It’s normal to occasionally feel stuck in a rut at your job or feel like your career isn’t going according to plans.
While you may know you need to do something to jump-start your career, taking steps toward doing so can feel daunting. However, the steps most people need to bring are simple and easy enough for anyone. It would be best if you started taking them.
Network, Network, Network
Networking is something you must do to get ahead in your career. Like it or not, the idea of “who you know” being more important than “what you know” is accurate.
If networking and self-promotion aren’t your strong suits, you can ease yourself into the process by taking a networking approach to your regular social gatherings. Tell friends and family at your usual get-togethers about your desire to jump-start your career. You never know when one of these conversations might bear fruit.
Once you’ve gotten used to the idea of talking about yourself and your career, start attending networking and professional events to make at least a handful of contacts. By setting networking goals, you turn them into a game, making the process less scary and more fun.
Clean up your Digital Footprint
Social media is something a lot of people neglect when searching for new career opportunities. However, your profiles aren’t correctly handled. In that case, they can be career suicide, as it’s increasingly commonplace for companies to look at social media profiles before determining whether a person should be hired.
Start refining your online footprint by Googling yourself and seeing what everyone else catches on your profiles. Next, erase whatever may not make you look professional. Negative Facebook statuses, trolling tweets, and Instagram posts featuring drunken antics are all excellent candidates for the delete button.
Ask Others for Feedback
Asking those who know you best for professional feedback may sound like something other than fun, but it is an excellent approach to understanding more about yourself. Seek out honest suggestions from a few trusted co-workers and friends. To get the most from this activity, ask open questions like, “What was my best contribution to that project?”
You might be impressed and inspired by some of the comments people give you, and they may have seen some positive traits you weren’t even conscious of. You can’t find out these things if you don’t ask!
Take a Targeted Approach
When thinking about jump-starting your career, you should search for and apply to almost everything out there. However, this is often a counter-productive approach. Instead, use what you’ve figured out through networking conversations, honest feedback, and any other kind of career research you do to take a focused approach. Then, set some targeted goals for the month, the year, and the future five years..
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