5 Tips to Kick Start Your Career In 2018

Building a career is not easy. And if you have been at one job for some time, chances are you are feeling a bit worn around the edges. Wondering how to pump in fresh life into your career this year? This top five tips will help you kick start your career and give you an edge in the market.

Establish Your Career Goals

It is important that you take some time to evaluate how far you have come and decide where you want to go next. Then you need to draw up clear cut career goals that would help you get there. If you are considering going for a managerial position and you current qualifications will not support that, then one of your goals should be a qualification upgrade.

Volunteer

Employers love it when candidates volunteer to work. Volunteering helps you develop the necessary skills and experience that can come in handy in the future. In a recent survey, 50% of human resource professionals say they are more likely to employ an applicant with useful volunteering experience. More than half of the participants revealed that a history of volunteering makes an application stand out.

When you volunteer, it shows that you are willing to step out of your comfort zone into environment that challenges you to work on your abilities and skills.

These skills can put you far ahead of your peers when it comes to job placements and responsibilities.

Build the right Network

Back in the day, networking was all about going to the right meetings and shaking the right hands. Today, the internet has made it easier. Thanks to social media websites like LinkedIn and Facebook, you can meet the right people who share the same industry interest with you online. This means that without even leaving your home, you can kick start your career by finding the right companies and recruiters who need your skills and experience.

Virtually everyone who is anyone in any industry can be found on these social media platforms and you don’t need an introduction or contact person to have access to them. Only make sure that your professional profile is up to date and impressive enough to attract their attention.

Give Your Resume a Makeover

What worked for you last year may not work this year. You need to take a good look at your resume to see where it can be improved on. Your most recent skills and experiences should be included in your resume to reflect your current level of qualification. Your resume should not only reside on paper, convert it into a professional profile that can be used online. Demonstrate your skills and expertise on your online profile and provide links to your best work. This will point prospective employers to where they can get information about what you can do. Use the internet to turn yourself into a brand that sells.

Review Your Wardrobe

This may appear funny, but it is a fact of life that first impression matters. What you wear plays a huge role in your self confidence. Ensure that your wardrobe contains clothes that would properly portray you for the position you intend to go for.