Never deviate from learning

An individual can be a graduate or a post-graduate, but overall he may still be uneducated.  An uneducated person is one who is unwilling to learn, unlearn and e-learn. And when it comes to one’s career, a person should possess his important trait. Learning, unlearning and re-learning should be practised on a continual basis, day in and day out. Various facilitating initiatives in this context are:

• Set smart objectives & be happy when you attain them: You must set smart objectives - ones that are pragmatic and once attained, can be rejoiced in. Doing this will give a new meaning to your career. Your objectives should be modified to be in harmony with your new qualifications. Needless to state, you will have to continuously evaluate your objectives regularly and refine your working methodology to ensure a bump-free ride in your career journey. Remember that very new skill or expertise acquired is wisdom added. 
• Share your knowledge & experience: You should believe in sharing knowledge and putting your experience to good use. You may think that you know quite a lot, but the doubts that cross your mind while learning could well baffle you. It is not necessary that you open a learning centre where you take classes; you could well share your experience and knowledge during routine interactions or meetings of professional associations of whom you are a member. You may have awareness and understanding; and you could well be sharing them with others. But your knowledge is of no use if you do not apply it on ground. If you are not apprehensive of executing new ideas with your freshly-acquired skills, you will find that your life and career will stand transformed. 
• Have a mentor to guide you: Attempting to go alone may pose problems in your career journey. But if you have someone who you can bank upon for advice and encouragement, your task of learning becomes easy. You must identify a guru for yourself who can give a patient hearing to your problems and concerns; and guide you on the best course of action that you ought to to take. A mentor could be highly knowledgeable, but will not be of any utility if he does not have time to spare for you. He should be somebody who you hold in high esteem and whose principles you revere. 
• Cultivate reading habits & observation skills: Reading is crucial for career advancement; your reading preferences have to be balanced; and should include professional matters, general knowledge, current affairs and light reading material.  As a habit, reading will make you more adept at your work and hence you will be able to obtain additional meaning for your life and career. It will also help you to become reasonably conversant with aspects that do not fall within the gamut of your career. Since most skills are transferable, you will find them possible for absorption in your job sometime or the other. The knowledge that you gin from reading should also be shared and applied on ground. 
• Let your passion to learn grow: Being spoken to by experts is an enriching experience as it widens your horizon and broadens your perspectives. You must therefore, enrol for courses of instructions, work hard on them and participate in healthy discussions therein. You can also take up membership of professional clubs and attend conferences or seminars. You will find that participation in such activities will serve to recharge you and your fascinations; and make you better geared to face competition and brave challenges. The point to remember is that you should not be a dormant learner, but a proactive one, all brimming with positivity. You should not abandon learning activities midway. 

Wise men opine that this world is a place where we should conduct investigations, trials and inquiries with an inquisitive mind. And that calls for unlearning old things and learning new things. There is no denying the fact that all learning efforts should help in career advancement. As human beings, our mental faculties are active for more or less our entire lifespan and hence there should be np excuse to stay away from learning and development activities. If you can comprehend this important fact, you will realise that learning is a treasure trove that will follow you wherever you go.

Practise transparency & openness at work

Today, buzz words at any workplace are transparency and openness. They are the new mantra. In recent times, employees and clients have increasingly been insisting on transparent dealings by companies whose goods and services are sold. What do these two words signify and how do they effect the working and business environment? Transparency and openness imply adhering to honest dealings, candid communications and straightforward behaviour. They also imply making useful contributions at work.

If you are transparent and open at work, your career advancement will receive a fillip.  So how do you practice them at work? Five ways by which you can transmit  signals of being frank, honest and strait forward are: 

