Image Credits: n2growth.com
Contrary to a common misconception, being a hard worker is often not enough to guarantee career success, especially if one is part of a job market as competitive as Singapore’s. While diligence and perseverance are undoubtedly essential, you probably know by now that they will only get you so far. You cannot merely toil day and night, hoping that your superior will notice and give you a promotion. If you want to advance your career and stay ahead of the competition, you can’t wait for good things to just happen. You need to take control and make things happen.
Perhaps you are wondering how you can be more proactive in climbing the career ladder and positioning yourself for success. If so, continue reading this short guide. Whether you are searching for your first job or are looking for ways to get ahead, the following tips can help you find your edge and become more valuable and marketable to current and prospective employers.
Keep Learning and Growing
If you want to remain competitive, you need to continue learning and improving—personally and professionally. You can’t afford to become complacent and relaxed even if you are currently doing well in your current position. Keep in mind that in a fast-paced business landscape, developing your skills and knowledge is a requirement to stay ahead and be ready for the challenges of the future.
As such, you may want to enrol in postgraduate programmes, take continuing education classes, or attend lectures that could help you learn deep skills related to your industry. You may also take advantage of various government initiatives that support lifelong learning and skills mastery.
For instance, you can take certificate courses in Singapore from an accredited institution to gain a fundamental understanding or to upgrade your skills in different emerging areas, including cybersecurity, data analytics, and digital media. You can also take advantage of the SkillsFuture Credit, which provides direct subsidies of SGD 500 to all Singaporeans over 24 years old to pay for a broad range of accredited skills-related courses.
Engage in Volunteer Work
You may not realize it, but doing charity work benefits you in many ways. Besides that feel-good emotion and having a sense of purpose, volunteering can help you get ahead professionally. For starters, you can learn transferable skills in your volunteer gigs that could make you more enticing to employers if you are looking for a job. If you are already working, volunteering can widen your experiences and teach new skills that can help you grow personally and beef up your professional credentials at the same time.
Aside from the valuable lessons, volunteer work allows you to network and expand your connections. You can meet and build meaningful relationships with people in various fields and industries. These relationships could furthermore open doors to rare opportunities that can help advance your career down the road. If you have yet to engage in such work before, you can check out the Singapore government’s one-stop volunteering platform online to find causes aligned with your interests.
Enhance Your Professional Presence
It is not enough that you are capable, highly skilled, and knowledgeable to succeed professionally. You also need to ensure that others know that you possess these remarkable qualities. If the people you interact with have a negative impression of you, it will be much harder for you to get ahead. After all, perception is powerful.
So, how do you boost your professional presence to make you stand out from the rest? Here are some pointers you may want to consider:
- Make sure that your appearance and behaviour convey confidence, competence, and integrity.
- Be mindful of your reactions and how they affect other people.
- Hang out with respectable people.
- Keep your social media interactions and online posts decent and professional.
- Learn to listen and develop a positive communication style.
Join Industry-Related Professional Organisations
Joining professional organisations is another useful avenue to expand your network and meet industry experts that can serve as mentors or role models to keep fuelling your passion for success. Aside from building relevant connections, joining professional groups will give you access to exclusive events, courses, and online resources. All these initiatives can help you stay updated on new technologies and trends in your field. Moreover, professional organisations are also great venues to learn about lucrative career opportunities that you may not have known about otherwise.
Learn from Your Heroes and Competitors
If you want to be successful, study the stories of those who achieved great success. They could be the people you look up to or your competitors. Assess their actions, observe how they talk, and take note of their behaviour, beliefs, and principles. Then, identify crucial points you can emulate to boost your own career. Do this exercise with humility and an open mind. Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know everything. Remember that you can only grow if you accept your shortcomings and commit to improving them.
Staying relevant in today’s workforce requires hard work, but it is not the sole key to achieving this. As advised above, you need to carry out a range of strategies that will give you an edge and create opportunities for employers to notice your worth. So, resist the urge to sit on your laurels. Continue developing and making yourself better wherever you are in your career journey.
