Professional Development – 15 Tips And Ideas To Advance Your Career

You want to advance your professional development? Then you've come to the right place! Reinventing yourself or simply taking the next step on the career ladder is an important drive in professional life.

If you continue your professional development and acquire new skills, you have a better chance of getting a promotion or a higher salary level, for example. In addition, the pursuit of new tasks broadens your horizons and can help you to happier on the job and more successful - and on this basis fulfill your personal dreams.

In this article, I would like to give you 15 tips that you can use to further your professional development and make your career. Let's go!

Here you can find a short overview in advance:

1. Set goals
2. Develop a plan
3. Learn from mistakes
4. Establish and maintain contacts
5. Work for and on things you love
6. Challenge yourself
7. Be open to feedback
8. Use the Internet
9. Be proactive
10. Read books and listen to podcasts
11. Be flexible
12. Stay up to date
13. Cultivate your soft skills
14. Follow the right people
15. Find a mentor

Advantages: Why seek professional development?

Before I move on to the tips, I would like to briefly and concisely summarize the most important advantages of professional development. Simply use them as a personal source of motivation.

15 tips: How to develop professionally?

Motivated enough? Then let's go straight to the tips that are guaranteed to help you develop professionally and advance your career.

1. set goals

Think about what exactly you want to achieve professionally in the long term. Get organized and set specific goals. These should be Specific, measurable, attractive, realistic and scheduled (SMART for short) so that you are maximally focused on it and stay that way. Write them down and work towards them every day. You're guaranteed to make faster progress!

2. develop a plan

Think about how you can achieve your goals. What skills do you need to acquire? What training or courses could help you achieve your goals? Create a concrete plan and set milestones or intermediate goals that you want to achieve on the way to your goal.

3. learn from mistakes

If you make mistakes, then see them as an opportunitylearn from it. Analyze what went wrong and think about how you can do better next time.

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

Albert Einstein (more under Error quotes)

Don't be too hard on yourself, because mistakes are part of the learning and development process and you should see them that way. This basic attitude is ultimately one of the essential drivers of professional development.

4. establish and maintain contacts

Network with others in your professional field and beyond. Both in your professional environment and at events, meetings, conferences and in social networks you should always seek open exchange with others. Make valuable contacts and cultivate them.

Just surround yourself with people who encourage youYou can learn from them and they will bring you closer to your goals. This will definitely help you get your career going.

5. work for and on things you love

Those who pursue a job only for the money or only want to develop professionally in order to earn even more money have poor chances of lasting success. A good job should fulfill you - and you already on your sustainable commute bring a smile to your face in the morning. It should not feel like a job, but like a vocation.

Find tasks that you are truly passionate about. Your Enthusiasm will open more doors for you in the working world.

Tip: Also feel free to take a look at the sustainable job portal around. There you will find job offers with real added value for you, the environment and our society.

6. challenge yourself

If you want to take the next step on the career ladder, you not only have to find tasks, but also real challenges search

So, for example, if you have problems with public speaking, then of course you should attend a seminar or workshop where they work on those very skills. Invest in yourself and get rid of your fears. If you venture out of your comfort zone, you can only learn and get better.

7. be open to feedback

Ask your colleagues or supervisors for feedback on a regular basis. Be open to criticism and consider them as Chance to develop yourself further. Reflect on your strengths and weaknesses in feedback sessions and use the insights gained to improve yourself in a targeted way.

8. use the internet

The Internet offers you a wealth of opportunities to further your education. Complete Courses, webinars or tutorials or look at TedTalks an. Increase your knowledge and learn new skills.

In addition, there are countless Online platforms (such as XING or LinkedIn) where you can network with others and share knowledge. Maintain your profile and feed it with the most important information about you. It is your business card for the job market in the online world.

You can also use your knowledge Share in a blogwhere you will publish new articles on a regular basis. Over time, you will reach more and more people, increasing your chances of becoming a pioneer in your field.

Tip: On the Internet you can also wonderfully learn new language. Advanced language skills also open up great professional opportunities.