• Inform your seniors about your motivation: For various reasons, your company may not be in a position to offer you big raises. However, if you know what other issues boost your motivation, you will surely be offered some that gives you job satisfaction. For example, you may want like some time off for domestic obligations, you could be allowed to do so or assigned flexible work timings. There are many companies that permit a work-from-home schedule too. All this is possible only if you trust your seniors and interact with them frankly on a continuous basis. 
• Be aware of your skills & capabilities: When you have any discussion with your boss, candidness in expressing views is always recommended. You should know your skills and capabilities; and hence should not agree for tasks that are beyond you. At the same time, you should not hide any skills so that you stay away from additional responsibilities. Even if you do not or are not required to make use of a special skill that you possess in your present role, letting the management know about it will always stand you in good stead for obvious reasons. Another 
• Let your boss know assignments that interest you: You could be good at executing some tasks or even delight in the pressures of few. It is essential that this information is put across in a diligent manner to your seniors because then there is every likelihood of you being assigned tasks that you like doing. Your company’s management will understand that such a process will boost organisational productivity. 
• Don't be out to gain credit:  Your individual contributions as distinct from your team’s performance  and they should be known to your seniors. This will ensure that the credit and reward that is justifiably yours will come to you automatically. You should make it a point to not take credit for a job well done that otherwise is deserved by somebody else. The foregoing will also make certain that if a job is not completed or is not done with perfection, no fingers will be pointed to you and that you will not be held totally accountable for the lapse. You seniors will certainly acknowledge your efforts, provide they are sincere and your outlook towards your responsibilities positive. 
• Let your actions speak about your outlook:  You can come out with excellent ideas on boosting organisational. But if such ideas and suggestions are not put forward eloquently and confidently, they are of no use.  When you do put across them, your seniors and the general environment will understand your good intentions and sincerity in discharging your assigned responsibilities.  You could be engaged in a specific task that calls for an understanding of how a different vertical functions but under normal circumstances, you do not play an active role in the functioning of that vertical. If you make your intent known, you will be appreciated for your keenness to learn and work sincerely. If you go about your work with truthfulness and integrity, you are likely to do well in your career. 

If you are open and transparent at your workplace and in your dealings, there is no denying the fact that you stand more chances of success. You should thus always be ready to walk an extra mile as far as building trust with others. It is inescapable to always maintain a positive frame of mind and take on additional responsibilities voluntarily. Considering the foregoing, it is essential that you do not lose your balance and not deviate from the path that you have embarked upon. 

Get passionate with your career all over again

Do you love your work? Or is it that once upon a time you did? If that be so, you are pursuing a career without any purpose. If you are not passionate about your career, there is no point being in it. The feelings of admiration and devotion for your career has to come from inside you. Extraneous factors can influence your mind alright, but in the long run, it is you and your actions that will bring about a sense of affiliation and fondness in you. You ought to understand the type of  feelings that you have and that all your actions will always be their outcome.

The question at hand is whether you like your career or hate. You need to be honest with your answer because in the absence of a passionate approach, you are bound to get stuck and remain wherever you are. It is quite possible that you are unemployed or not in a job that you wanted to be in. But does it imply that you need not love it, particularly when you once did and now you do not? You can always regain that old passion once again. In this context, you need to: 

• Resolve to be fond of your career again: Your judgment and resolve are like a beacons; you get to be indicated the direction in which you should be moving. It will be your persistence that will automatically infuse fresh ardour and bring about a positive change in your outlook towards your work. You should not forget that being in love with your career is million times better that harbouring a dislike for it.
• Concentrate your efforts on what you delight in: There is no career that does not have positive features and which you need to find out in the context of your career. It is likely that you love the very idea of making useful contributions in such a setup. You will attain anything that you aspire for with sincere efforts. This would necessitate a modification of your focus. This means that you ought to channelize all your thinking and efforts on the delightful facets of your career. You will realise that by concentrating on what you delight in, you will feel revitalised and acquire a new comprehension of your career. This will make you fall in love with your career again.
• Hold your present position in high esteem: You could be engaged in any pursuit, but it can be really fantastic if you are able to remind yourself that it indeed is so. Even if your work is not your cup of tea, there is nothing stopping you from putting in your best. It goes without saying that if you appreciate your current position, you will attempt to work better and surpass others. So, why a delay in doing so? A point to be noted is that you will never adore your career unless you proceed to behave that you are liking it. 

Your job can be very routine and monotonous. Yet, you may be comfortable with the arrangement. But if you ponder over how you could be pared down by such a practice and reflect on the negative effects of it, you will be able to envision your future better. You simply cannot be ignorant of facts and realities. You need to see yourself from the perspective of others and then deliberate upon how your upbeat qualities will be appreciated by others. 

