It’s June 2022, which means that half of the year has already passed, and most of us have slept on our New Year’s resolutions (if you haven’t yet, Kudos to you!). Speaking for myself, I don’t even remember them. I’m not saying that I haven’t been accomplishing things lately or have been completely off track, it’s just that the vision is getting blurry – and the efforts I’m doing are all based on the momentum I’ve built.
I feel like I need to reassess my career goals and work on the things I (and you) are running from. It’s one thing to be good at your job, and another to be great and use the resources in hand to land even better opportunities. One thing about me is that I plan a lot, and end up feeling overwhelmed, then ditch the whole plan. So, this time, I’m only prioritizing important career goals that are realistic and actually beneficial.
Thanks to the internet, we have access to hundreds of online courses and materials (that are free) so we don’t have an excuse to not work on our career goals and improve our skills. Let’s be real, there’s a course for literally e v e r y t h i n g. Examples of websites that offer online courses include Teachable, Skillshare, Udemy, and Edx.
Here are 8 power career moves you need to work on to step up your game:
- Challenge your problem-solving skills
- Learn more about the software your company uses
- Practice speaking in public
- Build your network
- Explore side hustles
- Improve your negotiation skills
- Balance your professionalism-friendliness
- Give better presentations
1. Challenge your problem-solving skills
One of the things you’ll always meet no matter what career you pursue is problems – problems will always arise, even if you’ve been doing the same job for years, you’ll likely meet a new problem every now and then. Problems aren’t only technical – there are problems with communication with coworkers, handling clients, working with your boss, or even adapting to new technology.
One of the most valuable soft skills you’ll need in your career is problem-solving. But, how proficient are you? What’s your first approach? Speaking for myself, at the beginning of my career, I would automatically ask a more experienced coworker for help whenever I faced a problem. It’s comfortable doing so, but there’s no growth in it. Until I decided to solve problems myself without reaching out to someone (unless there’s a risk, I propose my solution before taking action).
So, even if you think that you are good at solving problems, try stepping up your game by being more creative, digging deep into the processes and operations, finding out the core of the problem, understanding the business from a different perspective, try out methods that save up time and energy, etc… listen more to those around you and implement what you learn every day.
2. Learn more about the technology your company is using
During my internship in the Human Resources department of a multinational company, I was given the task to look through hundreds of resumes to categorize them into A, B, and C. And of course, as the curious cat that I am, I looked thoroughly into each and every one of them and noticed what was common. The first thing that caught my eye is that 95% of candidates wrote that they’re ‘proficient in Excel’ – not basic, no, proficient.
I’m absolutely sure that the majority of them have basic Excel skills, and if they were interviewed, they would say that Excel is one of their strengths. But, what does proficiency in a certain software actually mean? It’s definitely not adding rows and columns, and doing basic formulas. So, whatever technology your company uses, work on learning new skills and hacks because there will always be more to learn than what you already know.
3. Practice more public-speaking
Before I would give any presentation, I would feel my heart pumping so hard I wondered if anyone else can hear it. Even if I tried soothing myself, the minute I stood in public, I’d feel my body acting out. I learned that to overcome this fear, I had to do more and more presentations – there was just no other way around it.
I put myself out there: I prepared better, rehearsed, learned some icebreakers, embarrassed myself a few times, and here I am a way better presenter than I ever was. To improve your public speaking skills, take some courses and practice practice practice.
4. Build your network
Building your network in the workforce is one of the most important intangible assets you’ll ever have. You never know when those connections will come in handy, even if you have the perfect plan set up and are sure that you won’t need Stephan the CEO of the culinary art startup, you’ll be surprised by the number of times you’ll tell yourself if only I had a good relationship with him or her.
So, whenever you get the opportunity, work on building a strong network with good connections to people. You don’t have to act like you’re fascinated by that person, you simply need a good approaching strategy to build a connection while still being the truest version of yourself. Monitor how master networkers approach people, take up some courses, have some strategies in the back of your mind, test them, and you’re good to go.
5. Explore some side hustles
Because you never know when a side hustle will turn into a great business. If you’re someone who has hobbies or feels attracted to a certain thing, try learning more about it and turning it into a side hustle. I understand how maintaining a work-life balance can be hard, but if it’s something you feel like you want to do, give it some time and energy.
6. Improve your negotiation skills
You’ll always need negotiation skills in your life. Not only in your career, but with friends, family members, your partner, your kids, your boss, and basically everyone. But since we’re talking career here – let me tell you why negotiation skills are important. You’ll find yourself negotiating deals, a salary increase, benefits package, a different role, and many other things. Even if you consider yourself a master negotiator, there’s always room for improvement.
7. Balance your friendliness-assertiveness
In almost every relationship in your life, you will need to assert yourself. And by asserting yourself I mean setting boundaries, making your needs known, and basically communicating that you won’t take shit (in a nice way). Sometimes, we feel like the more friendly we are with our coworkers – or the more agreeable we are – the better coworkers we’ll be. As someone who’s guilting of that, I assure you that in the workforce, things don’t work that way.
There’s a balance between friendliness-assertiveness you need to learn. It’s your way of communicating to people that you’re friendly and nice, but that doesn’t mean that I’ll let you cross my boundaries – or disregard my needs.
8. Give better presentations
At some point in your career, you’ll need to communicate your idea or information to a group of people – whether it’s reporting performance to managerial levels, or presenting your business idea to an investor, presentation skills are a no-brainer if you’re looking to step up your career.
Giving better presentations means that you need to improve your public speaking skills, and learn how to turn information into slideshows in the best way possible. Consider working on your graphic design skills by taking up some editing courses that teach you how to communicate ideas and information effectively.