The professional landscape continues to evolve rapidly, making it important for people to adapt to the change. Some professions, like nursing, are continually producing new emerging roles to complement the traditional function. So whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting, the key to staying relevant in your career is to embrace a proactive mindset and prioritise upskilling. It’s good news that 88% of the country’s workforce believes upskilling is necessary for career progression. These tips provide insight into how to stay relevant in your career.
1. Networking and cultivating meaningful connections
Every working professional needs a robust professional network to stay relevant in a field. Networking is an exposure ground that provides most of the elements you require to build meaningful connections. Mentors, knowledge exchange groups, C-suite executives, and other working professionals are excellent people to learn industry tips and tricks from. Engage with a diverse group of professionals who are ready to offer different perspectives on industry issues whenever you have the opportunity. Many working professionals admit to feeling enlightened after a few hours of networking engagements. These are events you can leverage to unlock job opportunities to propel you to the next big stage.
Did you know that networking is good for your mental health as a working professional? Reports suggest that many professionals across different sectors are highly stressed and on the verge of a mental breakdown. It is, therefore, unsurprising that depression is recorded among many working professionals, especially in the health sector. You can, however, keep this at bay by boosting your social connections, which is what professional networking offers.
2. Embrace change and innovation
Adaptability is key to staying relevant in your career. You cannot expect the job market to remain the same as it was a few years ago. Doing that puts you in a box and closed to all the innovation happening around you, especially in your sector. As market demands change, so should you to adapt to new needs. For example, it will be beneficial to explore the possibilities of telemedicine if you are a medical doctor and haven’t already done so.
The pandemic and its ripple effects exposed the porous nature of healthcare in many countries; fortunately, some health professionals managed to remain relevant. They did this by embracing telemedicine and remote patient monitoring to cut back on face-to-face care. Although this worked for mild to moderate illnesses, it helped reduce daily physical trips to the doctor’s office. In other words, embracing technology and innovation helps you adopt new ways to practice your profession without missing out on your core functions.
3. Continuous learning
As already mentioned in the introduction, the professional landscape is evolving rapidly, and that is due to the immense changes occurring in industries worldwide. Failure to keep up with the pace is likely to leave you tailing your peers and contemporaries who adapted to the change. One way to keep up is through continuous learning and committing to the process. Continuous learning is not a one-off process; instead, it is something you do periodically to remain up-to-date with emerging technologies, industry trends, and advancements. Fortunately, it’s easy to enroll in various online courses as part of your commitment to continuous learning as a working professional.
The courses you register for must be relevant to your profession and provide opportunities to acquire new skills while enhancing existing ones. Do not enroll in a course simply because others are doing the same. For example, consider taking nursing courses online as a practicing health professional. It can be part of your continuous learning agenda to stay relevant in the field.
It is important to find out which of the numerous courses matter most to your career and can move you to the next stage of your professional life. By embracing a lifelong learning mindset, you will always remain current and have relevant knowledge that matters in the modern world. That is especially important if you graduated from the university many years ago. There are new ways of doing things in many professions, and continuous learning will help you fit in.
4. Build a personal brand
Personal branding is beneficial no matter the professional field you find yourself in. Remember that the job market is already a competitive space, and without a unique presence, you risk drowning in the sea of professionals trying to make a name for themselves. You can set yourself apart by establishing a strong personal brand that aligns with your profession and job market. Thankfully, social media platforms are largely free and continually used to build and nurture personal brands.
Use these platforms to showcase your expertise, accomplishments, ongoing and completed projects, and so much more, as long as they are relevant to brand building. Additionally, make an effort to update your online profiles regularly to project professionalism. For instance, your LinkedIn profile must reflect your current status if you have moved on to a new job or role. Remember that this only matters if you are serious about building a personal brand and following through with it. The truth is that a strong personal brand attracts job opportunities that align with your career goals. Learn more about personal brand building and make it work for you.
5. Stay tech-savvy
Many online resources describe the current era as a digital age, and that is because of technology’s role in almost every industry. Staying tech-savvy means you will be up-to-date with the latest tools and software relevant to your field. You will find it beneficial to enhance your digital literacy and build proficiency in technology usage. It’s even more important to know that new technology is introduced quarterly or annually. Therefore, knowing current technology is not enough to be tech-savvy.
It would help if you gained mastery over every piece of technology relevant to your profession or job role. Proficiency in technology makes you efficient at the workplace and projects your image as a valuable employee to the organisation. You cannot afford to trail behind in a world that increasingly relies on digital solutions in daily operations.
Relevancy in your career is a multipronged approach, so make an effort to adopt measures that work for you.
