Inspire Magazine: career @ Inspire

5 Steps to Excel in Your Career by Kayode Odeleye
Date Added: 2008-04-15

You have been at the same post for years with perhaps only a marginal increase in remuneration and benefits; the last promotion exercise in your company saw your peers leaving you behind; you tried changing jobs several times but the few times you got an offer, they just were not worth it. If the above trapped-in-the-traffic scenario describes your situation then you are not alone. Like thousands of young career men and women, your career is in dire need of some magic lest you get burnt out in the heat.

Here are five suggestions you can give a shot and your career will surely not remain the same
Check Yourself
Starting with a personal reality check is usually a good move as the result of a self-analysis will be crucial to the results you hope to get at the end of the day. The following questions are some whose answers will get you started. What are your personal long-term objectives? How well does your current job fit into these objectives? Are you comfortable doing your current job? Are you putting in your best in your present position? Can your boss depend on you at all times? To fast track your career you must be humble, determined, honest confident and always, always exceed expectations.

Widen your Network
How wide is your social network? From hearing about a job opening to knowing why your boss is always pissed to you and actually getting a dream promotion or new job depends on people. It helps to have a strong network of people in relevant industries and in a diverse range of companies, roles and levels.
Take a step today by re-connecting with old friends, colleagues, classmates and neighbours, joining a new professional organisation or local club and you will be surprised at how true the cliché it’s not what you know but who you know is.

Improve Your Skills
The reason for the stagnation in your career might be that you have not been solving enough problems for your employers, and possessing obsolete skills could be the reason for this.
The most valued soft skills that employers seek from their employees include communications (both verbal and written), interpersonal, teamwork, problem-solving, time-management, analytical, and adaptability.
You'll also want to identify the key hard skills specific to your job and career field.
Once you've identified the skills that you need to sharpen, enhance, or learn, the next step is to get the additional training or education you need.

Get Additional Qualifications/Education
Getting an MBA is the usual route to take not only for those wishing to re-vitalise their careers but also for all those wishing to get to the ‘career apex’. An MBA (from a reputable school that is) puts you in a different class, for instance, holding an MBA from the world’s top business schools (according to the list published by the British government) automatically gives you the minimum score necessary to qualify for the UK’s highly skilled Migrant Programme. And you don’t have to travel out of Nigeria before you get a valued MBA. Lagos Business School and Business School Netherlands Nigeria are two specialised business schools that have proven themselves and offer good value for money.
Management Express, organised by British Council is a starting point for young professionals seeking good management training at a low cost. It consists of 5 related components offering networking opportunities, access to management materials, periodic newsletters and a continuous professional development resulting in a British Council professional development certificate.

Get a Mentor
Anyone who wants a successful career can still achieve this without a mentor but with unnecessary hardship. A mentor is more experienced than you and in a position to offer direction, encouragement and advice to ensure you don’t make the same mistakes he has made. As Oprah Winfrey says, “A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself. A mentor is someone who allows you to know that no matter how dark the night, in the morning joy will come. A mentor is someone who allows you to see the higher part of yourself when sometimes it becomes hidden to your own view.”
It is important to choose a mentor who has similar goals, is in the same career path and has time to devote to the relationship. As the one who will benefit the most, you need to make the initial contact and work hard to maintain the relationship.