6 ways to improve your career potential
Synopsis
Career is the most important investment in one’s life. Experts show you how to nurture it and realise your potential.
Whether you have just got a job, or are well-settled in your career or are still wondering which path to choose, the following advice is relevant for you.
Set a career goal
Just like you plan for your financial goals, you need to plan your career goals meticulously. Ideally, the planning and goal setting should start when one is a student. However, awareness about career options continues to be low among students. “Nearly 72% of students were confused about career options we found in a survey.
“Nearly 72% of students were confused about career options in our survey. More importantly, 80% of the students knew only about six or eight career options,” Prateek Bhargava CEO and Founder, Mindler.com
More importantly, 80% of the students knew only about six or eight career options,” says Prateek Bhargava, CEO and Founder, Mindler.com, a technology-driven platform that helps students and parents choose appropriate career paths.
Most youngsters base their career decisions on what they hear being talked about around them. So while they might want to become a doctor, engineer, chartered accountant or lawyer, they have to understand whether they are equipped for it.
“The first thing in a career planning is to understand your strengths and weaknesses,” says Sairee Chahal, Founder, Sheroes, a firm providing career destinations for women. Students need to turn to career counsellors in their own institutes or seek the help of outside experts.
Continuous learning
Most people tend to think that everything is settled once they land a job. “Just because you have got a job it doesn’t mean that you have achieved your goal and all learning can come to an end. Please note that you need to keep on pushing the career goal,” says Neeti Sharma, Senior VP, Team Lease Services, a human resource outsourcing and staffing firm. “You need to invest in continued education and learning.
“Just because you have a job it doesn’t mean you have achieved your goal and all learning can come to an end. You need to keep on pushing the career goal,” Neeti Sharma Senior VP, Team Lease Services
Lot of things are available online now, use them to upgrade knowledge all the time,” says Shiv Agrawal, Managing Director, ABC Consultants, a leading human resources firm. This continuous learning is already visible in global professions like medicine, nursing, IT engineering, etc. IT professionals opting for a Cisco certification is a case in point. Along with their technical skills, such professionals also need to improve their communication skills.
The world is slowly turning digital and you need to spruce up your digital skills irrespective of the field you are working in. For example, sales and marketing professionals need to update online skills and know how to set up online marketing campaign. Similarly, banking professionals should learn about the latest technologies to promote mobile banking and digital payments.
Instead of getting tied down to the classrooms, teachers and professors can take up teaching on online platforms. HR professionals need to shift from traditional hiring to social networking platforms like Linkedin. “Automation is now a reality and it is going to remove normal repetitive jobs. So the only option you have is to get onto the digital bandwagon and move ahead of it,” says Santanu Paul, CEO and MD, Talent Sprint, an online learning platform. So how should one practice this continuous learning? “Once you identify the skill gap, do something about it every day. Most of this can be achieved by continuous reading,” says Chahal.
While everyone will agree that they need to upgrade skills, lack of time is a problem faced by most working professionals. Taking up online courses is the best way to circumvent this problem. Here again, you may get flooded with courses, so how do you know which is the best one for you? “Take the course that gives you actual experience and not just theoretical notes. You have to learn by doing and not just by reading,” says Paul. While doing any course, your focus should be on learning new skills rather than the certificate you will get at the end. “What an employer needs is the problem solving skills and not additional certificates,” adds Paul.
Think like an entrepreneur
Once you begin to climb the career ladder, you will realise that your existing skill sets are not sufficient. For instance, most people get into the IT sector as programmers and then get promoted as team leaders. The next level is management and it calls for going beyond coding skills.
“Test your ability by shifting to other verticals. This is possible once you stop treating your career as a job, and treat it as a learning opportunity.” Shanta Vallury Head HR, CSR and Internal Branding, RBL Bank
At that level, one needs to understand sales, the financial aspect of any project, customer service, etc. You also need to have in-depth understanding about industry and competition. Shifting from one vertical to another is the best way to understand a business in its totality. Since most companies now have internal job postings and offer lateral shifts, you can easily move across different functions.
“Businesses now promote anything that help in overall improvement of the organisation, so they welcome lateral moves,” says Mukesh Bhasin, Partner, Career Connect. Shanta Vallury, who moved from business function to HR at RBL Bank, is a classic example. “Once you put organisation before self, you start thinking like an entrepreneur.
