4 Essential Facets For An Upwards Career Trajectory

We are all constantly told that our careers need to have an upward trajectory. According to this vein of thought, it’s not enough to just work in a job, earn money, and try to do your best– you have to always have one eye on the future.

In truth, it must be conceded that the reason this way of thinking is given so much focus is because it works. If you allow yourself to linger in your job, become comfortable, then you become vulnerable. You might find yourself struggling for options if your company goes out of business or if you’re made redundant; or find yourself five years down the line, wondering where the time went.

So how can you obtain the upward trajectory that you’re meant to have? Here are a few ideas to get you on the right career path.

Know Where You Want To Be

Knowing where you want to be can be specific — “I want to be a BSN qualified nurse” or “I want to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company” — or somewhat vague — “I want to be happy” or “I want to be earning enough money to live on comfortably”. All that matters is that you know exactly what your goals are, so you can shape all of your decisions with these goals in mind. When you know what your ultimate expectation from your working life is, you can allow this to guide your decisions. When presented with an opportunity, you can ask yourself: “is this going to help me get where I want to be?”

If the answer is “yes”, then go for it– if it’s “no”, then you can move on in search of something else.

Know How To Get There

Having a goal isn’t just about the goal in and of itself; it’s about making decisions and taking choices that will enable you to get there. For example, if you want to be a BSN qualified nurse, then you need to ensure you are working yourself into a position where you can undertake a RN to BSN online qualification, as well as how you’re going to fund it. If you want to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, then you need to study hard to get into a good college, get the right qualifications, and obtain the appropriate experience that are going to help you reach that point. Even if you’re not able to embark on these next steps at this point in time, knowing what the next step is will be vital for a good, upward career trajectory.

Don’t Get Lost In The Minutia

Distraction is everywhere in modern life; you can find yourself procrastinating away time that would have been better spent seeking out ways to accomplish your goals. Learning how to focus, be productive, avoid procrastination, and keep going even when times are tough are vital skills to ensure that your career is always moving in the right direction.

Have A Backup Plan

There is always a chance you will seek a goal and then find you dislike it, or that it’s not the perfect fit for you that you thought it was. Keeping a backup plan in mind ensures that you’ve always got something to default to, so any setbacks only have to be temporary, and you can pursue new avenues as soon as it becomes obvious you need to.