Growing professionally usually takes time. You need to adapt to the company’s routine, master all processes, gain the trust of leaders and co-workers, obtain recognition for your results and only then envision new career possibilities within the same company.
However, according to data from the Ministry of Labor, the average time a person stays in the same job has been less than 2 years. When we analyze it from the perspective of generations, young people aged 18 to 24 stay even less time: just 9 months.
But is this period enough for your professional growth? And more: is it possible to maintain the motivation to stay until your recognition comes? That’s what we’re going to talk about in this article. Continue reading!
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What is professional growth?
Professional growth is the process of developing new skills that contribute to improving work. This process of improving skills can lead to new career opportunities with new responsibilities and assignments, as well as new management and leadership positions.
To grow professionally, you need a lifelong learning mindset that is, continuous learning.
Furthermore, you must also maintain the motivation to constantly improve yourself. After all, only those who update themselves to meet the most current demands of the job market stand out.
Another point that you should take into consideration regarding professional growth is that it can occur at any stage of your career. In other words, it is not something limited only to young professionals.
Even the most experienced professionals need to continue their journey of improvement to remain desired by companies.
Why is motivation important for professional growth?
Contrary to what many people think, growing professionally does not just depend on the company you work for.
If there is no personal effort from the professional, the tendency is for career stagnation, with consequences such as difficulty finding new jobs and lower salaries. Therefore, the greatest motivation to develop a successful career must come from you.
And where does this motivation come from? Firstly, your life project, which should consider the type of work or career you want to pursue. You know that story about “what do you want to be when you grow up”? That’s what we’re talking about.
When you know what your professional goal is, you understand which steps are essential to achieving it. Therefore, you feel more motivated to continue pursuing your dream.
Is growing professionally for everyone?
As you saw right at the beginning, professional growth is more than gaining new positions. It is an attitude of continuous investment in the development of skills, competencies and attitudes fundamental to self-improvement.
In this sense, it is important that you understand that not everyone develops at the same speed and with the same ease in the same areas.
One person may have more ease in interpersonal communication while another may have more ease in calculations. This means that the former may take longer to develop in accounting or finance, for example.
But under no circumstances does this “extra time” make her less competent or with fewer possibilities for professional growth. Therefore, growing professionally is for anyone.
Motivation and professional growth: setting objectives and goals
If you want to have professional growth, you must start by setting objectives and goals. Let’s say you currently hold an office assistant position. The next step would be to become an assistant. Then, analyst. So, administrative manager.
To grow in this hierarchical line, you need to develop hard and soft skills, that is, technical and behavioral skills that will help you perform these activities. In this sense, the first step to take is to list what skills an office assistant needs to have and which of them you need to develop.
Once you have made your list, the next step is to look for ways to develop these skills. You can do this through free courses, technical courses, a degree and even with the help of mentors.
For each big step in your career, establish the goals you need to achieve to get you where you want. This way, with each small victory, you will have even more motivation to continue improving and growing professionally.
Maintaining motivation despite barriers
We know that achieving your professional goals is not always easy. It may even take a few years for you to reach the position of your dreams. And along the way, you may feel discouraged.
It is in these times of uncertainty regarding your professional future that internal motivation cannot be lacking. Check out some tips on how to keep that flame burning:
Understand what you are feeling
Dealing with emotions is the first step to not losing motivation until professional growth arrives.
In this sense, you can try talking to someone more experienced than you, such as a teacher or family member, or seek help from specialists, such as psychologists.
Understanding what you are feeling will help you regain motivation and breath to continue investing in your career.
Continue your action plan
Even if you’re feeling a little lost, if you have a career plan, just keep following it.
Not every day may be super productive, but just seeing that your small goals are being achieved can give you back the motivation to continue growing professionally.
Recognize your progress
How many times have you felt like you were working, working, without leaving your place? This feeling can be suppressed if you have a notebook or diary where you record your progress.
This simple reminder can take you out of a situation of stagnation, restoring the enthusiasm you need to continue developing professionally.
In addition to taking notes, also remember to celebrate your achievements. You may not even remember the reason in a year, but the celebration will certainly remain in your memory.
Form a support system
Counting on the support of friends, college classmates, work colleagues and family is the best way to overcome life’s challenges and maintain motivation.
Therefore, start surrounding yourself with people who share the same values as you and who can give you the support you need even in the most difficult times.
It is worth including on this list those people who support your professional growth and who can open doors to new career opportunities.