Moving laterally helps you realise your own potential and also gives you a 360 degree view of the organisation,” says Vallury, Head HR, CSR and Internal Branding, RBL Bank. Vineet Agrawal, who moved from branch banking to HR and then to corporate banking at a large private sector back, agrees. “While organisations give you an opportunity to move laterally, there is no force. So you have to take the initiative,” he says. However, before opting for a lateral shift, understand what it takes.
You may need to relocate. The ability to take risks and the spirit to learn new things are the other essentials. “If you are ready to put in effort, you can learn anything new. But please note that if you don’t learn fast, the next team may not accept you,” says Vineet Agrawal. Experts suggest you start doing this in the initial stages of your career. “Test your ability by shifting to other verticals in the early stages of your career. This is possible once you stop treating career as a job, but treat it as a learning opportunity,” says Vallury. Lateral shifts also help you to remain with an organisation for an extended period of time.
Networking
Networking was always a basic necessity for career growth. “Around 50% of the hiring happens through networks. Career prospects depends on marketability and reaching out to people,” says Bhasin. These contacts can be through alumni groups, former colleagues, etc. Social media platforms like Linkedin and Facebook have made such groups more close-knit.
“Around 50% of hiring happens through networks. Career prospects depends on marketability and reaching out to people.” Mukesh Bhasin Partner, Career Connect
You can use these networks to widen your contacts. “Linkedin is a good start to meet people outside your horizon and also to understand industry trends,” says Chahal. However, be careful about what you post on these networks.
“Most prospective employers look at your social media presence. So posting very strong religious or political views may harm your future career prospects,” warns Shiv Agrawal.
Ask for help or seek a mentor
We seek help when we need it in most situations and there is nothing wrong in taking outside help for career planning. “The ability to ask for help is a requisite quality for career enhancement,” says Chahal. As explained earlier, prospective job seekers can take the help of counsellors at their own institute or other professionals who provide this for a fixed fee.
“Treat your career like a bicycle, it will not move forward if you don’t make the effort and pedal.” Santanu Paul CEO and MD, Talent Sprint
Once you are in an organisation, your immediate superiors (and also the HR department) act as your mentors. “You should be able to ask what is the skill gap and how you should fill it,” says Sharma.
However, you also may have to seek outside help at this level, because the immediate superiors may not be the best for guidance as they have a vested interest in retaining you. “Earlier employers used to provide full career path, but now you have to do it yourself.
Treat your career like a bicycle, it will not move forward if you don’t make the effort and pedal,” says Paul.
Don’t ignore grooming
Prospective candidates have to concentrate on aspects which may not appear connected to the job in question but play an important role nevertheless. Maintaining physical fitness is one such aspect.
“Most employers think if you can’t take care of yourself, how will you take care of the company?” Shiv Agrawal MD, ABC Consultants
Appearances— dressing properly or presenting an attractive CV— are other factors one needs to take care of. Why should prospective employers bother about such things? “Perception is reality and please note that most employers hire based on their perception about you.
Even after being good, the perception about you should also be good,” says Shiv Agrawal. Assume there are two candidates with identical backgrounds. While one is physically fit, the appears obese. Chances are the employer will hire the seemingly fit candidate.
“Most employers think like this. If you can’t take care of yourself, how will you take care of the company?” asks Shiv Agrawal.
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Definition of 'Personal Selling'
Definition: Personal selling is also known as face-to-face selling in which one person who is the salesman tries to convince the customer in buying a product. It is a promotional method by which the salesperson uses his or her skills and abilities in an attempt to make a sale.
Description: Personal selling is a face-to-face selling technique by which a salesperson uses his or her interpersonal skills to persuade a customer in buying a particular product. The salesperson tries to highlight various features of the product to convince the customer that it will only add value. However, getting a customer to buy a product is not the motive behind personal selling every time. Often companies try to follow this approach with customers to make them aware of a new product.
The company wants to spread awareness about the product for which it adopts a person-to-person approach. This is because selling involves personal touch, a salesperson knows better how to pitch a product to the potential customer. Personal selling can take place through two different channels – through retail and through direct-to-consumer channel. Under the retail channel, a sales person interacts with potential customers who come on their own to enquire about a product. The job of the salesperson is to make sure that he understands the need of the customers and accordingly shows various products that he keeps under that category. Under the direct channel, a salesperson visits potential customers in an attempt to make them aware about a new product that the company is launching or it may have a new offer which the customers may not get from the open market.
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5 Forces Analysis Of The Environment
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Endorsements
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Reference Price
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Loss Leaders
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