You should not forget that life actually is boundless and you can live it without any restrictions. There are many people who feel that it getting a job vis-a- vis giving it up is indeed difficult. Accepting changes is not an easy matter because bringing about a change in your outlook and viewpoint that have been acquired over several years will be difficult. The changes that you decide to adopt should be directed for forging a good allegiance with your job so that your comfort level registers a boost; and you are amenable to accepting new ideas. If you do that, your efficiency will also multiply and your efforts will be recognised by your company. Your motivation will thus increase manifold and this cycle will carry on. rise register a boost and you will be acknowledged.  The net outcome will be that your life will experience a standard never experienced before.

Intensify your professional headway

Everybody talks about professional progress and its interpretation varies from person to person. However, the need to make professional headway is acknowledged by one and all. A successful career doesn’t happen unthinkingly. It needs planning, tending and frequent review. 

Career management is not simply feel-good activity. It is inescapable if you seek to achieve job satisfaction and career success. Making professional headway is all about availing opportunities to learn new skills with a view to broaden one’s horizon and excel in water sphere of activity one is in. distinct benefit of career advancement is that you tend to give a positive upshot to your personal life too. But it is not a simple endeavour - you cannot claim to have made an effort and then forget about it. It is an ongoing process, the decision and initiative of which has to originate from you. Some suggested inescapable actions that are essential to intensify your individual and professional headway are:

• Know your current position & status: If you want to attain anything that you seek, you should know how well qualified you are, including practical experience to your credit. These also should be reduced to writing along with occasions when you utilised them. This awareness will facilitate a deeper comprehension of the knowledge possessed by you and which will facilitate your career advancement. 
• Know what you aspire for: You must assess your objectives in the context of your designation, job and career. It is also essential that you analyse all the qualitative requirements that you must fulfil to remain firmly established in your current post, job or career. This can be best done by reducing to writing all your objectives and requirements; and thereafter, referring to them periodically to know what learning activities you must engage in.
• Know your shortcomings that need to be overcome: If you are clear about your objectives and  how well qualified you are to attain them, you will be able to find out ways and means to reinforce your position. It is essential that you are also aware of what impedes your career advancement; for that you need to know your vulnerabilities and deficiencies. And you need to work hard to acquire additional qualifications. Here again, reducing to writing all your mental deliberations will help in evolving a time-plan, which, when formulated should be adhered. 
• Know about resources that you would use: You should also know various resources that you could utilise to further build up your skills for attaining your aims. They could well be people, organisations and events. You will have to decide on the most suitable ones and the modalities to be undertaken. For example, you could identify and bond with people with whom you could have mentoring associations. You could also find out about professional clubs and training centres where courses, workshops and seminars are conducted; joining such institutions will help you improve your skills; and eventually your career prospects. 
• Know what your next line of action ought to be: This implies finishing all pending tasks. You could have taken steps to identify your objectives, current position, qualifications to be acquired and resources to be utilised. But somewhere down the line, the spot light could shift elsewhere resulting in your advancement plan going haywire. Therefore, finishing all that you initiated will help you get over the standstill or decline being suffered.

The toughest part of attaining any objective is not the writing up the action plan or setting dates for completing each step of the goal or even getting started on your first action point. It is in fact, the ongoing discipline and determination required to see through different steps of the goal to completion. There will be moments when you will feel that you have reached the end of the road. but you can always get over that stagnation. You should simply query yourself about a dozen initiatives that you must take to get your career advancement on a fast-moving track. Your responses will be solutions to problems. You must adopt those methods to get back on the correct bearing. And when that happens, you must delight in your efforts. You will thus be better geared to move forward and render yourself all-important in the organisation that you are serving in. You will thus make your career success happen.

Discover the guiding rationale for your next job

If you seek a successful career for yourself, it is essential that you evaluate how various jobs that you undertake have a cumulative effect on your future. Having known the factual position, you will be able to discharge your responsibilities in a knowledgeable and insightful manner. 

