The ultimate goal of any aspiring professional should be just this: become indispensable to your company. Become so important that they can't afford to lose you. Of course, this is easier said than done but here's a quick overview of different ways you can stay on top of your game.
1.) Ask questions: I'm a very very bad listener. Unless you're talking about something that directly affects my life in some way, I really can't get myself to listen. Nothing ever seems to register into my head. I didn't realize how badly this actually affected me so far in my career. There were facts, tidbits, stories I could have picked up from my teachers, college professors, managers etc. just by listening that would have proved invaluable to me. But then I hatched this awesome little idea: I figured the best way to keep my attention going was by asking questions. This is a win-win strategy really, you pay attention because you want to ask questions and the person speaking knows you care about what they're saying and the subsequent knowledge sharing can prove invaluable for your career.
2.) Be thirsty for knowledge: Probably ties in a bit with the previous point. The more you know, the more you can talk about, and the more people will respect you for it. From what I've experienced in my career so far, it's only when you are able to open up and speak about the latest news, technology trends, market trends, etc. that people will even take you seriously. The ability to debate or share interesting anecdotes in a discussion will set you apart from everyone else. So, keep learning by making it a goal to read books, journals, blogs by industry leaders and so on. Always know what the world is upto.
3.) Organize, organize, organize: At my first job, I didn't really take notes or plan or organize myself in any way and this really hampered my growth. I could never really keep track of my targets nor did I know what I wanted to achieve. The way I do it now is: I schedule a daily plan, a weekly plan, a plan for the year which includes my long-term goals. This way, I know what my immediate targets for work are as well as what I want to achieve in the long run for my career. It's really important to not just be able to deliver at the job you are in currently, but also know where you're headed. This requires some level of sitting down and elaborate planning. If you don't work towards a goal, you may just end up nowhere.
4.) Go above and beyond: This goes without saying but when all you're doing is fulfilling job requirements, no one really takes notice of you. But when you get out of your comfort zone and get involved in things that don't directly affect your job, that's when you become indispensable to the company. Passion needs to be injected into everything you ever do because people take notice of that. Your managers, your coworkers, your CEO, everyone takes notice of that.
5.) Wear many hats: Maybe this doesn't apply to people who specialize in a niche skill. But if you're say a digital marketer, get your hands into everything from web design to social media to ad campaigns to website optimization to...you get the idea. If you're a developer, you can expand your horizons by working on various technologies even outside of work As you keep diversifying your talents and work experience, you are building and adding value to your own brand.
Best of luck applying these! :)
That's a very helpful post!
ReplyDelete