Investment is a valuable strategy that helps people to achieve their goals. The concept plays an important role in our everyday life and it looks like even the tiniest things need some investment before they can happen. For example, when cooking a meal to satisfy your hunger, you have to invest time (cooking it) and resources (ingredients and utensils) to achieve your goal of having a sumptuous meal. This idea extends to even the professional/career life; if you need to get your dreams to come through as a career person, you need to input a significant level of investment.
What are the most important things to invest in for long-term career success?
There is every possibility to believe that you need to invest but are you sure of what to invest? If you are looking to attain a huge level of success in your career, you must first identify the need to acquire new skills, gain knowledge, and grow professionally. After recognizing these needs, you can then go ahead to decide the most important things you need to invest, which are your “Time” (Effort) and Money (Resources).
Time and Money are the elements you need to invest. Another question you must ask yourself is this – What am I investing my time and money into to achieve long-term career success? The certain areas you decide to invest in must depend on your career goals, field, and personal circumstances. However, we will discuss what we think you, as a career person, should invest your time and money into.
Investing your Money
Investing your money in anything is almost like a non-negotiable. So, to achieve great success in your career journey, you may want to invest your funds in the following areas:
Yourself
Investing in yourself may mean a lot of things. However, this is more about your health, well-being, and personal self-care. You can only make plans and set things in motion if you are fit to do so. This technically means that your physical and mental health are the main foundation upon which you build your career life. Hence, the need to ensure that even while chasing the bag, you are well-rested, productive, creative, and better equipped to take on challenges. Only a strong and healthy mind can help you cope with stress even better. So, if you need to eat more fruits, do so! If you need to register at the gym, don’t hesitate! If skincare products become necessary, go for them. Spend your money on yourself if it gives you the energy you need and helps you to focus.
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Books
“Today, a reader, tomorrow, a leader” is a very popular quote created by Margaret Fuller. Having a career transcends just learning the skills and showing up at the office every day. Books cover a lot of insights on problem-solving, communication, networking, and even leadership. You get more than enough information on different topics that are relevant to your field of career. Also, if you are struggling to take possession of a situation and act like a leader, you can read books on leadership, personal development, and management to help you get what you need. Some books on career planning can also provide good guidance on setting and achieving your career goals. Furthermore, every day is not a starry day and you may need some motivation and inspiration to lift your mood, self-help books can do the magic.
Related: Books that can boost your career and confidence
Side Projects
While you already have a career, you may want to try something different on the side. For instance, if you are a 9-5ver, you can give entrepreneurship a shot. Now, considering that you may not be exactly available to manage every affair of the business, you may have to soft-hire a few people to keep the business on while you throw in your input (which could be money) from time to time. Also, you may just decide to invest in stock, bonds, or real estate, anything that will yield a good return in the long run. If you have to revise your career goals in the future or have to handle a little career shake, these projects can protect your financial stability and at the same time, supplement your regular salary. Also, beyond your regular job, side projects can help you learn new skills and open you up to a new level of fulfillment.
Investing your Time
While money is important to achieve your career goals, your time is equally essential. We have discussed the core areas that you need to invest your money in. Now, what do you need to invest your time in?
Courses (Education)
Regardless of the type of field you find yourself in, there is a constant need to brush yourself up from time to time and this includes dedicating time to take new courses. While taking new courses, you are either learning something new and relevant to your field or upgrading your knowledge about a particular idea or concept related to your career. It may be one of the hardest things to spend your weekend or free time learning online but consider it an investment that will yield better results if you get consistent with it.
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Experiences
Experience can come in different forms. It could be traditional job roles, volunteering, freelancing and consulting, internships, and research work. Whatever it is, make sure you are creating enough time to learn from real-life situations and engage in enough practical experience that relates to your field. For every opportunity you find, make sure that you are either contributing to society while enhancing your skills or you are gaining exposure working for different companies/industries. Furthermore, your experience can also go as far as traveling to different countries to have a global perspective and improve your adaptability towards certain things.
Building Skills
The amount of time you dedicate to building your skills reflects your level of expertise. This means that if you invest so much time building your skills even while offering services, you are liable to reach your destination faster (career-wise). It could be any skill within or outside your field; nobody loses anything by acquiring more than one skill. Instead, it allows you to take on several responsibilities, making you a versatile professional, and a valuable one at that. Also, the more skills you have, the less vulnerable you are to economic downturns and company layoffs. Hence, it is important to invest significant time in developing your skills.
Mentors
Mentorship has a lot of good it brings to your pocket as a career person. If you are at a stage in your career where you need it the most, don’t hesitate to embrace the idea. Mentors have more experience and can guide you through your journey to make sure that you get it right with your career choices. Also, mentorship allows you to explore even more people and talents because mentors have a vast network and can plug you into important people who can significantly influence your professional life. While you are looking to invest your time in finding a mentor and taking mentorship classes, be sure that your mentor is someone who believes in you and your potential, and will cheer you on every step of the way.