With regard to your next job, you may draw up a list of several actions that you ought to be undertake. The maiden effort is your job search and you will have to make certain that any job offer that you accept should be commensurate and matching with your principles, penchants and reasoning. Towards the foregoing, you need to to find out the guiding rationale of your career, activities that you enjoy doing, your strengths and various beliefs that give a meaning to your conduct. Having identified these, the process of knowing which job is your cup of tea will be facilitated. You need to understand that accepting a job on the consideration of money alone is bound to spell failure.

It is necessary that you unearth the point around which your career revolves. You will thus be able to evaluate various career steps for their appropriateness. Overall, there are four issues that you must evaluate for their impact on you and career as under:

• Additional responsibilities in the same company: It is not in your interest to believe that your prospects are better if you move on to another company. It will not stand you in good stead if you keep changing companies. It will be better if you get to handle additional responsibilities in your current organisation because then your leadership and management skills will be put to test. After all, your growth in a company has a different meaning and a distinct advantage. There is no new working environment involved and people already know you. The option to change jobs could well be exercised later.
• Different responsibility within the same organisation: If you have been performing well in your current role and have all the qualities to excel in other roles as well, then moving on to a different vertical is a viable option. Your company may offer you a different role and undertaking it will make you feel distinguished and appreciated. However, you will have to learn new skill-sets and management techniques. With due awareness, you can identify various responsibilities which you can discharge well.
• Similar charter in another company: It is necessary for you to understand that you are not bound to serve in an organisation forever. It is quite likely that if you switch over to another company and have no change in your functions, you may experience a new vigour. People may see you differently there and old impressions may well become redundant. You may get to handle newer responsibilities too, which perhaps may not have been assigned to you had you continued with your previous company. Before taking any step, an evaluation of the ground situation is warranted, including how your new bosses see you . It will be  a challenging situation alright and your decision difficult. But there are chances that your future will be bright if you are able to leverage your knowledge successfully.
• Different responsibility in another company: When you get to shoulder different responsibilities in a new company, it can turn out to be the catapulting of your career to newer heights. But it also has an inherent danger of fizzling and collapsing. Leaving a company or industry throws up fresh contests. You leave behind your associations and name; and will have to establish yourself all over again. And if you had been acquitting superbly, the contest could well be a tough trial. But if you carry your knowledge, experience and wisdom with you in one hand; and your rationale, fortes and principles in the other, the chances are that you will create a stronger impact. Obviously, this move is also a viable option to generate new career prospects for yourself.  

If you are getting a feeling that you are unable to advance in your career now, it is high time that you take time off and reflect upon different options as elucidated above; and see in your mind the what your next job should be like. A new beginning or a step back can turn out to your advantage. Let reason guide you on how your passion should take shape.

Choosing a career path while still at college

If you are unaware of the direction of your career movement, you will never be able to discern your position at any given time. And when your career journey finishes, you will be as lost ever. When you select a career, it implies getting down to know what you are and what is suited for you in the long run. In other words, you play a game where reality is pitched against your penchants. The good part of the game is that you can play it while still at college.

It is necessary that you understand that every career is arched and you happen to be located at the beginning of the curve. There is every possibility that your career path will change not once, but many a times in your career journey. Therefore, selecting one, particularly when you are still at college is a little difficult. But it is not totally beyond you. There are certain deliberations and actions that you must indulge in; they are explicated below:

