Tips To Take Charge Of Your Career

(NC) — The days when employees would work at the same company for their whole life and follow a cookie cutter plan to move through their career are long gone.

If you are committed to your career advancement goals, you can’t afford to wait for someone to recognize your talent and take you under their wing. It is now in the hands of employees to evaluate their own career trajectory and plan accordingly to achieve long-lasting success.

For those looking to take career planning into their own hands, here are some tips:

Set broad career goals. It’s important to know where you are and to have an idea where you want to go. Create a plan that outlines where you want to be in the next year, five years and ten years. Having definitive goals is the first step in helping you get there.

Seek out in-demand industries. Depending on where you live and the demographics of your community, there will be different jobs in high demand. Census data supports informed decision-making within communities, helping businesses develop employment plans, select new retail or manufacturing sites, and analyse markets for their products and services.

Become a lifelong learner. In order to continually grow and develop, it’s important to look beyond your current expertise and find ways to develop your skill set. This will add value to your current role and will make you marketable for new opportunities. Look for online courses, workplace training sessions or enroll in programs at your nearest college or university.

Build applicable skills. Focus on developing core competencies that will be of value no matter what role you are in. For individuals in Indigenous communities across Canada’s North, census enumerator and crew leader positions are available that will allow you to develop leadership, time management and organizational skills. These skills will enhance your marketability for future employment. More information about these 2016 Census positions is available online at www.census.gc.ca/jobs.

It’s never too late to start paving the way to a successful career.