This article is all about professional achievement.
What is Professional Achievement?
Professional Achievement can be described as something that you achieve in your career.
In most cases, this may involve a formal job where you work between traditional time slots, but this is not a necessity.
Professional achievements are important because they are what fuel the work that you do away from your personal life. At some point in many careers, employees spend more time with their coworkers than they do with their own families.
This shows that work is something that people dedicate a lot of time to and being recognized or feeling accomplished in this space can lead to fulfillment.
Why Do I Need Work Achievements?
Work achievements are a great way to gauge your work ethic and to witness the value that you bring to others.
People spend a great chunk of their lives making a livelihood in the way that they choose. When you are unmotivated and are looking for means of inspiration, achieving professionally at your job can propel you forward.
We all aspire to have a balance between our personal and professional lives. If we keep them separate, you can better manage the roles that you play in both scenarios.
Professional achievement highlights your strengths and exposes you to a different group of people than you would normally encounter.
- What is Professional Achievement?
- Why Do I Need Work Achievements?
- 1. Get a Promotion
- 2. Entered “X” amount of data
- 3. Led a Productive Meeting
- 4. Held a Good Presentation
- 5. Read Through One Section of the Work Manual
- 6. Arrived to Work On Time For a Whole Pay Period
- 7. Successfully Train Coworkers
- 8. Thoroughly Understand Your Work Benefits
- 9. Update LinkedIn Profile
- 10. Complete Steps Toward Improving a Skill
Examples of Professional Achievements You Can Make
1. Get a Promotion
This is one of the most obvious ways for someone to demonstrate their professional achievement.
You have excelled at your job and have been trusted with more responsibility. Moving forward in your career can be very gratifying.
This is the juicy stuff that we all like to add to our resumes.
2. Entered “X” amount of data
You can have professional achievement no matter what job you are doing.
Don’t discount the experience or value you bring to a data entry position. Setting goals for yourself can make the hours fly by and make you feel accomplished.
Keeping yourself motivated is the key to longevity and enjoying your job.
3. Led a Productive Meeting
For those who do not have much managerial experience, leading a meeting can be terrifying.
Managing people, especially very opinionated people, is a skill in itself. If you have been able to effectively lead a meeting, this is something you should celebrate!
You were able to clarify misunderstandings and lead your team forward. That is very admirable!
Know that there are many people out there who have no clue where to begin.
You can’t hit a target unless you are aiming for it, and you can’t achieve a goal without having it. ~ Shawn Doyle
4. Held a Good Presentation
We all know that the fear of public speaking is a fear that many people share.
Speaking publicly to your peers is one thing but it is another thing to have to do it in front of your boss.
Presentations require a lot of effort and practice to do effectively.
Do not discredit your hard work and celebrate when you complete it!
5. Read Through One Section of the Work Manual
At every job, there is some large document reminiscent of a Code of Conduct for employees to read and understand the procedures of the workplace.
This document, like a lot of fine print nowadays is often ignored and neglected.
By taking the time to look at this document, you are already ahead of the curb. You may not get tested on these things, but knowing the information can make you stand out.
6. Arrived to Work On Time For a Whole Pay Period
Punctuality is something that many people struggle with. Being punctual can not only help you establish a routine, but build a reputation for you being reliable.
If you are seen as a more reliable employee, this contributes to you gaining professional achievement and recognition.
Being punctual is a sign of respect for others and their time.
If you are looking to progress at your job, punctuality is a great place to begin!
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7. Successfully Train Coworkers
Training coworkers can be exhausting especially when you have other work to do.
The thing about good training is that it saves you time in the end by preventing unnecessary questions.
Having a well-trained team is a great way for your team to meet goals and have professional achievement.
Training makes all of the difference in creating an effective and supportive workplace.
8. Thoroughly Understand Your Work Benefits
Understanding your work benefits to the fullest will save you time, headaches, and money.
We look for the basic things such as compensation and the cost of insurance, but we neglect the plans that will help us save on taxes.
Another thing to consider is the conditions surrounding your work.
Do you need to work at the job for a certain amount of time to be eligible? What are the limits that you can contribute?
These are all great questions to ask.
Professional achievement does not need to be limited to the awards you achieve. Professional achievement can be taking advantage of all the opportunities presented to you.
Always ask, “Why?” The more reasons you have to pursue a goal, the better you’ll likely do in terms of achieving it. ~ Michael S. Dobson
9. Update LinkedIn Profile
If you are anything like me, you dread this task.
For some reason, I find it very difficult to discuss the value that I bring to a company.
I am working on this skill more and more each month.
Having an updated resume and LinkedIn profile is a huge professional achievement in my eyes.
When your profile is updated, you never get caught slipping. You can always be prepared for opportunities that come your way because people have a way to reach you.
10. Complete Steps Toward Improving a Skill
Taking courses and/or classes to improve yourself are always good methods to move you toward professional achievement.
Building your skills can help you in your personal and professional life. We never want to become complacent and stop striving for better.
This world is always changing and we must improve our skills to keep up.
Things You Can Use to Gain Professional Achievement
- Courses
If you are looking to make a career transition or change trajectories in your career path, courses can be a great way to start.
This is a way to dip your toe into something new without too much commitment.
This is also an easy way to learn new skills and apply new strategies to make yourself more favorable in the job market.
Taking courses and gaining certifications is also a great way to increase your reach and demonstrate your capability.
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- Work Plan
This plan is for your eyes only. You can use it for your annual evaluation, but your boss may not love you saying that you plan to be gone by this time next year.
When you begin a new job or a new role, you’ll find it helpful to have somewhere in mind where you’ll like to go.
Some examples of things you can accomplish are new initiatives that you want to put in place, experience with new projects, developing new skills, etc.
Maybe you fell in love with the position and can’t see yourself working anywhere else. That’s great! It’s still good to prepare for the possibility of layoffs happening or management changes or pay cuts, etc.
You never want to remain stagnant in your career and a great way to do that is to continue building your skills.
- Networking
Having a good network of people around you will make your life exponentially easier.
We can’t be everywhere at once, but if you are able to clearly communicate your goals and passions to other professionals, you increase the odds of you getting opportunities.
By making it easy for people to connect with you or remember your name, you become one of the top picks for interesting opportunities that pop up.
Networking is not one-sided either. The relationships should provide value to all parties for the collective benefit.
It is much easier being in an industry with people who are going through or have been through similar things to you.
The thing about building a network is that the hardest part is finding the first few people. After you succeed with that, then everybody else will find you.
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