For many of us, our career forms a significant part of our identity. It can also elevate us to a more prominent stature in society. For these reasons, we tend to feel that building a stable and rewarding career is important in our lives. However, it can, at times, be challenging to know whether you are truly on track to achieve your professional goals. We round up some of the best tips to help you push your career in the right direction and achieve better work satisfaction.
Tip 1: Understand Yourself Better
The journey to building a great career starts with understanding yourself better. Before considering any career path, try answering these questions:
What are my strengths?
One way to determine your strength is to find out what type of work you excel at. You might be good at handling or managing people. You might also be great at building relationships. If so, why not try a career in people management, human resources, or communications? All these areas offer opportunities where you can make good use of your social and communication skills.
What are my weaknesses?
Conversely, it is also important to understand your weaknesses. What do you find challenging? What are the areas you need to improve in? It is important to be honest with yourself when answering this question.
If you love unpredictability and yearn for adventure, you might want to avoid a desk job involving a great deal of mundane and repetitive work.
What are your interests?
A life lived without passion would be a boring one. This applies to one’s career too.
When considering a career path, it is important to ask yourself if it is something that interests you. Would you enjoy it? Would it motivate you to get out of bed every morning? The nature of the work that you will be doing and the relevant opportunities should be appealing to you — even for the next few years.
Tip 2: Define What It Means to Be Successful
Everyone has a different definition of ‘success’. Some may choose to focus on how far they can advance in their career, and whether their chosen career will elevate their status in society. Others may define ‘success’ in terms of how meaningful their work is, or how much they can contribute to society. There are also people who may define ‘success’ more simply, such as being able to provide a comfortable life for their family and maintain proper work-life balance.
At the end of the day, a ‘successful’ career means differently to everyone. Understanding what ‘success’ means to you can help you chart your own career path.
Tip 3: Have a Career Plan (And Review It Once a Year)
People often say that if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. Perhaps one of your professional goals is to become a senior manager before you hit your thirties. In order to achieve this goal, you could push yourself to take on new projects to gain the necessary experience, or further study to enhance your knowledge and skill sets. You would then find yourself in a better position when it is time for promotions.
After making your career plan, do not forget to review it at least once a year. Keep track of your progress, consider your current circumstances, and make adjustments to your plan where necessary.
Tip 4: Stay up to Date (To Increase Your Career Options)
With Singapore being one of the world’s most open economies — and a country that is also heavily reliant on skilled and professional workers — it is always a good idea to keep your skills up to date so that you can remain globally competitive.
It is also necessary to keep up with new technologies and innovations. With the rise of the digital economy and Singapore’s own ambitions to be the world’s first Smart Nation, knowledge of the latest technologies will stand you in good stead.
Figuring out the right career path is never a walk in the park. However, you can gain greater control over your career direction with some foresight, planning, diligence and honesty.
With over 500 academic programmes for higher learning and professional certification courses for skills development, we provide opportunities for you to always stay relevant. To speak to one of our consultants, please call 8613 8989 or email us at [email protected]