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When was the last time you considered your job as a long-term career? Are you actively seeking opportunities for growth and advancement, or are you solely focused on completing your daily tasks?

Have you recently taken the time to reflect on your work and approach it with intentionality? Are you waiting for your manager to initiate conversations about career progression? So, your career strategy is flawed.

It is important to take charge of your career development and actively seek opportunities for growth and advancement. Remember, your career is a journey, not just a job.

For many people, myself included, the line between work and personal life is incredibly blurry. We talk about work-life balance all the time, but we don’t always do what we need to do to achieve that balance. At one point, my job took up 95% of my time and I didn’t even care because I was in love with what I was doing. That’s what happens when you’re intrinsically motivated: you follow your passions and increase your personal investment and commitment to a project.

Some people are very committed to their work without even realizing that they spend many hours thinking about it. Others struggle to find a work-life balance or are motivated by factors outside of themselves. It’s about finding what works best for you. And it’s okay to take your work seriously; No one should judge your choices.

But let’s ask the real question: Are you approaching your job as a career and taking strategic steps toward personal growth and advancement? Did you lose control at some point because things became boring or tiring and now you’re just winging it? Or do you want to get more out of work life while still pursuing your career goals and maintaining enthusiasm for your work?

Everyone has different career aspirations that shape their growth. But what actions can you take to advance in your profession without depleting your energy and continuing to do what you love? I had all these questions, so I started researching and researching what a fun and fulfilling career growth path would look like for me.

1. Change your perspective on career growth

I recently read an article by Anne-Laure Le Cunff at Ness Labs about growth cycles and how they can help us think differently about professional growth. Instead of following the traditional, linear, hierarchical career path within a specific industry or organization, Anne suggests taking an alternative perspective (the circular growth model) when considering career growth.

The linear model of career growth assumes that progress is achieved by constantly moving up the ranks and accumulating experience, skills, and seniority over time. Instead, the circular model recognizes that growth is not always a straight line. Rather, it is a learning model that allows you to define what growth means to you and enjoy the processes you go through.

In this circular model there is no fixed hierarchy. We are all immersed in our own growth cycle, and no one is above or below another. In this virtuous circle, competition becomes self-improvement, and each step is an opportunity to advance. Imagine that you are the architect of your personal growth. Don’t just follow a set path; design your own path. What are you passionate about? What skills do you want to cultivate? Growth is not a race against others, but a competition with yourself, learn at your own pace. ‍

As an accountant, you can apply the circular growth model to your career. Instead of focusing solely on becoming a qualified accountant, you can also develop skills to effectively communicate financial decisions. You can change your perspective on career advancement by thinking about how your skills and interests can complement each other and direct the path you follow.

Adopt a circular growth mindset. Don’t obsess over vertical steps; think of upward spirals. Every advance, no matter how small, brings you closer to your vision. Group pressure dissipates, and in its place, you find space for creativity and professional fulfillment.

Envision a career where your interests and achievements merge. Where growth is a pleasant journey, and each step brings you closer to satisfaction. That is the dream you can turn into reality. Go ahead, design your path and make it shine!

Remember that every day is an opportunity to advance in your own circle of growth. You are the author of your professional story!

Set an ambitious goal that will serve as your north star, a dream that will keep you motivated and wondering about the possibilities. It doesn’t have to be a well-thought-out goal with a concrete plan on how to achieve it. It must be elaborate, very ambitious and grandiose. It is the peak of success. This will keep you motivated and make you wonder what the possibilities could be if you achieved that goal.

Always have a goal, whether it’s a grand goal or an annual goal that relates to your North Star goal. It can be small or big, but having a goal helps keep you motivated and your heart pumping. You know what they say, having something to look forward to makes life interesting. The more ambitious your dreams/goals are, the more fun you can have. And who knows? Maybe you can achieve them!

To achieve your ambitious long-term goal, you must be strategic. Remember that progress is a journey and every small step counts.

