. Things have certainly changed over the years, as you no longer pick up a newspaper to find a good position. Many companies use an executive recruiter to help them in this process, so it’s advisable to hook up with one of these professionals. They can help you see what you’re qualified for and link you with companies eager to have someone with these skills. When you’re ready to make a move at the corporate level, you need someone helping you along the way.
5. Continue Your Education
Even if you have a college degree and hold a great position, more schooling keeps you up to date. The people who can go places have both experience and education behind them. To be more marketable, gain the training in the area you want to go.
6. Don’t Procrastinate
Many people procrastinate because they don’t know how to accomplish their goals. They feel stuck because they’ve become comfortable in their current position. It’s not that they don’t want bigger and better things, but they don’t make a conscious effort to move forward. Procrastination will make you wake up one morning and realize it’s time to retire, and you’ve never accomplished your career goals.
7. Develop a “No Failure” Mindset
Did you know that the fear of failure inhibits many people from trying to better themselves? If you were to ask Milton Hershey, the famous candy maker, he would tell you that the key to success is to move beyond the ordinary in your life, and into the exceptional. See, he failed miserably and filed for bankruptcy three times before he became a success in the chocolate industry. When you develop an attitude that you can’t fail, you will do everything in your power to be successful.
Final Thoughts on Taking Your Career to the Next Level
If your current job situation isn’t allowing you to learn and grow, it may be time to move on. It’s exciting to enter corporate America and work with new people with different skills and mindsets to help you achieve great things. You are the only thing holding you back from taking your career to the next level. Are you ready to make a move?
