How To Invest In Your Career, Not Job

By WILSON Muchiri

Many people have a hard Time differentiating between a career and a job. Some interchange their meanings while most think the two terms actually mean the same thing. It is this. Confusion that has caused setbacks in career development. A job is an activity that is performed for pay and only done as a person requires money to get by. A job is commonly a short-term. A career on the other hand lasts a lifetime. This encompasses a number of jobs that a person has done in their lives. It also necessitates specialized studies, training or formal education to add up to a career. The best way to get ahead in your professional life is by constantly investing in your career this can be done in the following ways;

SET TARGETS: You should be able to transfer your experience and skills across organizations in the industry. Do an analysis of yourself, look at your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities so you know your unique value and how to use it. It is always important to evaluate yourself and you can do this by setting targets, this will prompt you to keep climbing the ladder and building your career

NETWORK: Get to know your peers in the outside, identify your circle of influence then create and then create and nature these relationships. Associate with people who are better than you so that you can learn from them and become better. The network should not only be about receiving. You should also bring something to the table. Nature and maintain them Such that they can provide both counsel and company

PERSUE ADDITIONAL COURSES: You should add knowledge and skills so that they improve on what they already have. Apart from the traditional courses taught in various universities and institutions there are skills that are required in order to be a serious job contender. Some of these have been incorporated in some courses in university. For example communication skills is a course unit in every course while the art of public speaking is part of Bachelor of arts and bachelor of journalism and communication. These additional courses or classes may not necessarily prompt a salary increment but will make you marketable to future employers

MARKET YOURSELF: Be your own public relations officer, promote your brand and do this by giving your career your all without necessarily focusing on monetary returns. People are not blind; they can tell someone that is dedicated to their work from another doing it for the sake of pay. With time, you will have people give testimonies about you. Give out business cards and where an opportunity presents itself, engage people and sell yourself. Invest in a career so that it will be meaningful and rewarding, there is no final point with prosperity and as a result career development should be continuous. This ensures that you never go out of business because with continuous growth comes demand. This not only helps you get ahead in your profession but also eliminates possibilities of unemployment