A single fortunate breakthrough doesn’t typically cause someone to excel in their career-or at least, not without significant supporting infrastructure. A thriving and sustained career most likely emerges as a pattern of habits, careful decision-making, and flexibility to change as life unfolds. Every industry and role may have different expectations, but here are a few universal truths that you can adopt for an outstanding career.
Establish Explicit, Quantifiable Objectives
You wouldn’t go on a road trip without directions – you can make a career similar with clearly defined (short and long-term) career goals. Goals help you define choices and measure advancement and they include a timeline and the desired action. The difference between career-defining goal ( “become a product manager at a tech start-up within the next 2 years”) or a generic ( (“Be great at my current role”) goal is the former actually has concrete measures. Check these goals once in a while, it
Embrace Continuous Learning
Often, the same skills that earn someone a job won’t still be useful ten years from now, when that industry and workplace have altered the meaning of their position, as technology has advanced to make those existing skills a thing of the past. For this reason, lifelong learning is no longer optional. It does not need to be formal education -it can take the shape of attending an online workshop, picking up and reading the latest trades-focused publications, or simply chatting with a peer who offers to share what they’ve discovered recently-but the working individual should understand learning as a continuous activity and not just a brief activity undertaken during post-secondary.
Create a Strong Professional Network
Indeed, a surprising percentage of jobs come about via personal connections rather than job postings. Networking involves authentic engagement with not only co-workers and mentors but also with others in your industry and former classmates. Think of it as joining in industry conferences, participating in online forum groups, or simply periodically dropping a line to contacts. Of course, it is more than simply looking to them when you need something, a robust network comes through adding value to others – be through sharing information, creating introductions or offering encouragement – and that relationship has many years to blossom into something providing opportunities, referrals and advice.
Develop good communication skills
You’ll go further in your career by adding communication to the list. Your message whether a few words in an email, a pitch to the leadership team or constructive feedback between peers will impact how your work is perceived. Clear communicators are better at influencing decisions, finding solutions and cultivating relationships of trust amongst colleagues. Listen and ask clarifying questions to better communicate over time. Tailor the message for the recipient.
Ask for Feedback, then Respond
It seems the fastest way to improve yourself at almost any task is to receive – and then absorb and process – some hard feedback. You don’t need to wait until your annual performance review to go ask your manager or anyone around you at the office for feedback. The more candid, honest – and sometimes difficult – the feedback, the more likely it is that you can learn to catch and fix any blind spots you may have. Asking for feedback is a huge advantage, but taking it one step further and doing something with the feedback-by identifying patterns, setting concrete goals for change, and checking in with the people who you solicited help from, and showing results-will truly help accelerate your development.
Embrace flexibility and resilience
Life, however, is often bumpy road. Layoffs, industry disruptions, or sudden stumbles on your path are pretty much a common part of every career narrative. Your ability to get through the bad stuff, be it a new job, new skills to acquire following a layoff or to stay relatively cool-headed on a tricky assignment. Resilience isn’t living without problems but the knack to address those with problem-solving rather than dwelling-on-failure strategies.
Assume Control: Be a Leader
If an employee goes above and beyond – such as pointing out problems without being asked, suggesting solutions, or volunteering to take on challenging projects – the odds are that their work gets seen. Ownership entails treating the work with which you are entrusted as if it was your own small business and not just a to-do list; as a task that comes with a desired outcome or result. More trust, accountability and faster development results when people step up in this way. It demonstrates reliability and leadership in many aspects of one’s day-to-day existence.
Keep a healthy work-life balance
Of course, ignoring your own well-being if you want a sustainable career just isn’t going to cut it. A burned out, high achiever can also be a subpar performer, as even their motivation, creativity and productivity all dip dramatically. Breaks and personal life – family, hobbies, friendships – are not “taking time out of” career, but “taking time to make it all work”. A less-exhausted person almost always makes better decisions.
Conclusion
When people look back on a fulfilling and successful career, they are typically referring to a combination of hard-won achievements, career advancement, personal growth, and perhaps most importantly, genuine professional satisfaction. No doubt that all careers involve some elements of trial and error, setbacks, and periods of doubt. But by setting ambitious yet reachable goals and committing to never stop learning, you can create a career path that’s all your own.
Writeic.com is a creative platform dedicated to writers, interview, storytellers, and digital creators who want to inspire the world through words. The authors at Writeic share insights on writing, creativity, storytelling, motivation, success story, and content creation to help readers grow their voice and unlock their creative potential.
