Most people think of career growth in terms of things like promotions, pay rises, new roles, praise, and so on, and it’s true that those things can be important (it depends on what you’re looking for in life), but the fact is that protecting yourself in your career is important too – just as important as all those other things. In the end, jobs do tend to change, companies restructure or even close, and, of course, your personal goals are going to evolve as you go through life. So with that in mind, here’s how to be prepared and protect yourself in your career.
Keep Your Skills Up To Date
One way that’s definitely going to help to protect your career, and that can be done fairly easily, is to keep learning. As you probably know, industries do change and move forward, and that means the skills you picked up a few years ago might not be worth as much in the future. So it makes sense to do short courses, get certifications, or even just read a lot about changes in your industry to make sure you’re as up to date as you can be.
You don’t have to become an expert in everything linked to your career and industry (although if you want to, there are sure to be ways to do it, including formal qualifications), but if you’re able to focus on the skills that complement what you already do, you’ll always be in demand.
Build A Strong Professional Network
They say it’s not what you know but who you know, and that is partly true. The reality is that it’s both what you know and who you know, so as well as keeping up with your learning, it’s also worth staying in touch with colleagues, helping others when you can, and basically being someone people like working with.
When you think about it, a good network makes it easier to hear about opportunities, get recommendations, and find support if you need it, and that could be exactly what you need if you want to change jobs or even careers.
Understand Your Finances
Financial security is a big part of career protection, and things like having an emergency fund, understanding your benefits, and planning for gaps in income can all massively reduce stress levels that might be putting you off if you’re thinking of changing careers or trying something new.
And what’s really great is that some workplace benefits can even help to make things better when it comes to finances. For example, salary sacrifice car deals can lower the cost of running a vehicle and reduce tax, and that can free up money for saving or investing somewhere else.
Document Your Achievements
It’s easy to forget what you’ve done, especially when you’re busy, and that’s why keeping an accurate record of your projects, results, and even the feedback you get at work is a good idea – you can use it to easily update your CV when you need to, or you could use it to negotiate better pay or a promotion, for example.
Basically, if you don’t note it down and use it, you may as well not have done it, so don’t let it go to waste.