16 October 2017

Careers: motivation to boost your career

careers

Careers are constantly evolving and that means that they can be improved. There are different techniques that allow career optimisation from three distinct and complementary perspectives: motivation, development of competitive advantage and acceptance of the irregular and non-linear nature of career development.

Table of contents

Motivation and successful career paths

Motivational factors help you feel satisfied with your own work. Achieving the motivation that It gives way to job satisfaction, which is a way to boost professional careers, something that can be achieved when personal growth, learning and a sense of achievement are combined.

The perception of achievement allows realise that the activity being carried out is having an impact, both in the organisation and the work team, as well as on a personal level. To recognise it, questions can be answered about:

  • The value that the organisation brings to society and the world.
  • The value it offers to customers and users.
  • The degree of fit between the objectives achieved with the team and the corporate goals.
  • The impact of teamwork on organisational goals.
  • Responsibility, autonomy, influence at a business level, and decision-making ability.
  • The available financial, human, and technological resources.

Despite it being the most common thing. We must not focus solely on the personal impact., Indeed, motivation can receive a significant boost if it is aligned with that of the team and the organisation.

One of the factors that has the greatest impact on an individual's ability to be motivated is confidence. From transparency and openness in communication, to the level of access to business information or the integrity of leadership, everything influences the acquisition of psychological safety that allows commitment to the organisation and strengthens bonds.

Developing competitive advantage that boosts careers

Not only must companies strive to develop a competitive advantage to differentiate themselves from other businesses, but professionals who wish to have successful careers must do so too.

In your case, the market would be the job market and the customer would be the companies you wish to work for or the organisation you are already part of and where you plan to advance.

In summary, it could be said that one must aim to be first, the best, the cheapest, the fastest, or the only one. Skills, energy, commitment, and experience are the cards that will allow you to forge a career that inspires admiration.

In order to develop competitive advantage, it is necessary to Thinking about what can be offered that is difficult to obtain, the point where your value proposition lies. Furthermore, the market reality, in terms of supply and demand, must be taken into account.

Your education, your work experience, your analytical and problem-solving skills, your interpersonal and leadership skills, your network, your reputation, and your personal brand are the assets with which to transform your career into one of those successful professional careers.

To achieve this you will need:

  • Identify the areas of greatest need and highest impact within the target business area.
  • Develop unique and differentiated assets to meet market realities.
  • Put passion into the continuous improvement project, never stop learning, and focus on developing that competitive advantage that will make the difference.

Acceptance of the irregular and non-linear nature of professional development

Despite many believing their professional careers will follow a continuously upward trajectory, the truth is that this is not the case. Throughout an individual's career, there are periods of slowing down and also stages of rapid growth.

Promotions, opportunities to start a new project, or changes in sector or company mark these phases of acceleration where new and greater responsibilities are taken on.

But, When it comes to fostering motivation for career development, these periods are not the most interesting, as job satisfaction and enthusiasm are implicit.

This does not occur in the slow growth stages. As precursors to the acceleration phases, these time slots of variable length should be used to:

  • Build the necessary skills to be ready for the next period of rapid growth.
  • Prepare for a marathon, not just looking at the next stage, but at the race itself on a longer timescale.

Once it's recognised that you're going through one of these periods, you have to accept it and set realistic expectations about how your career will grow. Don't forget that you can't control how often you'll experience periods of rapid growth, nor when a new opportunity will arise or a change will occur; but what you can if the quality of the work itself and the consistency of the value proposition can be controlled.

Edenred Spain