5 tips to Build a Successful Career in 2023

Last month, I organized a 90-minute session where people were invited to ask me questions related to their career growth or professional development. It was quite insightful and there were lots of takeaways from that session! If you missed it, you’re welcome to register for the next session coming up in February! Details will be out soon!

As I listened to people’s questions, I noticed that many people approach their careers & job search with a ‘survival mindset’ and to be fair, I don’t blame anyone at all because we live in (and frankly over the past few years have been living in) volatile economic conditions.

For this reason, it is not uncommon for people to seek out jobs that can pay the bills & afford them a few luxuries here and there. The result? a group of professionals who have jobs but no career path/trajectory.

Again, no one is to blame here and I fully acknowledge that some people are more privileged than others when it comes to building a career. Some have a solid foundation in terms of education (B.sc, Msc, MBA) while others were also privileged to have had parents who funded their higher education and are not burdened with the ‘black tax’ that comes from being raised in a financially challenging household.

Nevertheless, in 2023, I want to see more people be intentional about their career growth and see amazing success. Here are 5 tips I have utilized over my 8+ years career journey and with which I have seen significant growth:

• Have a vision: Write it down and make it plain so you can run with it. Not every job/industry is for you and having a clear vision helps you be more strategic in your choices. Who do you want to be professionally? Make an honest assessment of where you are currently in your career. Are you where you want to be? Are you at a place where your skills & talents shine the most and have ample opportunities to grow? Have you taken a detour from where you would originally want to be? Where did you veer off track and what caused you to do that? What steps can you take to put yourself back on track? I know these are tons of questions but a SMART vision/goal requires brutal honesty and appraisal of where you are, how you got here and where you want to be. So sit with yourself, get a pen and sheet of paper and get cracking!

• Identify your skills: I know I have spoken about this multiple times but it begs repeating. Identifying your skills & expertise helps you map out different paths that could be suitable to your career aspirations. What are you naturally adept at, that requires little or no difficulty on your path to execute? What do people compliment you on or admire about you? What educational qualifications/experiences have you acquired and what would you say are their quantifiable impact? This will help you draft out your competitive advantage as a professional against other candidates vying for your dream job. Basically this point talks about “WHO ARE YOU?” And most times when recruiters ask the question “Tell me about yourself?” This exercise really comes in handy when answering that question.

• Cross-reference your skills & vision: Does your skill-set & experience match your vision? If yes, that indicates you’re on the right path and you can take the next step which could be applying for a new job or a promotion in your current job, unleveling your knowledge in your desired field, acquiring new skills etc. If no then back to the drawing board you go! Lol. Not every job is meant for you.

• Build strong roots: In our society where ‘securing the bag’ is a common phenomenon and many are advised to switch jobs frequently to increase their remuneration, I would recommend having strong roots which translates into building a solid value-based brand equity as a professional. Building strong roots can look like staying at a company long enough such that you make significant impact, rise through the ranks (you define how high you want to go), build thought leadership, acquire new skills and expand existing ones & having strong command of your industry/role.

• Build your personal brand: Invest in yourself and build your personal brand equity. Display thought leadership in your field through communication on groups and platforms like Linkedin, show impact and grow your self-worth in such a way that you command respect in your chosen industry.

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