There are many things young professionals should be doing to progress their career and set themselves up for success down the road.
These include doing a knock-out job in their current position, taking on additional responsibility whenever possible, and getting some much needed on-the-job training and experience.
Despite all this there are many young professionals who feel unfulfilled in their current job role and feel like they should be doing “more.”
We’ll go over five of the things young professionals should be doing but probably aren’t.
1) Roaming Job Boards Regularly
It may seem counter-intuitive to regularly spend time viewing job boards and job openings when you aren’t looking to switch from your current position, but that is actually the best time to look at open jobs.
Regularly roaming job boards has many benefits:
- Become aware of what specific skills employers are looking for as well as what level of competence (beginner, intermediate, advanced) for each skill employers are looking for
- Become aware of the specific experience that employers are looking for
- Become aware of how many openings there are which gives you an indicator of how competitive it will be when you do decide to look for your next job
Becoming aware of these things early on gives you time to prepare. For example, perhaps the next-level job you want 12 months down the road is looking for people with intermediate Microsoft Access Database skills. Problem is, you’ve pretty much never opened the program. This gives you time to learn that skill and increase your odds of landing the job when the time comes around.
2) Keeping their Resume Updated
Updating a resume is another thing that people only think to do when they are actively looking for a new job. Unfortunately this makes life much more difficult than it needs to be. There are countless people in the work force today who haven’t touched their resume in 10+ years. If they end up losing their job or needing to look for another one, they are stuck trying to piece the past 10 years together.
Keeping your resume updated provides you the benefit of always having one ready to go. You never know when an opportunity will present itself and someone asks “can you shoot me a copy of your resume?”
Additionally, regularly updating your resume provides you the benefit of noticing any holes in it. Are you lacking in technical skills? Volunteer/organizational involvement? These aren’t things you want to find out right before going in for an interview.
3) Keeping a Record of Responsibilities and Accomplishments
Sitting on your computer screen is your annual self-review. This is where you can list out all your accomplishments and contributions to your team and company over the past year. Problem is, you can’t remember what you did three months ago, let alone twelve!
I’m sure many of us have been in this scenario. At the very least take a half hour to an hour once every few months to write down all the responsibilities and accomplishments that you had the past few months. It will make year-end review time much easier.
4) Networking outside your Company
Once you’ve been working at a company for some time it’s easy to get comfortable. You may fall into the trap of thinking of your entire career within the bubble of your current employer.
While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to work for the same employer the rest of your life – or at least the foreseeable future – but there are countless reasons you may end up moving to a different company, whether you like it or not. Because of this fact it’s important to remember there are hundreds if not thousands of other companies within driving distance that you could be employed by down the road.
Networking within your company is great and it’s often something that is ingrained within a company’s culture. With that being said, there may be incredible opportunities at other companies. Consider networking with people from other companies whenever you get the chance so that you have some contacts in other companies you can reach out to in case things don’t work out with your current employer.
5) Proactively developing Technical and Soft Skills
I listed this one last for a reason. Some young professionals do an outstanding job of developing their technical and soft skills. Others are on the opposite end of the spectrum and rarely dedicate any time towards developing their technical and soft skills.
The reason skill development should be a priority should be obvious: employers want competent employees! If you have spent time developing skills it shows you care and it gives you an advantage over other candidates who want the same job you are applying for.
Whether you’re a working professional or not, what would you add to this list? If you are a professional, what is the most important thing 20- and 30-somethings can be doing to improve their chances of a successful career?
____________
Photo by Sarah Bradley
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Oh, I’m actually doing things right :) the one I really need yo work on is networking outside my current company. That is hard!
I love looking at the idea of job boards to know which skills you should start developing!
These are actually good things to do at any age. I just turned 40 and have realized I am mainly staying at my job because it’s comfortable and that these are tips I should be using also.
Great tips DC! I’d add something, that would likely fall under #5 and that would be to use your employer to help learn some things you would like to do. Meaning, doing things like shadowing, job sharing, etc. with other areas that you’d be interested in moving to or a skill you’d like to learn more about. At the very least it shows initiative and you never know what will come out of it.
Oh I am defiitely guilty of not updating my resume and probably not networking enough either.. But I do enjoy looking at job boards and developing my skills!
I agree with the extra tip by John and whole heartedly agree with keeping the resume up to date. I actually think that everyone needs to do this because you never know where an opportunity may arise and the first thing you will be asked for is a resume. Even though I have my own business now, I still have to keep my resume updated for potential business partner opportunities.
I really don’t think people realize just how important soft skills are these days. I’ve had old employers tell me that soft skills are a million times more important than other skills because they generally cannot be taught.
