Growing your career has never been so easy...

For a person working a 9 to 5, we all know that come February/March we need to submit our development goals. Depending on the organization you work for and your manager this could be either a tick box exercise or this could actually determine where you are headed in your career.  Career development goals was just another to do exercise for me with my previous employer because we were given 2 weeks to think about our goals and populate this on workday or worst case scenario, I had to submit those in 24 hours like WTF. But anyway, I managed to do that, and I guess I didn’t stay long in that organization.

What does it really mean to build you career and have you actually thought about this? or as long as you progressing in your career, not sure where you going though but as long as you moving forward and the money is good then everything else is good right? Nah Buddy, then you are in a different hood not adulthood.

So, I found it fitting to share this since I literally just submitted my career development goals. What does that mean to me and what am I doing about it? Geez! I feel someway about sharing this but what the hell. For me when I consider my career growth, and this is strictly in my 9 to 5. My goals outside 9 to 5 will be shared on another post later. I take make note of the following:

Staying alert – some of us receive those annoying company emails about the latest developments and who got promoted to which position. 80% of the time we don’t take the time to read those emails and take in what is happening in the organization because for some reason you think it does not impact your immediate role. If you want to grow, you need to be alert and be in the know.  You need to understand how your organization makes money, understand the value chain of the various roles so that you can identify gaps and opportunities for yourself. Know who are the gate keepers in the organization and keep track of the latest developments. In that way you understand more and you know more and duh! you are able to clearly define your career trajectory.

Take development goals seriously, yes sometime the deadlines for development goals are ridiculous and sometimes these goals are discussed about once a year. Sometime these goals are tick box exercise depending on which organization you are part of, but you need to take the ownership of this. If you want to grow your career and be taken seriously than you need to take yourself seriously and take accountability for your goals and future. If it means sitting your manager down for a 1 on 1 on a random day, then let it be because it’s your career and like it or not you are going to need his/her support where necessary.

Read - I don’t care what you are reading but read. I found that sometimes I am in meetings with managers that are well travelled and have had years and years of experience and I find myself being intimidated or not knowing what else to talk to them about other than work or the weather. The next best thing and I guarantee you, talk about books. You may not have the same experience and you may not have travelled as much as your manager’s manager but trust me, I bet you they read. Read a book even if it’s about traveling, leadership, self help book. Read something so that you can able to make a conversation in those spaces where you feel intimated and you don’t have to discuss work and figures that you might not have an idea where they come from or what they mean.

Seek a mentor/coach – this I’ve tried, and it has worked for me thus far. A mentor is needed to bounce of ideas to, learn from, get guidance from. Sometimes you are surrounded by people that have a monogenous thinking therefore sometimes you want to talk to someone outside your immediate work environment just to have a different take on career of life or whatever that may be. Sometimes a mentor knows people that they can connect you to and you can learn from them regarding career and a mentor does not specifically need to be in the same career path as you.

Step outside your comfort zone – Partake in projects that are currently happening in your department or the organization as a whole. Be the champion or the go to person for a particular task in your field of work, apply for secondment(s). By stepping outside your comfort zone, you are then able to learn more and grow in your role and career, meet new people and understand different roles better.

Build a solid network – building a professional network in a sense that being in contact with your previous colleagues. Make LinkedIn connections and make them count. Reach out to a recruiter or talent acquisition manager of some sort. Reach out to people you went to varsity with and send a friendly text. Yes, we are currently working from home and this may be a bit of a challenge but if anything this is the time to reach to your previous colleagues and say Hi nothing much, if you guys go out for lunch and catch up then that would be great. 

You spend most of your life working, rather than being a zombie and getting into a routine. Make your career exciting and grow your career 😁