As we wrap up the Chinese New Year celebrations and return to the daily grind feeling inspired, people often use this moment to reassess their career and personal goals as they plan for a successful year ahead. Perhaps, January wasn't as productive as planned as some people are still recovering from the Christmas and New Year hangover. Don't worry, according to the Chinese solar calendar, that was last year. So let the bygones be bygones! It's time to step on the gas and get to where you want to be. We shortlisted 5 ways you should be doing to give your career a head start.
Go back to school
At some point of one's career, there calls for an opportunity to go back to school. Employers are consistently looking for candidate with a wider range of skills and expertise that even existing employees are lacking. Advancement in technology and development in the working world is progressing ever so quickly that it can be challenging for employees in the workforce to keep up. It's not unusual for working adults to go back to school and mainly to learn a specific expertise required for a promotion and moving to another job (especially in a different industry). It's a good time to take a step back and decide if you need to up-skill.
Create competitive advantage
When trying to progress quickly in the corporate ladder, it's crucial to know how you can leverage your skill, experience, and knowledge to get that job or position you want. It's also important to determine the attributes that you currently don't have but required to be successful in the that job and work towards obtaining and leveraging it. It doesn't have to be a hard skill, things, like working in a high pressure environment could be a competitive advantage if you're moving into another high pressure job. Network is also an extremely useful tool to leverage when finding entry points into a new job or industry. Ask around, you'll never know what opportunity could show up!
Read also: 8 Ideas to celebrate Chinese New Year in the office
Don't be shy to voice your opinion
Speaking up can be intimidating, especially in a meeting with your supervisors and bosses. The frightening bit is saying the wrong thing or offending other people in the room, right? The bad news is - it's inevitable and the good news is - it doesn't matter! Nobody is right 100% of the time and disagreement happens all the time in a meeting, just make sure you're being polite and respectful when speaking up. It's important to be vocal about your ideas and suggestions as they could potentially provide useful insights and information that otherwise might have been overlooked. It's also a good opportunity for you to show that you are bringing something to the table and it will help to put you in a good light!
Be more detail oriented
Success is in the details. All great leaders in business from Steve Jobs to Warren Buffet are very detail oriented. They understand that every little detail makes a difference, it is what differentiates an average product and some of the most incredible innovation of our time. Taking action is great but without nailing the details it will be average at best. Thinking accurately is a great way to practice attention to details, having an accurate plan will increase the chance of success in anything you set out to do.
Read also: Celebrate Chinese New Year at these awesome venues
Take responsibility
Taking responsibility is the essence of personal accountability. Start taking ownership of your work. Own up to your failure but also your success in a project or campaign. This would indirectly influence your actions at work to be more positive and gives you a great sense of control over your tasks. When people fail to take responsibility they'll perform poorly in their jobs, fail their teams, and will have detrimental effects on personal growth. It can be tough at times but it's a crucial attribute to have if you want to expedite your career to new heights.
These are a few ways you can boost your career, follow these tips and I'm sure you will be seeing positive changes in your work performance and even get that promotion or job that you've been eyeing for. We hope you had a great Chinese New Year!
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