Thinking about your own career path early on is a decisive factor in later success, particularly for people heading towards leadership roles. To set goals that are actually realistic, the first thing you need is a clear sense of your own skills and values. That you will only reach those goals with effort and staying power goes without saying. But what else is worth considering when you plan your professional future? Here are five tips for getting your career off to a good start.
Set priorities and define concrete goals
Know yourself and know your goals. Without a clearly defined goal it is hard to follow a career plan consistently and see it through. There is of course nothing wrong with trying several industries when you are starting out, but you should always set yourself interim goals along the way. As soon as a bigger long-term goal takes shape, it is time to put in place the steps needed to reach it as directly as possible. For a goal to actually become achievable, it is particularly important to phrase it as concretely and as briefly as possible, and to write it down. A word counter can help you find tighter formulations and concentrate on the essentials.
Career planning is of course influenced by many factors, not least by developments in your private life. Careers often take a different route than planned, which is nothing unusual – but it is important to know your priorities so that, when life changes dramatically or an opportunity presents itself, you do not act too hastily and regret it later.
Be spontaneous and show genuine interest in others
Anyone who wants to get as far up the ladder as possible should master the art of small talk. That means using every good opportunity to strike up a conversation with the relevant decision-makers in the company and to build a good relationship with them. Naturally it is important not to be pushy or to come across as artificial, but to show genuine interest.
Timing and spontaneity also matter when deciding between changing employer and changing position within a company. Not spontaneity out of the blue, though: with every career-relevant decision, your own wishes and ideas should be taken into account, ideally without letting yourself be steered by other people's interests.
Keep learning and stay current
Without regular professional development it is barely possible, in any industry, to move up into leadership positions in the digital age. Training does not only improve your own knowledge and skills; it often leads to additional qualifications that open doors previously closed to you. Anyone who takes part in subject-related courses alongside their degree gives themselves a considerable advantage over other candidates for that first job.
Learn from your own mistakes and focus on the future
Looking back, almost every career contains decisions that with hindsight should have gone differently. But it is worth leaving it at that hypothetical, because you will never find out which route your career would have taken if that supposed mistake could be undone. It is not unusual, for example, for a job change to turn out less advantageous than hoped, because too much was pinned on the new role. Rather than being annoyed about past decisions in cases like that, it is more constructive to analyse the mistake and your own behaviour and to focus on what comes next.
Do not be afraid of self-promotion
Just as there is nothing wrong with having a professional editor put the final polish on your thesis, there is nothing wrong with making sure you are seen in the best light. That does not mean praising yourself to the skies at every opportunity; it means pointing to your own contributions in the situations that matter, so that other people are reminded of them. Unfortunately, in many cases simply being good is not enough – and you may quite reasonably point that out, as long as it is true. Self-promotion means making yourself visible and taking a clear position, rather than quietly delivering and hoping someone notices.
There is certainly no magic formula for planning and executing a career with a hundred per cent accuracy. In principle, though, it works as it always does when it comes to winning and being successful. Only someone who knows their strengths can use them deliberately to gain an advantage over the competition, whether in sport or at work. Anyone who is ambitious and works on both their strengths and their weaknesses has a good chance of being successful at what they do.