Career advancement techniques

You move into your dream job. You work really hard. The results are there for everyone to see. You work harder and the results become more evident. Everything looks a tad too easy from your perspective.

But then, stagnancy with regards to your job is a luxury no professional can afford. Here are a few career advancement tips that will ensure your continuous professional growth

Constantly update your resume

Your resume is what represents you completely. So, never rush through into preparing it. In case you haven't referred to your resume in years, make it a point to pull it out, leaf through it and add relevant information. If you are not happy with it, keep working on it till you are.

Join a professional organisation catering to your industry

Find out what's available for professionals who share your expertise or your industry domain. Join such associations and attend the meetings regularly. These offer precious education opportunities as well as the chance to hobnob with some of the top executives from your industry. If given a chance, proactively offer to lead such associations. Through active participation you'll get to know your fellow members and make a name for yourself, share experiences, set up best practices and discover new opportunities.

Find a mentor

A professional mentor can steer you through your professional choices by sharing his or her experiences and offering sensible counsel. Find a professional in your field whose career you'd like to imitate. It doesn't have to be someone who does the exact job you'd like to do in the future. Instead, focus on finding a person who demonstrates the character traits you'd like to inculcate in yourself.

Become a mentor

Irrespective of where you are in your career, there is always someone who can benefit from your knowledge. Find that person and take him or her under your guidance. Being a mentor is a wonderful opportunity to learn as you teach. You can share your advice and help someone else grow while, at the same time, increase your own leadership skills.

Maintain a win list

As you progress through your career, keep a running list of your accomplishments. These can be of any size at all. Even small victories should be recorded. This list is also a great tool to refer to during performance reviews and job interviews. You can reference specific projects you successfully completed, and you can offer details on how your work impacted the business. courtesy: Hindustan Unilever Ltd