Looking Ahead: How to Take Ownership of Your Career
Right now, you might be in the thick of it – juggling work and all the other craziness life throws at you. It can be hard to make time to think proactively about you and your own career development, even if you know something doesn’t feel quite right. “I’ll think about it after this big event” or “I’ll decide what I’m going to do after my next bonus / next year”, might be thoughts that come into your mind.
But as a career coach, I see first-hand how much it matters that you take ownership of your own career, so that you feel in control and prepared for your future. This matters even more in the current climate of redundancies, restructures and a challenging job market. It really helps and matters that that you’re doing things now so that if the moment comes when you want or even have to leave your current role, you don’t feel like you’re starting from scratch.
So let’s look at things you can do to take ownership of your career and build those foundations to enable you to make positive and conscious choices and moves as you progress through your career!
How to Take Ownership Now
Be Proactive with Learning
Aside from the learning you have to do, what else are you curious to learn about for your own development? What do you want to know about the broader industry or other industries? How can you find that out? Are there new technologies or broader business concepts you would like to learn about?
There’s so much free or low-cost learning out there and a plethora of podcasts and webinars - take advantage of them! Even if you feel time poor, carving out some time to do something can really help longer term. Try not to be just hyper focused on your own organisation and ways of working.
Network Inside and Outside Your Firm
The people around you today could shape your opportunities tomorrow – opportunities are always connected to people! Build relationships with colleagues, mentors, and even clients. These connections can open unexpected doors and boost your awareness of what’s out there! You can gain the knowledge about what it’s like to work in another firm / industry / role to help you assess if that would be a good thing for you.
Meeting people in person is great at event or by joining communities … but there’s a lot of networking you can do online via platforms like LinkedIn too
3. Recognise your own achievements and impact
Keep track of the things you’re proud of, challenges you’ve overcome, great feedback you’ve received, the skills and knowledge you’re using. Doing this once a year from your appraisal is ok … but proactively doing it is way better and means you’re constantly building your self-awareness of the types of work you enjoy, what feels like fulfilment and success to you .. and how awesome you are!
Months and years fly by. The habits, knowledge, and relationships you build now will define your future. So, don’t wait for someone else to shape your career—start leading it today.
Get your free guide “The 5 Steps You Need To Kickstart Your Career Change” which you can download here for the steps to take if you’re thinking about making a change in your career.