The Top 10 Ways To Advance Your Career

Originally Submitted on 7/13/97.

The most important thing to remember about your career today is that you need to be responsible for your own future. Being responsible requires flexible and adaptable career strategies like these:

1. Increase your value to your company by analyzing company goals, priorities, and strategies.

Then figure out how you can make a solid contribution.

2. As soon as you've mastered your current job and feel comfortable with it, ask for a new assignment or take on a new challenge.

Keep setting new goals for yourself.

3. Don't wait for a review to find out how you're doing. Set up a meeting with your supervisor every three months to seek input on how you can improve.

Listen with an open mind by viewing this as a learning experience that can pay big dividends. You are buying yourself time to make needed changes before your review. Soliciting feedback demonstrates that you are receptive to mentoring.

4. Keep a log of the goals you want to achieve and your progress on them.

By the time your review rolls around, you'll have documentation of all your accomplishments.

5. Learn new skills and keep current with technology.

It's time to use the Internet to leverage your career: research occupations, industries, and companies; network with colleagues around the world; identify job openings, and post your resume.

6. Increase your visibility by being active on task forces, in professional organizations, and in your community.

Become a good networker. Make time for people and look for ways to support them. That will make you naturally attractive.

7. Study human nature, personality type, behavioral styles, and how people relate to each other, so you can adapt your style to create winning partnerships.

The way you come across is as important as your performance.

8. Change jobs every 2-5 years. Sometimes lateral moves can do more for your career than a promotion.

Take the entrepreneurial approach and go for the position offering the biggest challenges.

9. Believe in yourself enough to take risks.

If you're not risking, you're not stretching.

10. Be willing to relocate and consider the big picture.

Look at what other opportunities are available in the area, in case the job you're relocating for doesn't pan out. It's much easier and less expensive to do a local search than a distance search, so it may not be smart to move to the land of little opportunity, even for a good job.

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