Career management is an attentive step one needs to take toward a developing career. It’s a conscious decision many take to improve their career by identifying their goals and strategies and then doing regular analysis and reflection.
It is not a one-time activity, it gets done throughout your whole career no matter what level you are on, there is always somewhere greater to grow. Career management will help you maximize your career potential, fulfillment, and sense of security over time, while insights will support you in your technical career strategy.
What data should you collect when managing your career?
Career management analysis provides valuable information for your career, that you can then look for in a job. 87% of millennials state that professional development or career growth opportunities play an important role. While it may be tough to go through all the data and statistics, try to focus on the following insight data for a successful career.
- Demographics. This involves the workforce population, average age, and the highest level of education.
- Workforce demand. This refers to the nature of the job and what needs to be done.
- Salary information. This includes potential growth, median salary, and industry-specific or job-specific earning potential.
- Geographical factors. This consists of opportunities in various locations, locally and internationally.
- Market trends. This refers to forecasts or predictions that affect hiring strategies and behavior.
Helpful insights that will allow you to better navigate your path
When you have collected the right data, you’ll need to run various tests that will give you insights into career management. Here are some assessments that will help you detect details that will allow you to better navigate your path:
SWOT analysis
A SWOT analysis is basically a chart with your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You can learn a lot about yourself when conducting this analysis, identify your skill sets, and what career will benefit most from these skills. SWOT analysis will help you determine areas on which you should focus in order to develop and possibly get a raise.
Career testing
Often times a wide range of employment companies will provide you with a career test to detect what position you will fit best, these tests are based on your personality and qualifications.
In fact, 25% of employees would be more satisfied if they were given the opportunity to do what they do best. Oftentimes, guidance counselors will give these tests to high school students before college applications, so that they know what route of college studies fits them best.
Self-assessment
You know yourself better than any test could ever, all you need to do is just some digging. These self-assessment tests rely on personal reflection, you’ll need to sit down with a piece of paper and truly open up to yourself and state all your interests and skills in a field.
Community resources
Many community libraries and events offer career managing tools through workshops, seminars, websites, and publications. Public libraries have endless amounts of resources for those interested in career management.
Why is it important to use career insights?
As many say, career management insights are very motivating when you start to burn out. If you have lost the enthusiasm for and sense of direction in work, it’s time to re-evaluate goals and prioritize using insights and after that, you will get a fresh breath of energy, fulfillment, and success.
With career management, you’ll develop greater career resilience and adaptability since you will be more aware of your personal brand, strengths, achievements, and opportunities. The lack of career development is the main reason employees leave their jobs, but 94% of them said they’d stay at a company if they see the potential in career growth.
Key skills needed to effectively manage a career in tech
A great example of a career assessment would be IT, while you might believe that you are not cut out for it, you might have the secret sauce to success. The technical skills in the tech area all can be taught, the big problem is the right soft skills.
If you conduct analysis and your skills line up with the following ones, you’ll probably have a great advantage over an average tech specialist.
Communication
A tech professional’s most wanted skill is the ability to communicate. While most of your colleagues understand technical terms and issues, this information also needs to be communicated to supervisors and clients who might have no idea what a certain term means.
Ability to work on several projects
A tech job usually requires you to jump around between several projects and tasks, and in order to be efficient and productive you need to be on top of your organization. If you are conscious and confident in your abilities in time management, you might find yourself a perfect fit in the tech sector.
Analytical skills
Great analytic abilities can take you a long way in the tech community, where you’re expected to find logical and fast solutions to problems frequently. In the IT sector, you need to be an expert at diagnosing technology issues and fixing them, an analytic mind is able to detect problems before they even rise.
Conclusion
To conclude, the biggest part of what translates into our career is associated with collecting important data and deriving valuable insights. Using them to figure out a better career path and possible opportunities is the right thing to do to advance in the career faster.
Insights will allow you to see current job trends and which skills are needed to advance your position. You have a chance of gaining a great competitive advantage if you’re implementing the information you got from insights into your career strategy.
