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 driver 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, striving for new tasks broadens your horizons and can help you to happier at work and more successful - and fulfill your personal dreams on this basis.

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

You can find a brief overview here 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 yourself concrete goals. These should Specific, measurable, attractive, realistic and scheduled (SMART for short) so that you are maximally focused on them and stay that way. Make a note of them and work towards them every day. You are 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 further training or courses could help you? Create a concrete plan and set milestones or interim 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 as such. Ultimately, this basic attitude is one of the essential drivers of professional development.

4. make and maintain contacts

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

Just surround yourself with people who support youthat you can learn from and that will bring you closer to your goals. This will definitely help you to get your career off the ground.

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 already on your sustainable commute put a smile on your face in the morning. It shouldn't 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 world of work.

Tip: Also feel free to take a look at the sustainable job portal around. There you will find advertised vacancies 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 don't just have to set yourself tasks, but also real challenges search

For example, if you have problems giving a speech in public, you should of course attend a seminar or workshop where you can work on these skills. Invest in yourself and overcome your fears. If you venture out of your comfort zone, you can only learn and get better.

7. be open to feedback

Regularly ask your colleagues or superiors for feedback. Be Open to criticism and consider them as Chance to develop yourself further. Reflect on your strengths and weaknesses in feedback meetings and use the insights gained to improve yourself in a targeted manner.

8. use the internet

The Internet offers you a wealth of opportunities to further your education. CompleteCourses, webinars or tutorials or look at TedTalks on. Expand your wealth of knowledge and learn new skills.

There are also countless Online platforms (such as XING or LinkedIn) where you can network with others and exchange knowledge. Maintain your profile and fill it with the most important information about yourself. It is your business card for the job market in the online world.

You can also use your knowledge Share in a blogwhere you regularly publish new posts. Over time, you will reach more and more people and thus increase your chances of becoming a pioneer in your subject area.

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

9. be proactive

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

Offer yourself for projects and show that you are motivatedto develop yourself further. Take risks from time to time. If your ambition and will are recognizable, professional doors will open for you much more quickly.

Tip: How you Convince people better I will 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 improves your communication and social skills, for exampleprovides 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 the time to read business and technical books? Then listen to them in the audio version on the go. How else you can easily make sure that you reads more often and more booksI will explain in a separate blog post.

Listening to podcasts is just as beneficial for your professional development. They can be 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 professional field. Read trade journals and blogs, attend MeetUps, conferences and trade shows - also outside your industry. This keeps you up to date and allows you to continue your education in various subject areas.

13. cultivate your soft skills

In addition to technical skills, of course personal skills, Positive character traits and qualitiesthat go beyond learned specialist skillsimportant for a successful career.

Therefore, work specifically on your soft skills, such as your Communication skills, ability to work in a team, resilience, self-organization and Emotional intelligence. Here, too, there are many opportunities to develop yourself further - for example through coaching, workshops or training.

14. follow the right people

If you want to get ahead on the job, you should take their cue from 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 To 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 to set up a sustainable company. You can find out exactly how this works in the linked article.

15. find a personal mentor

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

A mentor is an experienced Person who is personally at your sidegives you valuable advice, supports you on your career path and also promotes your personal development. This could be other entrepreneurs and investors, for example, or your own parents. They definitely know their way around the corporate world and your field of expertise.

There are various 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 programs in your professional field and find out about the requirements.
• Use the Internet: You can also use online platforms such as LinkedIn or XING to search for people who work in your professional field and can act as a mentor.

In the end, it is tremendously important that you have a Good relationship with your sponsor and feel comfortable enough to ask uncomfortable questions in order to receive helpful feedback.

Professional development made easy!

You have now learned many career tips to help you develop professionally. Get organized, maintain contacts in your network, look for challenges, learn from mistakes and from 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)

Professional development plays a crucial role in every professional life. However, the aim should never just be a promotion or a higher salary, but above all a more fulfilling career, broader specialist knowledge, solidarity and, of course, added value for your personal development.

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

Stay curious and willing to learn,

PS: You want to get a adopt effective morning routine or your Inspiring colleagues for more sustainability? You can find out more in the linked blog articles.