Start by making small strategic moves. Find out what skill sets you need to be a top employee in your current organization. Take on tasks that require you to expand and hone your skills. By doing this, you will learn more about what you already know and set yourself up for a positive evaluation or promotion, if any, making you a more valuable employee.

Recruit other people to help you achieve your goals. Your manager may be too busy to point out areas where you are weak and need to improve. Regularly ask your managers about areas where you excel and need improvement. If there is something you would like to learn from someone, a peer or a more senior colleague, learn from them. Don’t ask them to be your mentor. Instead, ask specific questions that show them that you are stuck and need help. Asking questions is the best way for anyone to have free time to devote to education.

Knowing what skills, you need to master at different stages of your career to improve your process is better than doing what everyone else is doing or what’s popular. This is being strategic about your own goals and a reason why you shouldn’t compare yourself to anyone else.

Visibility is more than just speaking up in every meeting or taking on every task to show you’re working. Being visible means not letting imposter syndrome or fear steal your ideas or keep you buried behind the scenes. If you’re like me and consider yourself a producer more than an actor, you could act like one even in meetings and hide. You’re not making enough of an impression. I enjoy working behind the scenes so much that I didn’t realize it wasn’t the best decision. However, as I matured, I learned a lot, especially for someone with as many interests as I do, that some type of visibility is crucial for professional growth.

Show your talents when necessary. Don’t be afraid to declare that you are good at anything. This, however, is not a justification for faking it until you make it. Instead, spend time learning and honing your skills/talents. Become so great that when someone thinks you’re not that good, you can confidently disagree because you know you’re incredibly good. They just haven’t had the chance to see how fantastic you are yet.

Being visible is one of the fastest ways to advance in your career and work.

Whether you like it or not, you learn on the job. It’s important to constantly hone your current skills and continually learn on the job. Being able to highlight the new skills you’ve learned helps you identify growth, even in the smallest sense.

Highlighting what I’ve learned in each job I’ve taken helps me see what new and interesting skills I’ve learned that enhance my value as a professional. It also helps me identify the small progress I have made. This may seem small, but it is very important to your emotion. Growth is a journey and every step is a victory.

What new skills did you learn at the companies you worked for or honed? The new skills you are learning will eventually complement each other and allow you to move forward while keeping your interest and curiosity alive. Advancing your career and being a diverse candidate makes you more valuable in every role you take on. Taking note of the new skills you’re learning at each job keeps you informed about what your next step should be and makes it easier to identify your contribution to the organization you work for. You don’t have to rack your brain to update your resume or get lost in the evaluation meeting. You know what new skills you have perfected and how you used them. If you’re paying attention, you can applaud yourself and push away the imposter syndrome when it’s time to knock on the door.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but take a step back and think about what work-life balance means to you. It’s one of the key things to consider when thinking about career growth. What does work-life balance look like for you right now? How will the external and intrinsic factors of your life change in the coming months? Are you the type of person who doesn’t mind letting work consume all your time and energy? If so, your professional growth will be different than someone who has more personal activities outside of work. Use it to your advantage!

Establish a plan that allows you to improve your skills by having your own favorite projects. These could be anything, such as brainstorming new features or untapped opportunity areas, drafting the opportunity areas, problem and solution to present to your managers, or learning a new skill that relates to your goal. professional.

It’s totally fine if you love working so much that you choose to do something work-related in your free time. But be careful not to burn yourself . When you’re aware that you might get absorbed in the work you’re doing, having a plan helps direct that energy to the right places and could be a game-changer. Remember, career advancement is a journey to achieve your personal goals.

Just a friendly reminder that your career is as much a part of life as anything else. It’s important to think about what growth means to you and set some goals. Take a look at your track record each year, see what you’ve learned and highlight the skills you’ve acquired both inside and outside of work. Don’t forget to be strategic in your growth, make yourself visible and define what work-life balance means to you.