Photo Courtesy: Rochelle Hartman
Lisa got a good head start in her accounting career upon getting hired by one of the most well-known RTW clothing distributors in Australia. She started small, but all fired up to do what’s required to get the job done. Being proactive and well-versed in her job as an accountant, much appreciation had been drawn to her from co-workers and superiors. For over two years, Lisa had been consistent with her performance and carried out her tasks well on time.
However, her colleagues and bosses had no clue on what Lisa began to experience starting her second year in the company. She had been consistent, yes. And that’s exactly the problem. She felt restricted—imprisoned in the redundancy of her duties and routine demands of her bosses. She knows she’s lucky enough to get a high-paying job, but she just can’t help feeling left out and stuck. She longs to do more and knew she could. The harder she tries to be content, the more hard feelings eat her out from inside.
If she insistently denies this truth and doesn’t do something about it, Lisa will remain in the same desk, onto her way to stagnation.
This is not how most people, if not all, envision their career life would be. A flourishing career with unlimited opportunities for professional growth and self-development- this is what many people dream of. Unfortunately, they unconsciously lead themselves to a permanent career plateau after getting buried in their jobs’ routines.
The nature of a person’s career is not entirely responsible for one’s professional advancement and self-improvement. How we turn out as professionals is entirely up to us. This is why we should establish the will and put in enough effort to get to a high pedestal in our careers, and feel the joyous fulfilment from constant professional and personal growth. Here are 5 simple tips to help you.
1. Have a break, have a vacation
Maybe you’re experiencing burnout from too much time spent in the office and work-related stress? Yes, no matter how you love your job, too much of it can be toxic. So drop unnecessary work baggage and take a breather – a long one.
Obsessing on work hinders you to discover new things in and outside your workplace. Spending overtime(s) in the office and bearing heavy workloads do not make you a better employee. You, instead, become easily exhausted which may result in you messing up the job. Relieving one’s self from work pressure helps the mind rejuvenate to maintain optimal function. Take it light and easy, and never forget to relax.
2. Look through the whole picture and reflect
Inspect all aspects of your career and evaluate each, including yourself.
- Is the job too difficult?
- Are you happy with it?
- What inspires and motivates you?
- Are you establishing good professional relationships with your colleagues?
- Do you want to lay concerns to your boss?
- Are you sure you are in the right field?
- What do you do best professionally?
These are few of the many questions you need to confront to identify the problems and create effective solutions to the things hindering you from advancing personally and professionally.
So if you feel like you’re not moving forward the way you want to, immediately re-evaluate and re-strategize ways that can lead you to your ultimate professional goals, before you get too settled on your desk and all desires of moving up dry out.
3. Establish good career-life equilibrium
What hinders most people from going up the ranks is not the lack of time spent on their jobs, but actually too much time spent on it. Good balance must be established between work and play. As the cliché goes, “All work and no play makes a dull man.†This rings true for most, if not all people.
Outside the workplace, our learning opportunities remain boundless. Within the secluded walls of offices, we get glued on our desks, forgetting we have lives to live and more capabilities to harness. So to maintain personal growth, spend enough time with important people and indulge your hobbies. This raises one’s happiness grade. Generally, happy people become successful in their careers.
4. Pursue professional education
It is an advantage to be experienced and skilful at something. But in this highly competitive era, no matter how good or smart you are, you get behind people who have attained higher educational degrees.
Education is given high importance in the professional arena. If you’re short on finances, try to get an advanced diploma in your field of interest while working at the same time. Later on, you can pursue your bachelor’s degree from a reputable training institution with accredited courses. If you will, getting a masteral or doctoral degree, along with excellent skills and good working attitudes, may pave your way to the top.
5. Live Healthy
An aerobics instructor from the Wiesbaden Fitness Center leads U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District employees and family members through a Zumba class at its headquarters building in Wiesbaden, Germany. Photo Courtesy: Carol E. Davis
“Health is wealth†– Unfortunately, many young professionals take this statement for granted. So they go on pulling up all-nighters, eating too much processed food, skipping meals and staying sedentary. These unhealthy practices can affect us professionally, maybe not currently but in the near future. Before you realise it, you end up spending hard-earned money on hospital bills and medicines. What’s worse, your candidacy for promotion gets nulled because of too much absence from work due to recurring illnesses.
Once again, do not bury yourself under too much work. Take time to have regular exercise, do what you love, get enough rest and sleep, prepare healthy meals, and detoxify your minds and bodies. A healthy career person is strong enough to face bigger promotions.
A self-professed geek, Debra Wright has dreamt of being a writer since as long as she could remember. She has recently written about a number of topics online, including career and education, and hopes to get more people interested in business through her written work. Get to know her more through twitter @debrawrites.
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