A Self Starter’s Guide to Growing Your Career

If you want to have a successful career, you need to be a self-starter; landing your dream job in the interview is not enough, unfortunately. Focus on developing as a career professional, and you will secure your future and advance your career; you will also learn a lot about yourself along the way. This article provides some ideas for career advancement to get you started.

Short Courses

Short courses are an excellent way to increase your professional skill set. Short courses can be completed anywhere through distance learning platforms and often have flexible deadline dates so you can integrate them into a busy career. Check out athomeprep.com for some more ideas.

Find professional courses and update your skill through online platforms like FutureLearn, Coursera, and others; alternatively, use a university portal like the open university or a local college. Nowadays, colleges have short courses in a distance learning format for professionals.

Continued Learning

The learning doesn’t stop when you receive your college degree or career certificate; it’s just the beginning. If you want to become a true professional, you need to continue learning and developing all the time. Role models help. Is there someone you look up to in the business?

Ask yourself how that person managed to achieve the status they have and what qualities make them stand out. Chances are you won’t be able to replicate their success exactly – everyone is different – but you can achieve the same level of professional skills through continued education.

Professional Retreats

Make sure you book yourself on a professional retreat once a year; these are spaces where you link up with other like-minded professionals and advance your skillset in a controlled environment. Professional retreats are perfect for upskilling in areas you don’t have experience.

For example, if you require management skills to get to the next level of your career but you don’t have a management role yet, attend some retreats to skill up in this area. If you’re in a management role, attending a retreat can augment your existing skills and make you effective.

Immersive Training

Immersive training is the process of putting yourself in a situation when you are underskilled in order to learn from the process. There are two ways to engage with immersive training, the conventional way and the modern way. The old way means getting involved in the workflow.

But there’s another way to engage with immersive training that uses virtual reality. Put on a VR headset when you want to upskill and enter a world of imitation. The VR environment simulates the situations you will encounter in the real world, giving you a chance to respond and learn.

Auxiliary Skills

Chances are you have a career trajectory and a goal; this is how most people start out and move forwards, but don’t forget about auxiliary skills. Auxiliary skills can be thought of as soft skills or skills that support other parts of the industry not directly related to your career. Auxiliary skills can be things like digital skills, marketing skills, customer service skills, and many more.