(ThySistas.com) Some of us will come to a point where we feel stagnant within our careers. When you’re feeling this way, it’s time to regroup and rework your plan. Start by setting yourself new goals or reviewing your existing ones. Some find that careers coaching is a beneficial step to talk through their goals with a professional. Besides this, there are plenty of things you can do to start moving forward again.
- Seek a mentor
Seeking a mentor is a great way to help you progress in your career, and there are three ways that you can do so. Firstly, you can choose a person within your company. Choose someone who is working within a role that you would like to be doing in the future. Arrange to meet this person at least once a week to get advice and create a roadmap of your goals.
Next option, you can try online networking and see if you can find a mentor this way. Contact professionals via LinkedIn, ask them if they wouldn’t mind spending some time offering advice and insights. Thirdly, if none of these two options are viable, you can hire a business mentor.
- Improve personal branding
To progress within your career, you’ve got to improve your personal branding. Create yourself a professional website and write a blog about your industry. Improve your LinkedIn and other professional profiles. Use your social media accounts to present your branding, and to connect with like-minded others. Remember to plug your blog on social media, and consider live streaming (if appropriate for your content).
- Widen your network
Networking is vital if you want to make progress in your career. The more valuable business connections you have, the more likely you’ll find new opportunities. Whether it’s a new role, a startup partnership, or a client lead, networking is important to expand your connections. In-person events are a fantastic way to connect in real life; however, these options aren’t always available. For networking apps, try Bizzaboo and Shapr. Whether you’re approaching a career change or looking to move up in your company networking can help give you the boost you need.
- Use your feedback
When you have appraisals, it’s essential to use this feedback to your advantage. What are your weaknesses? How can you work on these? If you want to progress within your career, you’ve got to learn how to take criticism and turn these pointers into positives. It’s wise to ask for feedback at every opportunity; it’s only by evaluating your performance that you can learn how to better yourself.
- Further education
Perhaps you’ve progressed as far as you can within your role? Maybe you need some new skills to move forward? In this case, an educational course could help you bridge the gap. You might consider taking an ms engineering management to progress in your engineering career? Perhaps you need to improve your marketing skills to support your startup? Whichever industry you are in, learning new things is the best way to grow and progress.
Staff Writer; Susan Brown