I really need to work on my resume. In fact, it’s one of my short term goals at the moment. Thanks for the reminder!
I agree wit this because I recently missed out on a side gig because I didn’t have an up to date resume to hand and when I did they had already filled the position. My own fault for not being prepared.
Love this list! I’ll be starting full-time in September and will definitely be doing all of these. Networking is honestly the most important and I’m going to set out to attend conferences/events as much as possible.
Alicia @FinDiffraction I agree with you on networking outside your company. It takes a lot of time just to do that within a company, let alone meeting (and keeping up with) contacts outside the company.
I see so many people only update their LinkedIn or resume whenever they are job hunting. However, you should be updating it as you go. It’s so much easier and you are less likely to forget important accomplishments!
brokeandbeau I’ve been doing it for a while now and I think it’s really going to pay off when I interview for my next job.
HollySanford I don’t blame you for getting comfortable – it happens to everyone. I also agree that these are things people should be doing at every age, but they should especially be doing it when they are just starting out.
FrugalRules Great point, John. My company has a few of those options available but I haven’t taken advantage of it yet. I’m sure if you do take advantage of it others will take notice.
BudgetforMore I’m in the same boat where I neglect my resume and only update it when I am actively looking for a job. Job boards are great and definitely give you a good idea of what hiring managers are looking for.
Holly at ClubThrifty You’re right Holly. Hiring managers want people with both technical skills and soft skills. Developing soft skills can really pay off.
TheWriteBudget No problem! Good luck with updating it.
Debtbustingchick Ah sorry to hear that. On the bright side now you have an updated resume and are ready for the next opportunity.
cheapstudents Glad you liked it! Networking can go a long ways, that’s for sure.
Great list – I especially love #3. I see it as one of the most important things and one that is SO often forgotten/not done.
SenseofCents I may or may not be one of those people…I need to take my own advice!
The New York Budget It’s definitely something that people usually forget about. I have found it invaluable to have a list of accomplishments at year-end, though, and think it can really pay off considering how little time it takes to update every month or two.
I think 2 and 3 really go well together. I’ve made the mistake in the past of not updating my resume and kind of forgetting what *all* my job duties were. You can articulate them better when you’re actually in the mindset of that job.
I’m definitely guilty of not checking out the job boards. Hmm, what I would add to the list… Saving. Tons of young professionals make plenty of money to save, but for one reason or another don’t actually do it!
Joshua Rodriguez Good point! I was thinking more career-related advice, but that definitely is something young adults should be doing.
Maybe starting a side hustle, for when the corporate gig goes sour.
Great tips. Too often people get too comfortable at their job. But it’s always important to keep your resume updated and to network with others. Developing new skills and continuing to learn is also very important…skills can get outdated. There might be a better opportunity somewhere else or you might need it if you get laid off.
I completely agree! Keeping an updated resume is so important because you literally never know when someone will ask for it!
#3 is extremely important. So many people do not keep track of their accomplishments or the new skills they’ve attained. There have been times an employee would ask me for a raise. I’d ask them to give me a list of their accomplishments. This was two-fold. I wanted them to understand how their accomplishments tied in with the company goals and if they can determine what are above and beyond or slightly above normal. It helps focus the conversation.
The sad truth is that majority of people don’t know their own accomplishments or they’ve forgotten. If you want people to know what you can do tell the story on what you’ve done. Make sure you keep track.
Great list! To add to the final point, developing social skills is so important. Generally, the higher the promotion, the more social skills and less technical skills are required. Some people are just so socially unaware. Thanks for the tips!
Phroogal It’s easy to forget what you did last week – let alone six months ago. The one thing I don’t envy managers on is having to deal with employee compensation. I think most people ask for a raise without thinking about the fact that the manager will want a clear argument/explanation for the raise. Oftentimes managers have to justify the raise to the higher-ups and/or HR (at least where I work) so having a coherent argument is essential.
I’m doing many of these things, but one thing that I really need to increase my efforts of is networking. I am usually exhausted from work and don’t want to have to go to networking events afterward, so I don’t. Since I’m always looking for opportunities, I should really start again.
DC @ Young Adult Money Phroogal You’re right most people assume their manager has the final say. In many cases this is correct but for majority they need to justify the raise to their manager and HR.
#4!!!!!! Seriously! I realized when I went to send writing samples in the past I was forgetting some of my best work! It’s so important to keep track of all of your accomplishments because it’s nothing if you can’t remember it. It’s easy to forget how valuable each piece of work is that you do.
TrendyCheapo you are fine