• Do not succumb to influences out to shatter your dreams. Your dreams may be difficult and therefore, you must have in place a strong support structure for their fructification. It is also necessary to have alternative plans at hand. The aspirations and ambitions that you harbour could well be different from your dream job. It is essential that you understand the professional nuances of your dream job well so that at a later stage, you do not become disenchanted, particularly if you convert any of your hobbies into one. If you have passion for a particular job, by all means go for it. However, you must make certain that your choice should not lay on the line anybody – and that anybody also includes you. 
• You may have taken jobs in your vacations or may still be working part-time. They are all experiences in learning and hence you must ponder over how you can make optimum use of them to make your resume attractive and augment your work skills. Getting to decide on your career path calls for taking time out of your free time and taking up either apprenticeship training or honorary jobs that offer you an insight of a particular profession. It is only practical exposure that will provide you a better comprehension of a job; theoretical knowledge gained through other means, though helpful is not effectual.
• You need to find out if you want to work independently or if you are disposed to work in return for a regular remuneration. This calls for sincere introspection to discern your personality traits as also the pros and cons pertinent to both the possibilities. In particular, you should know the risks involved if you invest money in a venture where you are the whole sole boss or in the eventuality of being removed from a job.
• You simply cannot stay aloof from family influences because your near and dear ones will be concerned about you and will offer advice on how to go about doing things. Rather than talking about career issues perfunctorily with others, you should do so with deliberation and in a formal manner. Time should be allocated for the purpose so that everybody deliberates with due seriousness and offers useful suggestions. In every likelihood, your folks will talk based on individual experiences.
• There is no place for or role of good fortune and providence in any career. Therefore you should not waste time in pondering over such influences because professional success calls for placing yourself on a pedestal to generate your own prospects.  As you advance in your career, you will encounter great opportunities and good prospects. At that stage, you will need people who are trustworthy for their advice and mentorship so that you can act without hesitation and be able to assess the opportunities ahead of you for their true potential. 
• Another important thing is the information about you in public domain. You cannot remain blind to it and this implies sprucing up your listings on the social media. You may not realise it, but it is significant to understand that any bit of information available publicly has the potential of adversely impacting your impending work. 

It is necessary that you do not relegate to a lower position the need to plan well for your future. If you plan and prepare well, your performance will be better. It also needs to be understood that the best of objectives will remain mere imaginative aspirations in the absence of a fervour and passion to accomplish them.

Draft an in-depth action plan for your career

Unlike yesteryears, today, a career is an activity where people are caught up in fiercely competitive struggle. In the rat race that follows, most people fail to understand the nuances of career planning. The process of career planning involves formulating a carefully planned initiatives so that you attain your objectives. With the competition that exists at all workplaces, it is essential that you do appropriate career planning because that is the only way you can do well in your career. 

The principal is issue is to know the necessity of formulating career objectives. They are essential for your sustenance because based on them, you will decide on what you should be doing in your life. Career objectives set your career bearings straight and motivate you to work hard for their accomplishment. Therefore, there is no escaping from hard work. Considering the foregoing, it will be your career objectives that will make you revolve around your job. However, much will depend upon your aspirations and the methodology you adopt towards them. As a job aspirant, you should be crystal clear about everything - both positive and negative aspects - about your prospective job. Issues like qualitative requirements, influence of technology, financial aspects and legal requirements should be reflected upon.          

The process of formulating your career objectives facilitates exploring your inclinations, talents, expertise and capabilities – both latent and otherwise. While electing to decide on a particular career, you will have in front of you a plethora of prospects. Your career objectives serve to direct you on to the correct pathway and prevent you from taking circuitous routes or switching jobs. Having decided on a career, it is essential that you also decide a pragmatic approach to advance your career and realise your objectives. The entire career planning process is cyclic and has to be affected on a continual basis so long as you remain in work.

There are two other issues involved. The first is to understand what your aspirations are all about and what if you fail to fulfil them. When you set objectives, you look forward to positive results. The results that you anticipate serve as inspiring factors all through your career advancement. While attainment of objectives or part thereof, will you give you feelings of pleasure and achievement, any failure is bound to disillusion you too, something that has to be anticipated too. The second issue is the start point of career planning and the methodology for it. Career planning essentially is set in motion when you start gathering information and make efforts to remain posted about the environment that prevails as pertinent to employment. The information that you gather and the data base that you generate helps you in setting pragmatic objectives and a workable action plan to take things to a logical conclusion. Remember that the more detailed your knowledge, the better you will be geared up to accomplish your objectives.    

The fact that there exists a very stiff competition in the employment market needs no emphasis. To emerge victorious in a competitive environment, it is necessary that your skills remain updated at all times and that you add on to your qualifications in keeping with your job requirements. Attending training courses, participating in professional workshops and improving upon your networking will help you do well and move forward. You also need to be aware of various methods to cope with difficult situations and pressures generated by them. Such initiatives are essential constituents of any sustained career advancement plan.

