If you’re a building service engineer considering a new job or are tired of your current working situation, getting your career on the right track should be a priority. Even though most people accept the value of hard work and attempt to polish their skills, they tend to not care much about other important aspects such as career perspective.
Many professionals feel dissatisfied with their careers and tend to stay stagnant instead of progressing. Eventually, they quit their job, but they don’t think deeply about their long-term professional goals when searching for new ones.
This article will provide you with some tips on how to make sure your career is on track.
Set Clear Goals
The first thing to do when looking for a job is to set clear goals regarding your career. These goals will help you navigate your career path. Ask yourself: what do you want to achieve in five years? Where do you see yourself in ten years? Asking these broad questions will help you gain some insight into what you want out of your career.
When you answer these questions honestly, you will be able to decide whether your current career trajectory will help you achieve your goals and whether your skills need an upgrade.
Change Your Perspective
Many people try to find different ways to motivate themselves to plan out their careers and find the perfect job. However, motivation is temporary; perspective is permanent. You can’t stay motivated forever, and that’s why you need to change your perspective.
This means you must look at working towards your ideal career as a chore. Do it even when you’re not motivated. Your behaviour and effort determine whether you will succeed or not.
It’s also important to remind yourself that we are humans, not machines; we make mistakes. You need to take care that these mistakes don’t hold you back. Tell yourself that you can improve and continue moving forward.
Be optimistic for your future, envision yourself as a successful person, and commit yourself to self-improvement.
Grow Your Professional Connections
If you want to keep stepping up the professional hierarchy, you need to strengthen your professional network. When you develop professional connections, you get exposed to different job opportunities. You also understand the roles other people have in the industry, formal and informal, and gain valuable insight into the industry.
People who are more experienced than you teach you many lessons on developing your portfolio and progressing in your career. So, you need to get out of your comfort zone and put yourself out there. Attend meetings, events, and other occasions that let you interact with experts in your field.
Make Sure That You Are Constantly Learning
Constant learning is an essential requirement to make sure your career is on track. Learning helps you avail better career opportunities.
Learn from your mistakes and learn from your successes. If you do not refine your skills every two years, your career will remain stagnant, with significantly fewer chances of growing. So, embrace new challenges as learning opportunities and do not be afraid of change.
If you do not face many learning opportunities in your office, then upskill yourself by reading relevant literature.
Choose A Job That Fulfills You
This may sound unrealistic to you or even mildly utopian or romantically unpractical. However, there is a lot of value in choosing a job that can satisfy you. Humans are capable of abstract thinking and crave more than just the fulfilment of their material needs. That’s why you need to pick a job that satisfies you spiritually.
Ask yourself: does my current job keep me engaged? Do I enjoy my job? If the answer is no, it will be much harder for you to progress in that kind of job as you won’t have a real passion or motivation to perform well.
Get To Know Yourself
A great way to ensure your career is on track is to be self-aware. One way to do this is to set goals that mean a lot to you. However, you also have to be honest with yourself and know all your strengths and weaknesses.
Ask yourself whether the environment in your office suits you. Evaluate whether you have to change your behaviour drastically in the office. The more self-aware you are, the better you will be able to judge your career progress.
Final Thoughts
This was our list of tips that will guide you if you are seeking a professional job. Keep in mind that there is no objective guide on how to navigate your professional life. You have to trust yourself and rely on your skills.
Having doubts about your career being on track? Book a call with one of our team and evaluate if there are things that can be changed today.
Author: Mohammed Adris is a co-owner & director at Responsum Global. He has over 8 years’ experience matching the top building services engineering talent with the best employers. He has over 50 written success stories. He’s active on LinkedIn, is a host on The Building Services Podcast, and a regular writer on The Building Services Blog. He’s a dad of 2 & a petrol head.
<<< Next Article: What Should You Do If Your Best Employee(s) Resigns Today? >>>