Then it’s time to get ‘learning hungry’.
Being in the same role can get a bit stale after a while, even if it feels like you are doing the workload of two people, and it’s important to protect your position with lots of younger, cheaper keen people snapping at your heels for your job!.
I have always had an insatiable curiosity to learn new things and my career has evolved as a result, leading me into writing books, articles and creating content.
With all these factors at play at present:
- economic growth slow;
- L&D budgets squeezed;
- informal learning growing;
- more competition for jobs;
- a higher level of skill and qualification for roles than in the past;
- employees staying put for perceived security;
- digital revolution;
- more exacting standards by employers; and
- universities starting to offer free courses on-line
you need to take responsibility for your own career development and strategy if you are going to improve your career prospects. This is important to improve your CV and marketability for a new and better job, whether internally or externally.
This blog, part 1 of 3 shares 10 tips, many of them costing nothing but time to improve your career prospects by building your knowledge, skills and experience.
- Increase your span of control e.g. decision making
- Cover for others on leave
- Get exposure to other departments and roles
- Do a role swap or Secondment
- Do desk/web research about a new knowledge/skill area
- Champion/manage change
- Volunteer to gain a leadership skill, e.g. raising money for charity, chairing a committee
- Take on a stretch assignment
- Spend time with managers cross function
- Make customer visits
What tips would you add? Doing just 1 of these 10 tips will make a difference over time to your career prospects. It is easy to do nothing or put it off.
As a career, talent, and learning & development strategist and coach, or ‘talent liberator’ I get involved in skill and behaviour change in various contexts with both individuals and organisations.
Ask yourself these self-reflective questions:
- What is my career strategy?
- What are my learning objectives?
- What competencies do I need to develop to improve my promotion prospects and marketability?
- What new skills would broaden my horizons and career options?
- How much time am I making each month to build my skills, knowledge and experience?
- What’s stopping me from making this a higher priority?
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