Want to make it big as a businesswoman? Buhle Goslar, the Customer Intelligence Director in Fintech at JUMO, shares her top tips for getting there.
1 Don’t stop learning
Don’t sleepwalk through years of your career dreaming of a better future. No matter where you are in the organisation, chances are you’re in a position to gain unique learning and insight from situations, tasks and assignments – learn so you can contribute more. The reason for this? Contributing members of the team get ahead, plus you’ll gain valuable skills. The determination to learn will drive you to seek out the support and means to pursue better opportunities.
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2 Creativity fuels opportunity
The further you progress in your career, the more difficult it becomes to find roles that are sufficiently more challenging and rewarding. That’s not to say you have to wait for the perfect role to come along! Create and shape the role you’re in now to what you need it to be and in the service of your company’s mission and business goals. Doing this enables your position to become a strategic launching pad for bigger things in the future.
Related: Are you ‘ready’ for a promotion?
3 Honesty is the best policy
You’ve heard that being confident and bold is key to creating relationships and opportunities in the workplace – but that doesn’t mean you have to lie about your skills or experience to get ahead. Be honest with yourself and your employer about your limitations and capabilities as this will build trust and steer the direction of your career to something you’ll be able to handle.
Related: How to be confident at work
4 Find a mentor
Your abilities, integrity and sheer tenacity can get you far but organisations are social in nature. Make sure you have people in your corner who are going to stand up for you and with you. But don’t confuse this with office politics! The people you choose to help mentor and support you should enable you to improve and refine your workplace skills.
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5 Embrace reinvention
Don’t typecast or limit yourself. Reinvention is necessary as you move through your career. Set goals for yourself and work towards them by adding skills and experiences – whether it’s socialising, technical skills or workplace experience – to your resume. By growing your skillset, you’ll be equipped for the technologies and workplace interactions of the ever-changing work landscape.
Related: 5 Rules for creating the job opportunities you crave
Buhle works in the FinTech industry as a Director of Customer Intelligence. Follow her on Twitter @buhlegoslar.
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