You are the first person responsible for his/her career. It is up to you to discover your gifts and that special ability that will help you stand out from the rest and have a flourishing career. This is where your first investment should be. Time and money are the two most important currencies.
But in order for this to work, you need to have the bigger questions in mind and set measurable and timed goals:
- What do you need to improve?
- What is the next career level you see yourself ascending to?
- What are the financial and lifestyle changes you want as a result of your career?
- When do you see yourself getting to the next career level?
- When do you expect to see financial and lifestyle changes?
- Are all of the above points in alignment with one another?
Common Mistakes You Should Avoid When Investing in Your Career
One of the biggest error is to invest time and money on a career that you do not feel passionate and ambitious about. For example, don’t invest in studying a certain kind of business or learning coding just because your friends are working in the field and earning a lot of money from it. Hundreds of dollars and hours later, you might not get the desired result: build a career and that is both fulfilling and money-making.
The bottom line here is: don’t borrow from others! Do not just take up a career because your parents, brothers, friends say it’s the best for you. We are quite different people, born with different personalities, character traits and set of skills and we should use them in our own right.
Five Effective Steps to the Best Career Investment Possible
- Know yourself, know what inspires you every day (What are the most-appealing career areas for you? What careers have you already invested in and it didn’t work? What are you investing in right now? Is it in accordance to your passion?)
- Invest in your natural strengths and never assume that they do not need fine-tuning here and there!
- Invest in know-how! “Knowledge is power” – you’ve probably heard this a hundred times. The reason why is simple: it’s true. One of the most important aspects of a career is to be proactive, always one step ahead and read the industry well
- Invest in a career coach. This could save you lots of wasted time and money.
- Invest in your family and personal life. If you don’t have a good personal life, then your career might also wobble on its feet, make you miserable overall.
All in all, the best first investment you can make is in your career. Have you started making it?
