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8 Proven Tips That Can Help Boost Your Career Prospects
Becoming a professional doesn’t happen from one day to the other. Instead, it is a slow and steady process, full of doubts, failures, and successes. Naturally, most people wish to make every step the right step, which is nothing but a myth.
Boosting your career prospects demands effort and certain friction from time to time. However, it is a fact that the first step can indeed be the right one. The best way to do it is by learning and implementing these 8 proven tips that will grant the most successful results in your career.
1. Improve Your Communication Skills
First impressions are paramount. When communicating with potential co-workers, you want to do it assertively. This means expressing your thoughts clearly, confidently, and as straightforward as possible.
Avoid passivity at all costs. Stop over-apologizing, and get rid of filler sentences that do nothing but lose the focus of your communication. Be bold in your speech, whether it is written or orally. If possible, practice eye contact, and develop an upright posture and a firm handshake.
Strengthening these skills will show you are nothing but a reliable and decisive individual, making you stand out above the rest.
2. Have Professional Social Media Accounts
The majority enjoy having parties and drinking with their friends. The majority also love sharing pictures of these parties on their social media feedback. This, however, is flat-out wrong.
It’s not a sin to have fun since devil-may-care nights and professionalism can co-exist together. The problem relies on showing the party-animal side to strangers, potential clients, and your boss. There could be some exceptions, but most people cannot trust a job to someone whose Instagram feedback is full of pictures of themselves with drinks on hand and making funny faces.
Is it fair? Maybe it isn’t. But a fact is a fact. Either delete photos that don’t display workplace decorum or open a brand new account. After all, actions speak louder than words, and the right actions lead to the right results.
Keep your easy-going character for your friends. Show your professional face to the professionals.
3. Network
Chances are, your first job was the result of a family recommendation; you worked with your uncle at his garage, you babysit your mother’s friend’s child, or you cut the lawn for your neighbor. Believe it or not, this is networking.
Meeting the right people has the potential to skyrocket your success. You’ll gain clients thanks to the recommendations from previous clients. You’ll meet successful entrepreneurs willing to make business with your company. Network the right way to earn a solid reputation and never face financial instability.
Remember, we are social animals. Even if you consider yourself an introvert, you must learn how to network assertively. Sometimes, trial and error is the best teacher, so don’t be afraid of failing.
4. Take a Course, Get a Degree
It’s not uncommon to hear people stating how futile it is to get a degree nowadays. Most believe a degree doesn’t make a difference in the long run. This statement couldn’t be further from the truth.
Indeed, some professionals might have gotten by with no degree whatsoever, and reached the top of the ladder anyway. However, they are people who were either extremely brilliant or worked their fingers to the bone their entire life. In other words, they are a minority.
Any degree guarantees an advantage. Those who lack a degree are always a step behind the ones who studied and earned their titles. As the information found at DegreePlanet.com states, a degree has the potential to turn what you love into a career. It empowers you to make the best decisions in life and reach success despite all odds.
What’s fascinating about degrees is that you don’t have to study decades to earn yourself one. There are hundreds of courses, and you can choose whether to get a bachelor’s, a master’s, a Doctorate or finish a Bootcamp. Remember, any of these is better than none.
5. Use Every Resource Available
The internet has gifted humanity with hundreds of useful tools. Use them to your advantage. If you want to be a professional writer, start a blog. If you want to be a teacher, provide free lessons on Youtube. Possibilities are endless.
Show the world your talents. Use these tools as proof of your experience and abilities in any given field. If you’re too ambitious, then combine all of them. Have a blog, a Youtube channel, articles published on Medium, your own podcast, and much more. The world of the internet is yours.
6. Never Stop Learning
If you thought finishing school or University meant finishing studying, you were wrong. Successful people understand that one stops learning only in their sleep. Become an avid reader, make curiosity a habit, and never assume you already know everything about a given topic.
This growth mindset will do wonders to your life and career. Being hungry for knowledge and experience will earn you new abilities to boost your career prospects.
7. Make a Top-Notch CV
Your CV is your presentation letter. That means that, more often than not, the CV will be the difference between getting your first interview or being rejected. Don’t underestimate it.
Get professional pictures, enlist as many abilities as you can (even those that seem unrelated to the job), and mention every achievement you have earned during your life. Also, enlist your own non-career skills, such as being creative or a quick learner. Everything counts.
8. Practice Interviews
Next time you meet with your best friends, instead of playing Xbox or watching Netflix, ask them for their help. Let them shower you with questions regarding your studies, degrees, abilities, and previous job experiences. Make the meeting as close to a real interview as you can.
If you get nervous or don’t know what to answer, work on that area and find an answer for the following “interview”. This will build confidence. Once you sit for the real interview, you’ll already know what to say, and how to say it.
We all want success in our career paths. We want to turn dreams into reality. Although this is possible, it requires hard work and effort. Additionally, it demands working smart. Follow these 8 proven tips and watch yourself boosting your career prospects to the limit.