Kick Start Your Career With These 23 Tips

Kick your career into high gear starting with committing to investing in your career every day.

By Stephen Dupont, APR

Do you feel stuck in your career? Do you feel like you’re ready for a change? Do you want to get your career back on the fast track? Do you want to do work that feels more fulfilling? Are you ready to take on the next big challenge in your life?

If so, here’s a quick checklist of 23 tips to start kicking your career into high gear. The key to using it is to jump on your bike and start going. In other words, you don’t have to implement these tips in the order they’re listed — choose any of them and just get started, and be open to exploring the road ahead.

1. Update your LinkedIn profile — LinkedIn is the number one destination for talent managers to scout talent for open positions. If you haven’t done so lately, update your LinkedIn profile. Use key words that would help recruiters find you, and revise the summary of your profile to focus on results you have achieved.

2. Revise your resume — If you haven’t been in the job market for a while, now is the time to update your resume. Keep your resume to no more than two pages. Emphasize projects where you had a measureable impact on your organization.

3. Invest every day in your career — Think of investing in your career like investing in a 401K retirement account. Do just one thing — even if it only takes 15 minutes — every day. But do something. Like compound interest, your efforts will steadily grow over time to achieve the goals you desire.

4. Talk to your spouse/loved one — Career planning shouldn’t occur in a vacuum. Meet with your spouse or long-term partner on a regular basis — once a week for a dedicated hour — to talk about career plans, money and your health. Start the conversation by creating the ultimate bucket list of things you’d like to accomplish in your lifetimes.

5. Fill the well — Fill up your well with new insights and information. So make it a point to read books and articles, watch videos, go to seminars, participate in webinars, meet with other communications professions, or even enroll in a program to obtain your MBA.

8. Volunteer — Volunteering is an excellent way to gather new skills and experiences that you might not get in the for-profit world. For example, I have served on the board of directors for three different nonprofits, which has given me a taste of how boards oversee the management of an organization. Opportunities abound — look to your local professional society chapter (PRSA, IABC, AMA, AIA, etc.), your faith community, your local school district, or a nonprofit representing an issue for which you are very passionate (such as protecting wilderness areas or building bike trails).

9. Informational Interview — Set up an informational interview with a peer or someone who works for a company that you’d like to work with, to gather insights about the industry that you’re working within, or about a company that you’d like to work for.

10. Serve as a Mentor — Contact the college or university that you attended, or the college nearest your office, and offer to mentor a college student in your field or industry. Although you have more experience, you can gain fresh new insights from a student.

11. Learn a New Skill — Want to learn how to do search engine optimization, run a Facebook ad campaign, or be effective at investor relations? Attend a class offered by a local college or watch for a seminar or webinar provided by a professional association such as PRSA, IABC, NIRI, or the AMA.

12. Start a “Escape the Rat Race” Fund — Who hasn’t dreamed of chucking it all one day? After you take of the essentials — regularly investing in a retirement fund, creating an emergency savings fund, etc. — start tucking a little bit away each month to give you the financial security to leave a job if you become really frustrated or want to take some time off, such as to travel before returning to the work world.

13. Enter an awards competition — In many professions there are opportunities to showcase your work. In the world of advertising, PR and digital marketing, there are numerous award programs. Creating and submitting an award entry is a great way to compare your work to the work of other professionals. The process will help you better understand where you stand in relation to the competition.

14. Seek a professional designation — Many professions, from accountants (CPA) to public relations professionals (APR, ABC) offer a process to achieve a designation certifying your mastery of professional standards. This process can offer learning opportunities and elevate your standing within your profession.

15. Network within your company — Whether you work with a small organization or Fortune 50 company, invite a coworker out for a cup of coffee to learn about them, their work, the views about the company, and their career.

16. Take a risk — Learn to take little risks to help you build the courage to take bigger risks. For example, if you fear public speaking, start out small — offer to speak to a classroom at local college about your career journey. Then graduate to other opportunities — such as speaking to your peers at a professional meeting or joining a Toastmasters group.

17. Get involved — Join a professional or industry association and get involved. Join a committee and meet others in your industry. Offer to organize an event. Raise your hand to become a leader.

18. Exercise your entrepreneur muscle — A big part of being an entrepreneur is putting yourself in the position of selling. For some people, it’s not easy to ask for a sale, negotiate with a customer or exchange money. So start small. Sell something through Craigslist. Call a local newspaper or magazine and see if they would publish a story about an upcoming experience you’re going to take (such as tarpon fishing in Florida). Make a piece of jewelry and try selling it on Etsy.

19. This is no trend: big data –Take a class or seminar to learn about data analytics and statistics. Big data is no longer a trend, it’s here to stay, and it will become a vital part of communications and marketing planning.

20. Cut at least $1,000 in expenses — Many of us spend money on stuff we really don’t need. Make a concerted effort to cut out stuff you don’t need to free up money to put into your emergency savings. Cut cable, subscriptions, your land line, gym memberships that you don’t use, etc.

21. Experiment! — Look for opportunities to conduct experiments that will help you learn and grow. For example, look up examples of white papers online and write your own — then promote it through LinkedIn. Or, try your hand at writing a blog post on Medium.com.

22. Test out a new location — Want to know what it might be like to live in another city? Ask your boss if you could work for a week from another office in the company’s network of offices.

23. Gratitudes — Every day after you wake up and have a cup of coffee, grab a spiral notebook and write down three things for which you are grateful. Expressing gratitude on a daily basis helps us see and appreciate all of the abundance in our lives. Sometimes we don’t need more, we just need to appreciate what we have.

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