Hitting the bull’s eye requires that you know what the target is like, how to hit it, and what it takes to strike the valuable centre point. But you will also have to be sure that you will be able to get the job done. You have to know whether you are capable of hitting the mark.
Knowing yourself- specifically, what you are passionate about, is the first step to taking a career path which you will find less burdensome trying to progress through. If you have no love for your job, you will very likely struggle to maintain minimum productivity. But nothing beats a self-inspired worker who finds his job exciting and enjoyable. The enthusiasm with which such a person approaches his work on a daily basis will be difficult to create and sustain in a worker who sees his job as little more than glorified drudgery.
Once you have found out what career best suits your talents and motivations, you should get educated about it. Find out all that you can about the career you have chosen, and what it takes to progress through its ranks. The following points are basic, and should not be ignored by anyone who wants to reach that height in their field of work.
- Acquire relevant skills: You will need to possess certain skills to secure an entry level position in the career you have chosen. This doesn’t come from formal education at a tertiary institution alone; personal effort at improving one’s competence in relevant areas is important here. Certifications are alright, but the point of it all is that you should have demonstrable skills required for the job you intend to do.
- Work passionately, efficiently and responsibly: No matter how basic the level you begin at, take the work you do seriously, and put in your best. Let the quality of the results you put out become your trademark. Be concerned about the company’s problem, and show it. Find out from high-level staff what these problems might be; do what you can, as your position affords you, to help solve these problems. Be willing to handle more responsibilities than your position would normally demand, and build an image of yourself as a reliable worker. Own up to your own failings; apologise for your mistakes, then fix them (where this is possible).
- Get mentored: Practical insight about your line of work gotten from someone who has gone before you is invaluable. Mentorship need not be formal. And you can have more than one mentor: one from within your organisation, and another from outside it. This should provide a deep and broad perspective on things.
- Invest in self-improvement and development: Stasis leads to irrelevance. Stay abreast of the latest trends in your career. Seek to become even better at what you do. Do not take it for granted that your company’s advocated training programs are sufficient. Take online courses, attend conferences and seminars, and constantly evaluate your own performance, to know whether greater efficiency can be achieved in some aspects of your work. Develop the extra special quality that will make you stand out.
- Network: Link up with people from within the company you work for, and without. Hold conversations, build relationships, create alliances. Join social media groups for people who have the same professional interests with you. Watch out for opportunities which might be presented on these platforms, as well as through in-person meetings with people in your chosen or preferred career. Contact of the latter type can be made in professional events which often make possible meetings with people who could become referees or make a recommendation for a job you desire. That is if you succeed in becoming more than just another contact to them.
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