Devise career path, set goals to reach next level

By Our Special Correspondent

Continuous forward movement is the defining trait of a successful career. What distinguishes achievers from ordinary people is, they do not stop to bask in the glow of their achievements.

They are always trying hard to move another step forward. Developing this attitude is necessary to keep your career alive.

Your career will become stale and begin to die when you give up or postpone moving forward. This does not mean that you move in any direction grabbing every opportunity you come across; you won’t be able to make real progress, especially in terms of vertical growth. Nor does it mean that you set well defined goals for the next 20-30 years and chase them; it will make you rigid and stall movement. What you need to know is which way you want to go.

It is not realistic to expect to know where exactly you would be, at some point in the future. Sometimes you fail to accomplish what today appears to be unquestionably accomplishable. And sometimes you achieve heights you never felt you would or believed you could achieve.

Ask people in top ranks, whether they knew it in the beginning of their careers that they would hold such positions. Most of them will say no. so, instead, follow their secret to success keep moving, utilizing every suitable opportunity that can take you to the next stage in the direction you chose. Now the imminent question here is how to decide on whether an opportunity is suitable for you or not.

The answer is self-reflection. Every now and then, take time to reflect on where you want to go and where you are going. Ask yourself what makes you happy and of environment you like working in. evaluate your accomplishments, interests, priorities, strengths and weaknesses, Define what work-life balance means to you.

This inventory will help you decide on the kind of job profile you should look out for to make the next career move. With the information, you will be in a position to choose the best opportunity from available options.

To make sure that you are constantly progressing, you need to periodically monitor your movement. There are two aspects to this one shifting organizations and two progressing in the same organization.

A new job: When you are pursuing an offer, do not see the job as destination. See it as the basis for the next level of your career development. These days the idea of ‘job for life time’ is obsolete. So before accepting the job, ask yourself where it can take you in the future. Ascertain that the skills and experience you gain will lead to a better job soon, be it with the same organization or a different one.

Some jobs promise regular promotions. But the nature of work does not change and the scope for learning is low. If this is the case, there is no point in taking up the job. After all rank is not all that defines progress!

Progress internally: Once you accept the offer, utilize you accept the offer, utilize the opportunity to prepare yourself to the next level. Give your 100 per cent to the job. Take everything it has to give you. Do not limit yourself to your profile. Learn all that is related to it. More importantly explore opportunities the job opens up. Devise a career path and set goals to reach the next level.

The biggest obstacle in your way to continuously move forward is the complacency that comes with a job. It is too easy to give up the painful process when you receive the pay cheque regularly.

Over a period of time, you get stuck in it and sometimes do not even realize that you are actually struggling in it. So keep reminding yourself that staying in a job for too long can mark you as incompetent. If you halt your attempts to progress, you may end up closing doors for growth opportunities for a long time ahead. This way you will be left with no option when you are desperate for movement or when your organization decides on reorganization.

Movement keeps career alive. And when you move forward in the right direction, you grow. So always keep your eyes open for growth opportunities and utilize them. Be flexible and adaptable.