How to build the career you want, starting today
Everyone dreams about being further along in the career than they currently are; but most people struggle to figure out the path forward. When you’re in a job, you’re focused on what is right in front of you and often-times there are enough expectations there to keep your mind engaged on constantly keeping up with the requirements of that role. Only once in a while when people are exasperated from the seemingly endless pains and demands of their role, do many people decide to try to progress to the next rung available to them.
But building the career you want and becoming successful along the way, as I have been learning, has to be a very intentional process; today, let’s explore how this is possible and the steps you’ll have to take to get on your way. I’m continuosly edging towards my goals for the next step in my career, and I’m also a long way forward from where I started and my initial goals. These are some of the frameworks I’ve learned along the way to help me on my journey:
Decide where you want to end up and by when!
It’s very important that you decide where you want to end up and by when. For example, “I want to become a Head of People & Talent” in 3 years. This gives you a scope of your target and helps you create a framework for getting to that position. It also allows you to decipher what is achievable and what extra steps you’d have to take in order to skip ahead to your goal. Your framework lays out the steps in your career that leads to your end goal and the actions and timelines you’d have to take to get there.
Study those that have achieved your goals and learn from their experiences
No matter where you want to go, there is someone who has already followed a path to get there; that is your best possible starting point, because whatever they did you also may have the ability to do. Now it may be that your path is a little different to theirs because you have different circumstances; however having a successful framework to hand as a guide can steer you in the right direction and teach you things that you previously didn’t know.
An even better move is directly reaching out to someone in this role (within your company or even outside it) and learning directly from them; If you are an SDR and you want to become a BDM, you should build a close relationship with a BDM to learn what makes them successful at their job and how they transitioned from being an SDR. This opens up the opportunity for you to become better at the role before you even get it, and also builds a testimonial from a reputable authority to verify your ability when the opportunity to grow arises. Here’s another thing: the person you choose to shadow is also planning their way forward to the next step of their career and by making yourself known to them as a clear successor, it increases their likelihood to recommend you as their peer or replacement if the opportunity arises.
Become the best in your current role.
This is very important even if your desire is to change into a different career path or industry. It teaches you to be an entrepreneur in your own business (your career) and an excellent executor. Here’s another little nugget: It teaches you everything you need to know about doing the best possible work to achieve results in your current role, which means you now have the ability to teach this method to others; ergo… you’d have unlocked the technical capability to demand growth in your career.
Take advantage of opportunities that no one else sees
There are always opportunities hiding in plain sight that you can take advantage of to progress your career, and more often than not, it links closely with each of the points I’ve made above. For example, by being the best in your current role, you start to identify the shortcomings of those who aren’t performing so well; your manager may not have the same scope of reference and most times, they are unable to take on the extra responsibility to coach or change the necessary behaviour. This is where you can step forward and ask to take the responsibility to support the team and help them get better; thereby not only gaining favour; but also positioning yourself as a natural successor/leader.
Seek out new technologies to do your job more efficiently.
A mistake a lot of people make in doing their job, is simply electing to work only with the toolset that the company provides. But there is a massive oversight here in my opinion. How is the business ever meant to operate at the cutting edge if high performers are not able to discover & utilise new technologies to compete better?
Unless strictly prohibited by the business, you should be seeking out new and innovative ways to do your job better. Sales people using Hubspot as a CRM instead of a spreadsheet is why tech companies were able to streamline and make the sales process super efficient, scalable and automated; Talent team managers using Evidenced instead of basic video calling is how high growth businesses have sped up and simplified the hiring process and reduced bad hires. Office managers using Calendly instead of the org calendar to book meetings has made it super flexible for anyone to schedule a suitable meeting at the click of a button.
By being on the cutting-edge of tech useful for your role, you can identify unique opportunities to win and this can make all the difference if it can be replicated to the rest of the team. Once again you’d have established yourself as the natural leader and standout performer.
Ultimately it’s all up to you!
You are the architect of your future. This is why it’s important that you plan your way forward. Nobody gets handed an opportunity without having first shown they can handle the responsibilities of that opportunity. The key thing is to outline the position that you want and prepare yourself to take advantage of the opportunities that no one else sees; by shadowing successful people already in that role, becoming the best performer in your current position and utilising new technology to gain a competitive edge.
Tools mentioned
HubSpot — Powerful, not overpowering. Finally, a CRM platform that’s both powerful and easy to use. Create delightful customer experiences. Have a delightful time doing it.
Evidenced — Hire the right people, with proof to back it up. Play back and analyse your interviews so your team can make better hiring decisions quickly.
Calendly — Easy scheduling ahead. Calendly is your hub for scheduling meetings professionally and efficiently, eliminating the hassle of back-and-forth emails so you can get back to work.
