It’s very unlikely that you’re going to just wake up someday and have the success you’ve dreamed of. You really must be proactive at managing your career to advance to where you want to be. Contrary to popular belief, your boss isn’t responsible for your career success. Instead of wondering if you’re ever going to get promoted, take control of your destiny, and boost your construction career this year with these tips.
Create Your Own Opportunities
Develop a vision for where you want to go by brainstorming some long-term goals. Then, use these goals to guide you through short-term decisions. It’s important to sit down and imagine what your desired career situation should be after three years, five years, etc. Staying with a company too long without changing job titles can actually be detrimental to your career because some employers could view you as unmotivated.
According to career coaches, in order to establish a track record of success and avoid job stagnation, candidates are encouraged to spend three to five years in a job before searching for new opportunities. Next, you need to create a construction career roadmap that includes actions, metrics, benchmarks, and timeframes. Networking is also essential for career development. It’s important to build and maintain strong networking channels because it makes you noticeable for better opportunities.
Set Achievable Resolutions
Even though the intentions are real, most resolutions end up becoming little more than pipedreams. Psychologists suggest that instead of setting unrealistic goals for ourselves, we need to focus on setting practical resolutions that are based on our capabilities, motivation, and opportunity. Here are some recommendations:
- Learn a new skill – From wine making to graphic design, YouTube can be a great resource for learning things that keep your mind engaged. Plus, you never know, it could be something that you have in common with your next interviewer that helps you stand out. The skills you learn don’t need to be related to your career in order to keep you sharp and help you advance your career.
- Step outside of your career comfort zone – Something as simple as volunteering to represent your company at a conference could open the door you’ve been waiting for.
- Read books about success – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, and Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges.
The professional opportunities that you’ve been waiting for aren’t going to happen unless you take some initiative. Setting a few goals that are attainable is more effective than having a long fantasy list. These tips will help guide you along your career roadmap.
How can we help you?
Searching for an opportunity in the construction industry? Contact The Birmingham Group’s team of seasoned commercial construction recruiters today to discuss your career path or browse our open positions.
Are you a hiring authority in need of construction talent? Submit a search request today.
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