10 things to improve your career in 2020
Vivek Jayaraman
20th Dec, 2019
10 things to improve your career in 2020
Cognizant fired some 200 senior employees and planning to fire 7000+ employees further. Infosys is also planning to lay off more workforce by the end of 2019. Anxiousness prevails in people's minds and worried about what might go wrong. Organizations do what is best for their survival in the market. Are you doing what is best for you to keep abreast of the industry as it is continuously evolving? What can you do? Below are the 10 things that you need to do to stay ahead in this competitive world. I suggest you take them as your bucket list for 2020.
1. What do you
want?
Set a goal for yourself. It should be about where you want to
go or about what you want. It could be anything. Like,
"Becoming a Project Manager/Scrum Master/ Full Stack Developer or a
Project Manager." It could be about getting a new skillset or even
starting a company. The next set of things unfolds based on what you are
finalizing here.
2. Time for your
self-improvement
The first and foremost thing is time. Are you spending time on your
self-improvement every day?
- Take
a pen and paper
- List
out all that you do in a day
- Figure
out how much time you are spending on your self-improvement.
- If you are not spending enough, then adjust things accordingly to get you some time for your improvement.
If you are not allocating time for yourself, then stop reading further.
Allocate and then continue.
3. Reading
Everyone reads, but what you are reading is very much important. Some
read news, fiction, novels, comics, stories, articles, and even memes. Make a
list of books/white papers/articles/blogs that you want to read toward your
goal. Make it a plan and make sure you measure it. Reading as a habit will help
you in the longer run. Choose your comfortable format for reading. It could be
books or kindle or audible. Find what works for you and stick to it. Also, find
a suitable place and time for you to read.
4. Attend training/workshops
Learning never stops. Select courses that will help you with your
profession or your goals. Keep studying. The moment you stop studying or
upgrading yourself, you will become outdated. Make sure you learn at least one
course every six months. It could be with or without certification, but keep
learning.
5. Attend Conferences
Conferences are a great place to meet practitioners from the industry
and learn new things from them. Speakers in the conference talk about their
experiences and the learnings they have gained so far. It helps to keep us updated
about how different organizations follow different practices. There will be a
lot of takeaways. Make a list of conferences that are happening next year, which
is related to you. Finalize and register for them so that you can attend and
also get super early bird prizes (easy on pocket)
6. Attend meetups
Meetup is one thing where you can meet new people and learn/share.
Multiple meetups are happening in and around every city in different areas. It
includes management, technical, tools, personal interests, travel, therapy, and
so on. Make some time on weekends for you to find and attend meetups. Leanpitch
conducts meetups in various cities in India and abroad. Our communities are
PlayScrum, Product Thinking, and Startup Gears.
7. Professional Networking/Social Connections
How active are you on professional social media platforms like LinkedIn?
It is a must to be socially active on these platforms. You can follow people whom
you like in the industry, find inspirers in your area of the profession,
find your friends using mobile contacts, and much more. These platforms help
you build connections. These days, recruiters and HR people are checking
profiles on LinkedIn. You can increase your chances of being hired. Get
recommended by colleagues and friends, add your professional certificates and
achievements and keep the profile updated always.
While LinkedIn helps, it's not the only platform. Conferences and Meetups
are also great platforms to meet like-minded people and get connected.
Building your professional network is a must these days.
8. Blogging
Writing blogs is one of the ways to share your learnings with others.
Start writing your learnings, opinions, stories, and experiences in the form of
blogs. Get constant feedback from people who can read and provide feedback.
Blogs are like online journals. Learn more and write more.
9. Apply learnings
Learning isn't enough. It needs to be continuously validated. The best
way to do that is to apply it in your workplace. If you do not have the
opportunity to use it in the workplace, you can find different ways to apply
the same. You can work for free NGO projects, social services, open-source
communities, and other forums/arenas to apply your learning.
10. Have a Coach
You need someone who can observe you and provide you with feedback. Feedback
helps you grow from where you are to where you want to be. Find someone who can
critique you for your actions. You can hire a coach for yourself or have
someone who can critique you. That way, you can continuously improve and be a
better version of yourself every day moving forward.
Do these ten things, and
you never have to worry about layoffs or getting fired. Why? Because you are
more focused on improving yourself and every day when you do something towards
what you want, you never need any extrinsic motivation. Your skills and
connections will help you get well-placed in a better job anytime.
Are you ready to skyrocket your career?
65% of professionals are upskilling in 2023. Don’t fall behind, get on a call with us and start upskilling now!
You are already a step ahead. Keep learning and growing!