By taking advantage of every opportunity presented to you, you can chart a path that enables you to best utilize your strengths, increase your job responsibilities, get a promotion, make a career change or make a lateral job move. To identify career-enhancing objectives and strategies to include in a career development plan, focus on activities that enable you to acknowledge your interests, create an action plan, locate new opportunities and find jobs that fit your preferences.
Building a career takes time. Seek out the advice of business professionals in your field that you trust and admire. Their challenges, choices and insight might inspire you to have more confidence in yourself and take a chance. To excel in your field, you need to exploit your strengths, take on new projects, promote your skills and apply your skills in a new role.
To identify lucrative and rewarding career objectives:
- Assess your interests. Using free online tools you can identify your skills, strengths and interest areas and match them to jobs. Building your own personal brand helps you stand out in a crowd of applicants. By creating your own website to showcase your skills, you have the opportunity to provide samples of your work, publish video testimonials and recommendations, publish articles, white papers, brochures, newsletters and other material to show off your expertise and credibility in your field. Avoid
- Create a plan. Activities might include taking courses, completing online training or using other Internet resources to gain skills and knowledge. Institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology provide free access to many courses, videos and other reference material. You might also join professional organizations in your industry or obtain coaching from an expert.
- Locate new opportunities by networking with other people in your industry. Locate a mentor in your area to help you. Volunteer in your community to make new contacts that might lead to additional opportunities. Accept unpaid internships if they offer a long-term benefit.
- Find a new job by using online search engines, personal contacts, friends and colleagues. Keep in touch with co-workers as they move on to new jobs. You never know when the time is right to make a career enhancing move. Don’t be afraid to make a bold career move if the position interests you.
Defining your career enhancing objectives and strategies starts by taking an honest assessment of your skills, knowledge and interests. Your overall objective should be to develop professionally for the long term.
