Have you been trying to work towards your goals and career plans that are in line with your #girlboss mentality? In order to reach the success that you desire, you have to take control of your life and what you are doing to reach that platform. Here are four tips to help set you in the right direction for ultimate success.
You Need a Plan
A plan is a brainstorming platform. If you really have no idea where to start here, you can make a simple list of “things I like” and “things I don’t like.” Seriously, I did this one day when I felt stuck about career ideas and this helped me to sort through the overwhelming clutter of life thoughts. Some examples on my list of what I liked included: decorating for parties, helping others in a meaningful way and being in charge of my schedule. The items on my things I don’t like list included: working in an overly competitive environment, sales, and handling fundraising. Essentially I look at this as a brain dump. Once you have basic ideas of what direction you want to take, you can then begin to write specific goals. The way you go about goal writing is unique to your situation. The only wrong way to do this, is to NOT write any goals. You can brainstorm weekly goals, monthly, yearly, or go so far as to coming up with a basic five year plan. A five year plan is a great way to get a framework concept of where you see your direction heading. Work your way back from five years later to the present time, and think of what you want to accomplish and where you want to be by then.
Network / Don’t Burn Bridges
You never know when someone that you knew from your past can be useful in your future. Keeping in touch with acquaintances from high school and college will prove to be more vital than you realize. There is always room to reach out to others and collaborate with those who may be of help to you, and vice versa. Think those annoying internships have zero value? Wrong! It is all about the contacts and the relationships you are making. You can go back to a past contact down the road and get a letter of recommendation or even a job recommendation. This advice is given time and time again, and for good reason: it is vital to your success. Think of any social interaction as a chance to cultivate your contacts. Your neighbors, the lady who sits next to you in church, your co worker at Starbucks – always keep in touch. You may have a family friend who has a friend who has a career that you would LOVE. This is a great “in” to get their contact information and learn from the source about how they got to where it is that you want to be. People enjoy talking about themselves and you’ll receive the benefits of listening.
Present Yourself
If you don’t believe in yourself then why would a potential employer? There’s a difference between confidence and cockiness. You have to see yourself as being able to do the job, even if you aren’t 100% sure you can do each task perfectly. The Atlantic explains that, “compared with men, women don’t consider themselves as ready for promotions, they predict they’ll do worse on tests, and they generally underestimate their abilities.” You have to present yourself as someone who is knowledgeable in your field (even if you’re not totally sure what that is yet) OR at least as a full package potential employee who has the capacity and stability to learn quickly and work hard. Why would an employer want to hire you? What value are you adding to their company? Think from their point of view and learn how to properly sell yourself. Lacking confidence? What can you do to set yourself apart and build your professional esteem? Make sure you’re taking care of yourself physically and mentally, dressing your best, having professional social media pages and showing who you are in every meeting. Did you get your ideas heard? Did you add any value to that team meeting? Will people remember what you added to the job on a regular basis? You have to get yourself regularly noticed.
Take Leaders Initiative
Take on some sort of initiative or a side project where you can exceed expectations of your role. This isn’t your part time barista job where you do the same processes each day and are given specific assignments from a manager who is always over seeing you. This transition into the real career force requires creative brainstorming to think ahead. It will set you apart to notice what is happening within the organization and what you can help to improve. You don’t have to wait for a higher up to give you a task, as long as you are getting your regular duties done. Show that you can do more by being an integral part of the team.