The significant aspect is to understand how career planning will impact you. You should remember that career planning is not once-in-a-lifetime activity. It is a continuous process and goes on till the last week of your employment so that you can make use of it to your advantage when you take up a post-retirement employment, if at all you do so. It is only then that you will be able to achieve and enjoy true career progress. And if you feel at any stage that midterm corrections are warranted, you should do so in accordance with the planning that you have done.

Your efforts will not pay dividends if you harbour a presumptuous approach in your career journey that cannot be expected to be a sure shot smooth ride. You must anticipate impediments and plan for their management. Career planning serves to inspire you. But it is important that you remain at the wheels and display self-assuredness at all times. The planning that you do will facilitate your career advancement.

Check if your career is on correct course

Every person desires to do well in his or her career. To do well, the career journey has to be regulated well and all advancements envisaged materialising in the expected timeframe. There is none who would ever wish that his or her career goes offtrack and in the process derive satisfaction. 

Are you all set to give that necessary zest and strength to your career?

It has been seen that try to bring into line their careers lose out on their enthusiasm and initiative not very long after they begin their career journey. They then realise that they are unable to deliver a push to their careers on their own. Considering the foregoing, it is essential that you deliberate over your career related issues, formulate an action plan and take initiative to act as per it. You can achieve this by carrying out a sincere career audit in relation to your current position. The following actions on your part are inescapable:

• Understand that good planning will bring you success: You will have to devote adequate time to evaluate all things related to your career on a regular basis. Concurrently, you will also be required to reflect on actions that you need to take. Just in case you find that you find that you are wanting in some field, appropriate corrective measures will have to be instituted. What you will surely lack will be awareness and adequate information. You should remember that any alterations and modifications that you carry out will be time consuming; and therefore, the need to understand all factors that take things to a logical conclusion should be clearly comprehended.
• Engender an all-inclusive career portrait: If your mind is clear on what you intend to seek, half your battle is deemed to have been won; the rest comes with relative ease. You need to know precisely what success signifies to you; with that as the basis, analyse all its aspects, including those enunciated by others. Thereafter, you should arrive at a logical conclusion as to what is relevant to you.
• Lay down objectives that are in harmony with your discernment of success: If you succeed in converting your dreams into actualities, you can deem yourself to be successful. And to make that happen, you must lay down objectives that match your perception of success. But more importantly, you should stay focussed maintain your balance at all times.
• Know what hinders your success: You need to envision impediments in your advancement. If you have any apprehensions, you should overcome them with a positive approach; you need to have confidence in yourself and your capabilities. You should never ever discuss negative issues with anybody.
• Be dynamic to attain results: If you are result-oriented, you need to be pushing; a person who takes initiative and acts with fervour always gets to see the results he yearns for. If you decide to act, remember that this decision stems from your decision to alter the circumstances that you are surrounded with.
• Acknowledge that answerability rests on you alone: The degree of control that you exercise over your career is directly proportional to the accountability that you display towards it. You need to get involved in your work; this will bless you with increased self-determination and freedom of action. You should never justify your shortfalls; on the contrary, you should assume responsibility for whatever you bring about in your career.
• Make an impact through your appearance: First impression always counts. You should endeavour to create an impact on others by remaining smart and presentable at all times. The clothes that you wear, the way you walk and the manner in which you talk with others are all contributory factors for creating that crucial first impression. However, you should guard against any tendency to portray an extravagant image; your appearance should automatically speak of  good grooming and self-assuredness.
• Network with successful people: Those with whom you spend time at your workplace exert the maximum influence on you. If you are really keen to attain success, you need to be in the company of people marching towards successful. Company of successful people will matter a lot. You should identify such people who could be followed and whose attributes you could imbibe. In addition, there will be many aspiring people like you; their company will also help you immensely.

You should not forget that whatever you have achieved so far is an outcome of decisions that you made some years back. With that in view, you need to ponder where precisely you aspire to be in another five years or so from now. If you are sincere about your career advancement, you will surely make it happen. What essentially is required is a well thought of line of action.