How do you invest in your career?

The responsibility to put to good use your fortes is yours and yours alone. It is only then that you will be able to remain ahead of others in your career. And if you are not sincere about investing in and remaining at the wheels of your career, you will not be able to accomplish anything. Your condition will be like a helpless person who dreams alright, but can do nothing to transform them into a reality. You will experience uncertainty at all times in your career journey.

You need to be forward-looking and prudent if you have to invest in your career. You should always envision the what you intend to achieve, be it good performance, promotions, salary increases and even change for the better in your life. Career investments should be in consonance with your urges and desires. It is also important that you remain alert and do not miss out on opportunities for growth. However, it is also important to be cautious of the likelihood of being unnecessarily influenced by others so that you drift away from reality; and in the process start hating your job. It should be noted that recognising your fortes is a time-consuming process, but as an when you het to know them, you can then decide on what investments you should make.

Unlike financial investments, the returns of career investment are higher. You could well get to hit the jackpot, experience greater opportunities for growth, feel that job security prevails and also enjoy immense job contentment. In the light of the foregoing, you need to identify fields where you need to invest. If all is going well, you need to invest in your:

• Fortes: This means making use of your fortes like never done before. You should become increasingly aware of your inherent strengths that allow your capabilities to thrive, thereby goading you to invest in them. You should keep your wits about and note how others are going about investing in their careers; taking note of such dynamics will facilitate better decisions too. It is important that you do not lose sight of your passions, following which brings about greater contentment. 
• Knowledge: The implication of investing in your brain power is that it helps in applying theoretical knowledge to problems on ground and finding logical solutions to them. A beginning can be made by acquiring relevant adeptness that will push your career in the right direction. It is all about realising that learning is an ongoing process. You should not be over-confident in your approach and in the process fail to oversee your career. The crux is to remain well-versed with latest happenings and networking with people who are in the forefront. It will not be out of place to make efforts to find out methods being adopted by your competitors who have the same objectives and goals as you.
• Networking: Investment in good networking and connections will pay dividends in the long run. It is important that you always keep your networking alive. But more importantly, you should be able to perceive the direction you are being swayed and whether your career interests are being served or not. All said and done, you must work hard to widen your networks, foster it intelligently and keep it going. 
• Mentor: If you seek to be on the upward move, you will be required to shoulder diverse responsibilities. Under such circumstances, it will be difficult to concentrate. While you may have in place different career management procedures, a mentor will go a long way to reinforce your obligations and offer you ways and means to keep up with your perseverance.
• Family: When you invest in your family, the implication is to maintain a good work-life balance. You simply cannot afford to disregard your domestic obligations and concentrate only on your work and career. It should not be forgotten that your family and friends play a significant role in your career success because they are the first to come to your help whenever you get stuck. Therefore, the importance of investment in your family should not be underestimated.

  All careers call for strong and spirited efforts. Whether you are the start point of your career or midway, you ought to generate relevant and worthwhile methodologies to be able to identify and classify the relatively more important components of your job. Having done that, you should then  convert them into barometers of headway and advancement to facilitate forward movement. In other words, you need to estimate and apply your potential, come out with workable plans and make certain that your move forward is not retarded. That in essence is the purpose of career investment.