Tips for Helping You Decide Your Next Career Move

Career progression is important as it can help to challenge you both professionally and personally. It can also play a role in helping you to achieve other life goals, such as purchasing property, starting a family, or taking a dream vacation. While moving forward in your career comes with numerous benefits, sometimes it can be hard to know which direction is the right one for you or how you can put your plans into motion to achieve those goals. If you are wondering what to do next in your career, here are some tips that might help you figure that out.

1.     Make a List of Your Skills

When you are trying to work out what your next career move is, making a list of your skills could help you lay the foundations of these plans. You should highlight what your transferable skills are as these can help you to explore more options, but also more specific skills – particularly if you are interested in a certain role. If you can see that there might be some gaps in your skills that are holding you back from moving on, you can then look into ways to develop these skills to make you a more ideal candidate.

2.     Do Your Research

Once you have determined what your key skills are you can then start looking at the different options available to you. If you do have long-term career goals in mind, looking into the different paths you could pursue to help you achieve these is worthwhile. Knowing what your options are can help you map out your career path more effectively, as well as give you a backup plan if your initial plans don’t work out the way you expected. Staying up to date with industry trends can also help you as it could help you come up with some innovative ideas yourself, as well as provide talking points at networking events and future interviews.

3.     Consider Returning to Education

Some roles will require candidates to have a degree to be considered, and if you have discovered a job that you’re interested in is one of them, you’ll need to make sure you have these qualifications. This could mean returning to education if you don’t already have an undergraduate degree, or the role you want is asking for a master’s or a Ph.D. to be considered. You could enroll in online-based degree programs for a flexible approach to your studies if this is preferable. You can also check entry requirements for courses and colleges at campusreel.org.

4.     Seek Out Shadowing Opportunities

If you are interested in certain roles, but you aren’t entirely sure that this is something you want to pursue, seeking out opportunities to shadow other professionals could help you make up your mind. This will give you a chance to get a better idea of what you can expect from these roles by observing typical daily responsibilities and speaking to those who can give you a true insight into what to expect. This can help you decide whether or not the role you were interested in would be a good fit for you or not.

If you want to move forward with your career but aren’t sure where to start, consider these tips and see if they can help you make your next move.