Maybe you’re stuck in a cubicle and looking for a way out. Maybe you’re advancing nicely through your company but wondering if it’s really the career path that you want to take. If you feel dissatisfied or disillusioned with your current position, think about striving for something better with these techniques.
1. Set Goals
Having goals will keep you focused and determined as you advance through your industry. They can also serve as benchmarks for your progress as long as you make them short-term and quantifiable in some way. For example, instead of setting lofty goals like “become the CEO of my own company,” give yourself small milestones to reach like “receive a promotion in the next six months.”
2. Chase Promotions
Speaking of promotions, there’s no shame in wanting to climb the corporate ladder. As a matter of fact, many managers and supervisors look for that kind of ambition in the people that they advance. Working hard towards a promotion will show your bosses that you’re hungry for success and willing to devote all of your energy towards the company, so don’t be shy about expressing these attributes.
3. Build Your Resume
Promotions aren’t the only way to make yourself an attractive candidate for higher-level positions. You can also pad your resume by enrolling in logistics courses or attending business seminars. The more experience that you have in your industry, the more that managers will take notice of your background.
4. Follow Your Skills and Passions
This is particularly important if you feel stuck or trapped in your current job. Instead of wasting your time doing something that doesn’t excite, interest or challenge you, figure out what you really want from a career and find an opportunity that meets this criterion. It might be scary at first, but you’ll appreciate the change in the long run.
5. Learn How to Handle Rejection
The world is filled with authors, inventors, politicians and movie stars who were told “no” a thousand times before they eventually struck gold with their ideas. If they’d stopped at the first rejection, they never would’ve gotten rich. You should take their tenacity to heart and follow their example even if you’ve been brushed off by others in the past.
6. Go Back to School
An advanced degree can give you the edge over other job applicants with the same backgrounds or amount of work experience. Going back to school can also open many doors for you in terms of networking opportunities; from internships to work-study programs, you can get ahead of the curve with many companies and corporations by starting as a student.
7. Improve Your Communication Skills
This is the secret to landing that job or getting that raise. If you don’t know how to communicate with others, you run the risk of never advancing your career just because your bosses get a weird or awkward “vibe” from you. Interpersonal relationships are often the driving force behind raises, promotions and job offers, so it’s important that you learn how to cultivate them.
8. Other skills?
These are just a few ways that you can further your career if it’s stalling or stagnating. The path to success can be littered with doubts and failures, but as long as you’re willing to work hard and keep going, fortune will eventually smile on you.
