Seven Steps To Advance Your Career

Gone are those days when people were being run after and persuaded to accept a job. The gradual evolution of the world to digital has influenced the rate of competitiveness in every sector. Now, there are thousands of specialists and professionals in different fields. What are the steps to advance your career?

If you are to check the social media platforms; for instance, your WhatsApp contacts, you may discover that you know over three or four persons who are into baking, hairstyling, photography, fashion designing or UI/UX Design, etc. This may mean nothing until the day you have a need and have to decide which of them to patronize. That’s when facts like; how good they are at what they do, their reputation, and how committed they are to it, are put into consideration. This is normal, it’s what everyone does and guess what? For your field/speciality, people do the same as well.

What is the difference between a skilful man and an expert?

Have you been in need to hire a person for a job and despite knowing that he/she charges higher than others of the same profession, you still try to hire him/her? Why? It is because of what I call a productive reputation or rank of expertise.

Recently, for people to run after you, show how good, effective, efficient and productive you are at what you do. People pay for your level of skillfulness and expertise. Imagine a scenario where Person A charges $100 per minute and Person B charges $10 per minute for the same job. When there is a need, people prefer Person A, who charges $100 per minute. Why? Because of how good and productive the person’s work is known. But, do you know this person doesn’t attain such a reputation nor advance to such a level in a day? It requires a lot of hard work and paid prices. So, are you ready to pay the price as well?

Steps to Advance Your Career

Steps to advance your career often involve a combination of strategic planning, continuous learning, and proactive networking. These steps can range from identifying your long-term professional goals to acquiring new skills that align with industry demands. Furthermore, proactively seeking mentorship, building a strong professional network, and consistently demonstrating your value within your current role are crucial for upward mobility. Here are some more definite steps to advance your career.

STEP 1 – Affirm Your Vision

To truly take steps to advance your career, it’s essential to let others learn what you do. People remember you based on the value you have. If I need a caterer, there are some people whose names will instantly come to my mind. Why? Because I know what they do. I can’t think of a fashion designer when I want to purchase a cake. This highlights the importance of clearly communicating your skills and contributions, ensuring that your professional identity is well-defined and easily recognizable within your network.

STEP 2 – Create Goals

Goals are little darts being thrown at a target. Have SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based) goals either long- or short-term goals. With this, you can work and achieve more effectively.

STEP 3 – Be Consistent

If vision were to be a gun and goals a bullet, then consistency and self-discipline will be the trigger. “A beautiful flower was once a mere seed” and “a castle cannot be built in a day.” To advance in your career, there is a need for a gradual process which requires a lot of self-discipline to be consistent. It

STEP 4 – Expand Your Skills

Learn new skills. Are you good at drawing? Make sure to learn and improve. Learn all there is to know about drawing, and continuously improve your skills. Today, thanks to the internet, you can learn so many skills online via different platforms that could be helpful to your career. Don’t limit yourself; keep on learning and developing yourself. This continuous pursuit of knowledge and mastery not only enhances your current capabilities but also opens doors to new opportunities and career paths you might not have considered.

STEP 5 – Examine Yourself

”For every period of learning, there is always an examination.” This is quite common, not just in school, but for every enterprise and business with daily transactions. There is always a report sheet to be checked to evaluate the profit/loss of the day. So, do the same, after a period of learning and practising. Carry out an evaluation and note your progress, and getting a mentor could be helpful with this, someone you could always report your progress and failure to and who could correct, support and challenge you to do more.

STEP 6 – Build A Network

Connect with people in your area of interest. Relate, communicate, and build relationships with people in your field. It will help you to be informed, exposed, enlightened and challenged to become better.

STEP 7 – Don’t Settle For Less

Keep on learning and keep on exploring. Don’t limit yourself and keep on striving to do better.

Conclusively, success isn’t earned in a day, it results from processes and hard work, and let’s keep on striving for “we are all work in progress” says a friend of mine. What do you think? Can you relate to this or have an added step to advance your career? Do drop it in the comment below, and let’s learn together.

This blog post was written by Oluwatoyin Adeyanju.

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