9. be proactive

Don't wait for your boss to assign you new tasks or suggest you for training. Be proactive and look for opportunities to further your education yourself and to take on new tasks.

Offer yourself for projects and show that you are motivatedto develop yourself further. Take some risks in the process. If your ambition and your will are recognizable, professional doors will open for you much faster.

Tip: How you Convince people better I'll explain how you can do this in a separate blog post. Use these tips to advance your career.

10. read books and listen to podcasts

Reading books has many advantages - it for example, increases your communication skills and your social competence, provides more topics of conversation and also improves your general knowledge. Most importantly, it helps to absorb new information and gain new perspectives.

Tip: Don't have time to read business and technical books? Then listen to the audio version on the go. How else you can easily make sure that you reads more often and more booksI will explain this in a separate blog post.

By the way, listening to podcasts is just as beneficial for your professional development. You can integrate wonderfully into everyday life - whether in the waiting room, on the train or relaxing on the sofa.

11. be flexible

You should always be ready for new situations and requirements. Stay flexible and Open to change. This attitude can help you identify and take advantage of new opportunities, so you can grow professionally much faster.

12. stay up to date

Keep up to date with current developments in your career field. Read trade journals and blogs, attend MeetUps, conferences and trade shows - even outside your industry. This way, you always stay up to date and can further educate yourself in different subject areas.

13. cultivate your soft skills

In addition to technical skills are of course also personal skills, positive traits and characteristicsthat go beyond learned technical competencies, important for a successful career.

Therefore, work specifically on your soft skills, such as your Communication skills, ability to work in a team, ability to work under pressure, self-organization and Emotional intelligence. Once again, there are many opportunities to develop yourself further in a targeted manner - for example, through coaching, workshops or training sessions.

14. follow the right people

If you want to get ahead on the job, you should orientate themselves on the public figures who have already had a stellar career. Acquire the Habits of successful people to achieve success on your own and to improve your Fulfill dreams.

For example, subscribe to the feeds of influencers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Tim Ferriss, Richard Branson or Arianna Huffington in social media and benefit from their experience. You'll quickly learn to think more entrepreneurially and strive for success.

Tip: Maybe you are also planning to sustainably start a business. You can find out exactly how this works in the linked article.

15. find a personal mentor

If you know a person who is already successful in your preferred subject area, it can be very helpful to recruit them as a mentor:in.

A mentor is an experienced Person who is personally at your sideThey will give you valuable advice, support you on your career path and also promote your personal development. This could be, for example, other entrepreneurs and investors or even your own parents. In any case, they are familiar with the corporate world and your field of expertise.

There are several ways to find a mentor. Here are some tips:

• Search within your network: Perhaps you know someone in your professional or private network who can act as a mentor. Talk to friends, colleagues or other trusted people and ask for recommendations.
• Contact organizations or associations: Many organizations and associations offer mentoring programs. Research such opportunities in your career field and learn about the requirements.
• Use the Internet: You can also search online platforms such as LinkedIn or XING for people who are active in your professional field and can act as mentor:in.

In the end, it is tremendously important that you have a good relationship with your sponsor or patron and feel comfortable enough to ask uncomfortable questions to get helpful feedback.

Professional development made easy!

Now you have learned many career tips to help you develop professionally. Get organized, cultivate the contacts in your network, look for challenges, learn from mistakes and from the people who can help you achieve your goals.

"Whether you think you can or you can't; you're going to be right either way."

Henry Ford (more at Founder quotes)

In any professional life, professional development plays a crucial role. However, it should never be just a promotion or a higher salary, but above all a more fulfilling career, broader expertise, acting in solidarity and, of course, the added value for your personal maturation.

I really hope that I can help you with this article and promote your career. Do you have any questions, suggestions or further tips? Then I look forward to your comments.

Stay curious and eager to learn,

PS: You want to get a adopt effective morning routine or your Inspiring colleagues for more sustainability? In the linked blog articles you can learn more about it now.