6 Ways to Make Most of Your Career Potential

Photo Courtesy:     kenteegardin

Photo Courtesy: kenteegardin

You may be getting a good pay in a decent job currently but are you putting in your best efforts to make the most of your career? Are you taking proactive steps to be successful? Here are a few ways in which you can maximize your career potential to its fullest.

1. Make the most of online and offline networking

If you are not reaping the benefits of online and offline networking, you may be missing out on many opportunities in your career. You may have all the qualities of a perfect employee but that will be useless if you don’t have the network to access new job openings or at least be connected with other professionals in your industry. You can network with colleagues and other professionals through online tools including LinkedIn and Facebook. Or you can also network in person through seminars and professional events.

2. Stay updated with the latest trends in your industry

You can make the most of your career potential by being in sync with the latest in your industry. You will be a cut above your other colleagues if you can talk about a trend in a meeting and enlighten others about something that they didn’t know. Being updated with the latest will also help you evolve and spot new opportunities in your industry.

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3. Take initiative in your workplace

Sometimes getting the most in your career may be only about taking initiative. Your company may already be offering many opportunities in the form of training courses, seminars, workshops or other modules that are optional and not mandatory. But if you don’t take advantage of these tools to further your career potential, you can be at a loss. It may not benefit you monetarily but it will help you realize the most of your career potential.

4. Take stock of your progress every six months

You may think that you are doing a lot to make the most of your career but you will never know your real progress if you don’t measure it quantitatively or qualitatively at fixed intervals. How many hours did you invest in learning a new skill? How many new contacts have you made this month? Are you doing the same work in your office that you were doing last year? Where do you see yourself in the next two months? Answer questions like these to track your progress and see how much you are maximizing your career’s potential.

5. Get guidance from a mentor

Don’t always measure the progress in your job by how many increments or promotions you have got in your job. You also have to ensure that you are being guided in the right direction and are receiving the right type of advice. Ask an industry professional who you admire, to become your mentor and guide you to maximize your career potential.

6. Update your skills through training

Fine tuning or polishing your skills from time to time is a must in every profession, whether you are a carpenter, sales person or an IT professional. Update your skills through training courses or through self learning. If you only keep depending on the skills that you already have from many years, your skills set may become outdated and redundant.