“Where do you see your career in the next 5 years?” the interview panel asked Eniola.
Eniola is a veteran in the Facility Management industry, and even though her entire experience was gathered in just one organisation, she found the question absurd. She assumed that vision for a career path was a question meant for a young professional just starting out and not someone with her level of experience. Eniola is one of many, that believe vision is less important as you grow older.
Conventional wisdom holds that life is a journey, and we move from infancy to childhood to youth to maturity and eventually old age. Of course, everyone knows it’s not nearly that simple; life is not linear. There are side trips and segues, missteps, and derailments along the path of life, and the same is true of your career. When it comes to your professional life, having a vision is often the difference between going far afield and staying (or getting back) on track. This vision helps you create a plan to develop your professional growth, and that is where Career development comes in.
WHAT IS CAREER DEVELOPMENT?
According to Wikipedia, career development refers to the process an individual undergoes to evolve their occupational status. It is the process of self-knowledge, exploration, and decision-making that shapes your career. It requires successfully navigating your occupational options to choose and train for jobs that suit your personality, skills, and interests.
In a nutshell, it is managing the next steps in your career, setting both short and long-term goals, and getting the training you need to master new skills and abilities, all with the goal of moving up the ladder. It is a vital, yet sometimes overlooked component of our lives. Just like Eniola, people can get caught up in just getting the job done, to the exclusion of casting an eye toward the future.
Not having a plan for your professional growth leaves you at the mercy of circumstances, developing your career helps you chart your own course; a roadmap to you being in the job you want, at the level you want, and with a path that will lead you into the future you want after spending 40-plus hours each week.
BELOW ARE SOME TACTICS YOU CAN DEPLOY TO DEVELOP YOUR CAREER:
Self-reflect
Knowing what you want is the first step to creating a path to get there. You need to set aside some time to reflect on who you are, where you’ve been, and what you ultimately want from your working life. Are you happy with the path you’ve taken so far? Are you in the right industry and the right role?
Set Goals
Setting goals help actualize your plans. You can start with a short-term goal, which is usually a subsection of your long-term goal, so forget about where you see yourself in 5. years for the moment. Where do you see yourself in one year? What skills might you need to move up to the next step of the ladder? Write down your goals and create a timeline for yourself to achieve them.
Acquire Skills
In today’s economy, professionals need to keep their skills up-to-date. The fact that employers are struggling to keep skilled employees, means that professionals who have the right skill sets will find many opportunities in the job market.
However, the practice of actually keeping your skills up-to-date is often easier said than done. Between full-time work and personal responsibilities, many professionals wonder how one finds the time to continue working toward their next career goal. As a result, finding new ways to continue learning on the job is crucial to not just staying up-to-date with current industry trends, but also keeping yourself marketable for future opportunities.
You can take advantage of trainings offered at Alpha Mead Training to grow your facility management skillset and abilities. Over time you’ll gain the skills you need to succeed and get promoted.
Pursue Opportunities
In other words, “go after it!” When you’re sufficiently skilled for new employment opportunities, ask for a promotion and new responsibilities. If your current role doesn’t have growth potential, start applying for new jobs.
Here are a few ways to look for new career opportunities:
Get active on LinkedIn: you can reach out to recruiters or catch up with people from your network that are hiring.
Use your other social media platforms: Instagram and TikTok are huge these days, and companies you follow might be hiring.
Talk to human resources about your professional development goals: they might loop you in on your company’s learning and development initiatives, which can help you get your next promotion.
Work on career development planning with your manager: they’ll be excited to hear you’re motivated to grow in your role and might even offer some ideas to help you get ahead.
Career Development is vital. To get yourself started, ask yourself the question “Where do you see your career in the next 5 years” and unlike Eniola, be open-minded to having a vision for your career at whatever stage you are professionally and be intentional in achieving professional growth.
We are conducting a Facility Management survey of organizations to gather data on their current FM deployment and assess how we could help solve their FM needs. We would really appreciate you taking a minute to take this short survey. Facility Management Solutions – Google Forms
