How to Empower Yourself to Build a Fulfilling Career
Published 29 April 2022 at 08:45
Tickikids Blog Singapore > Digest > How to Empower Yourself to Build a Fulfilling Career
Building a successful career in Singapore is a years-long endeavour for many people. Working your way towards a fruitful profession means acknowledging where you are right now, clarifying what your goals are, and investing your time and effort in improving yourself. This, in turn, will enable you to bridge the gap between where you’re currently at professionally and the ideal position that you want to be in career-wise in the coming years.
If you’re aiming to improve your professional prospects, wanting to switch to a different yet more fulfilling career, or desiring to take on a position that assumes a different set of responsibilities and rewards, here are some of the steps you need to take to ensure better chances of success.
Identify Your Reasons and Your Career Goals
First and foremost, you need to be clear about your future goals for your career. Having a well-defined goal in mind will help you determine the next steps you need to take to turn that vision into reality. What’s your goal? Do you have a particular problem that you want to solve or a field of interest to which you want to devote your time and energy? Is there a change that you want to see in society and you’ve made up your mind to be a part of the movement that brings it about? How can your career goals help you contribute to the cause that you believe in? Answering these questions can help you pick the best direction to take.
Build On the Skills You Need for Your Future Role
One of the best ways to achieve your objective is to acquire skills and knowledge that will prepare you for your future role. This is especially applicable if your current role is quite different from the one you wish to take on in the coming years. For one, if you’re based in Singapore, you can look at the SkillsFuture-funded courses that will enable you to build competencies that will prepare you for the role you envision for yourself. If it’s an option, you can also shadow a mentor and see the intricate requirements of the job. It’s a great opportunity to identify the skills that you need to improve on so you can fulfil the same role with flying colours in the future.
Plan Your Professional Prospects
It’s a good idea to have a long-term vision for your career. Instead of just seeing the next step in the proverbial ladder, you can plot out your professional goals for the coming years, culminating in what you consider to be the peak of your career. Perhaps you work in an office and want to lead your own team after 2 years on the job, then you might want to have a hand at managing projects a few years after
that. This is also a good time to look at the career map that your company has for its employees. If the organisation has a clear-cut plan for its people, then it’s a sign that you can expect to experience growth while you’re part of that team.
Connect with Professionals in Your Field
Part of cultivating a thriving career is building a connection with people who share your professional goals or those who can serve as your colleagues and mentors. Being a part of a network of career-oriented individuals can have plenty of benefits, as it will help you see the current developments in the field that you plan on joining. Your network can also connect you with learning and job opportunities in the field that you wish to join, and this can make it easier for you to break into your dream profession.
Continue to Foster Interests Outside of Work
Aiming for a promotion or building up the skills you need to enter a new profession is a time-consuming project, but don’t let it take over your life. If you let yourself be fully consumed by your work to the point that you start neglecting other aspects of your life, then you might burn out even before you reach your end goal. Do everything in moderation and reach your goal while maintaining thriving personal relationships and retaining your physical and mental health. At the same time, don’t underestimate how your personal life can inspire and drive you to do your best while you’re in the workplace.
No matter if you’ve stumbled upon a plausible profession by some cosmic coincidence or if you’ve set your mind to take on a particular role in society early on, you’ll find that you still have to work hard on the niche that you want to carve for yourself in your chosen line of work. Improving yourself and walking down your desired path for the future is not a project that you want to rush. Take your time and make a consistent effort to become a suitable candidate for the role that you want to have in the future, and you’ll get there eventually.