5 tips on how to turn your career goals into reality

With the coming of the new year, everyone looks with hope at the opportunities that the "new beginning" will bring. Recently on our social networks, we asked you what you want to achieve in the new 2021 year. Here are our tips on how your professional goals can become a happy reality, described in 5 easy steps:

‍Gaining a new skill:

‍1. Specify the skill you want to acquire (learning a foreign language, a new technical or soft skill). To make a dream a reality, it must be as accurate as possible. Setting a deadline also sets a framework that is a great motivator.

2. Browse the internet for opportunities for a relevant course or seminar. Check on the sites of educational platforms or directly on Google. Due to the current situation, most courses offer an online presence, but this should not bother you. The distance form offers many amenities, such as repeating the lecture and learning from the comfort of home.

3. Call for details or sign up online. Don't procrastinate! It is important to act quickly, because daily tasks often distract from the larger goal. Use post-holiday inspiration to bring things to success.

4. Prepaid to ensure that you really start. Sometimes we hesitate at the last minute, which is why the advance payment of the fee is a necessary motivator for anyone who has a tendency to be distracted from the ultimate goal.

5. Do your best in every lesson, this is your dream and it deserves maximum effort and dedication!

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Completion of education:

1. Make a clear plan - how much time is left before the final exams; how voluminous is the material you need to prepare for; do you need to create an additional project or presentation? It is important that each aspect is described in detail in order to optimally allocate your time.

2. Consult with colleagues or teachers. A different point of view can often be extremely useful. Ask your teachers for advice on how to deal with the material and ask questions if you have unclear topics. Remember that the Internet is not the only source of additional information!

3. Don't leave everything to the last minute! - Studies show that if we read a bit every day, the brain becomes much more receptive and stores information for longer. Spending an hour or two a day studying will give you significantly better results than if you read everything the night before the exam. If you work, it's best to use the time while traveling to the office or during your lunch break.

4. Take notes! - This is the best way to ensure that you remember what you read because the brain receives identical information in two ways - one by reading and the second by writing. In addition, the notes are suitable for review the day before the final exam.

5. Think of the ultimate goal! - They say that to imagine success as reality is 50% of all work. That is why it is so important to think every day about the end result and how good you will feel when you achieve it. Think about what you will do when you finish or how you will celebrate your graduation. These are things that will motivate you every day, without even trying in that direction.

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Promotion to expert level:

1. Examine carefully the opportunities in your field / company so as not to be disappointed. It is important to be aware of the realistic opportunities that lie ahead of you. In this way, you can plan the path to success in a relevant way. This type of growth opportunity does not appear constantly, in every field and company, as it is linked to factors such as the time of year, financial stability, and the quota for senior employees.

2. Be objective in your self-esteem. Often people make the mistake of having an opinion too high of themselves and applying for a position that requires higher qualifications. This leads to failure and disappointment. On the other hand, good professionals who underestimate their qualities too much are also difficult to promote. Try to be honest with yourself and improve everything you consider a weakness. To this end, you can take self-assessment tests for various hard and soft skills to assess your abilities.

3. Prove yourself in your field! This is one of the key steps when you want to be promoted to an expert level. Take on more responsibilities and don't miss the opportunity to prove yourself as a proactive and initiative person, but don't let yourself get into conflicts in the workplace. Show your good qualities and your desire for development.

4. Conducts elegant negotiations. It is important to maintain a good tone of communication when talking about promotion. No matter how high your qualifications are or if you meet the requirements, you represent your personal brand, and the most important thing is to sell it in the best possible way.

5. Change your job. If you do not see a field for the development of the place where you are now, everything is fine! It often happens that people look for development in a direction that their current employer cannot offer. This doesn't mean that the employee is disloyal or ungrateful, but simply that the time has come to part ways. If this is the case for you, do not hesitate to consider new possibilities here.

​Creating your own business:

1. Investigate the legal regulations and requirements for the industry you are interested in. This is the most important administrative step to consider when you decide to follow your dream. Each industry, even each niche has its own specific and individual requirements that must be met in order for a company to be legal. If you find it difficult, you can book a consultation with a lawyer who will advise you on what you need.

2. Define basic parameters (direction, capital, place, number of employees to start with). It is important to have a clear vision. If you’ve been a Marketing Team Lead so far and you have the experience and contacts you need to start something of your own, then you must first determine what kind of marketing you will be doing - Digital, Direct, or something else. Consider how much you can invest as capital and whether you will start on your own or hire employees.

3. Analyze the competitors! Every good professional must know his competitors in the smallest detail in order to be successfully positioned in the market and to stand out. When you have determined the direction of your business, check on the Internet who are the big players in the market. You can also browse the sites of the chambers that are related to the industry.

4. Prepare a business plan or seek consultation with a specialist! This is the foundation of any successful business, but it can often be a serious challenge for someone without experience. Therefore, we advise you to consult a professional to help you build the best plan for the development and success of your dream!

5. Don't give up when it gets hard! This is the most important piece of advice we can give you and is valid for any purpose, be it professional or personal. The road to success is never easy, so you must sincerely believe in your dream and know that it is darkest just before sunrise!

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These were our suggestions of 5 steps to follow to get closer to making your goals a reality. We hope you found them useful.

‍Last bonus tip: Don't set too many career goals, because you can lose your work-life balance. Therefore, be consistent in your work, but also seek personal satisfaction. See our 6 tips for this here.

‍We wish you a successful 2021 and good luck!