How to grow your career in five easy steps

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

You graduated. The courses you attended, and your interest in data helped you land your first job. You started getting the basics and you like to do what you do. Now what? What should you learn? How do you grow in your career? How do you transition to a different role? If you can answer those questions, you are among the very few people in control of their own success. In this article, we’ll talk about the importance to define your own career path, how to set your goals and how to achieve them. I’ll present you with a framework that would help you achieve success even if you’ve been in the workforce for some years.

Careers in the past

In the past, you wouldn’t change workplaces more than once or twice in your life. Your career would be pre-defined for you. You’d move from entry to mid-level positions up to more senior levels. Eventually, after 30 or so years, you’d get your bonus and retire. People generally found success by climbing the ladder until they reached the top. This worked well because the skills required and career advancement routes were much more predictable.

Modern career path

There is not one defined path to success, but having the vision to follow can make all the difference. Instead of a ladder, think of a climbing wall. You don’t only move up, but you could also get back from a management position to an individual contributor, or step sideways by changing careers. It’s not a matter of getting your qualifications and then taking a few steps in the right direction. The modern career path requires a lot more, and that’s extremely valid for new professions such as the ones in the data field.

There are two options in front of you. Option number one is to define your own career path and grow according to your individual skills and needs. Option number two is to leave someone else to decide what’s going to happen with your life and follow the herd. I very much prefer the first option. Defining your career path will help you to identify the direction in which you should move to achieve success. By setting your own goals, you’ll have an idea of the progress that you need to make, and the skills you need to get. You’ll also be in a better position to focus on the tasks and activities which will lead to your definition of success.

Photo by Rahadiansyah on Unsplash

The framework

So you got your first job and are now in front of that giant rock wall. How do you find your path? I followed the same framework for years, no matter if it comes to my own career or the people who reported to me. It has always provided unbelievably good results.

1. Find your strength

List your top five to ten strengths and write them down somewhere. Be sure you keep that list somewhere where you can access it because you’ll need it later. That is the most complicated step. It requires you to be objective and fair with yourself. You may want to attribute some treats to yourself, that you don’t have. You could also miss some strengths you don’t realise. The good news is you don’t need to do that alone. In fact, I’d encourage you to ask a couple of your close friends and family to confirm those with you. Knowing your strengths would help you know yourself better and spot opportunities. That’s a crucial step in the process, and I won’t overlook it.

2. Make your definition of success

Now that you know your strengths, it’s time to define what success looks like in your eyes. Most people define success as working in a corner office, driving a nice car, and working countless hours for a corporation. Others prefer to make just enough money to live and spend most of their time with the family. None of these two definitions is better than the other, and that’s the beauty of what we are doing. It’s your life, your values, and your success.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine your perfect day. Where are you? What do you do? How did you get there? Do you live there, or you needed to pay for an expensive vacation? Are you alone in the woods, or playing with the kids at home? Did you need to work long hours? Did you have to make a shit ton of money? How does your work allow you to do that? Can you answer those questions? Perfect, that’s your definition of success. Write that down and keep it for later.

Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

3. Establish a plan

Right, you are almost there. You know what your strengths are, what you want to do with your life, and what it will take to reach your goals. Do you need any extra skills or experiences? What kind of books do you have to read, or courses to take? Should you be involved in more challenging projects? Do you need to learn a new language to be able to understand new datasets? Do you need to transfer departments to your company? Make sure to include all the changes that may be necessary to reach your goals.

Now, draft a rough plan on everything you need to learn and do. Whatever your plan is, do tell your manager and ask them to support you in your journey! Your manager would be more than happy to help you develop the required skills and see you grow. A good manager would be proud of your success, even if that means separating your paths.

4. Give yourself some time

Now that you have your career plan in place it’s time to start working on it. Look at your plan. What are the one or two things with the highest priority that you can start working on? How can you measure your progress? Set some metrics for yourself and put some time in your diary. But be careful! Most people, especially less experienced ones, would rush through their learning and try to tick as many boxes, as they can. Instead of doing so, you should take your time. If you focus solely on acquiring new skills you wouldn’t have the time to put those skills into practice and actually get good. In the end, you’d have read a pile of books and taken countless courses, but wouldn’t be able to decide on the best solution for a problem. You might not even be able to apply your knowledge to practice. Plus of that, life is unpredictable. More often than not, you’d need to pause working on your career plans and focus on something that feels more important at the moment. So, don’t rush it. Give yourself some slack time, and avoid the stress of missed deadlines.

5. Review

Finally, set some time to review your work. A solid review process is important for many reasons. It would help to identify if you are on the right track or if you need to pivot. It will also help to track and measure your growth over time. In addition, it provides you with a sense of accomplishment when you see how far you’ve come. Also, you’d change with time. Your values and priorities might change and that’s completely normal. Doing that review occasionally is a strong guarantee of success.

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

Conclusion

There’s no strict path in your career. You are unique, and your career should reflect that. You can grow and shite only by defining your path and goals that matter to you.

All that is not just the next fudge. I’ve followed that framework for that for years. I’ve also practised that with people I’ve been working with. Those five simple steps have helped me and my people realise what we value in life, build a plan and pursue happiness. Even if I don’t work with some of those people anymore, we are still in contact. All of them have told me how much happier they are because of what you and I just discussed.

Here’s my request for you. Do that exercise just once. Did you find anything new for yourself? Did your future become more clear? Drop me a message. I’d be more than happy to hear your feedback!