Professional development advice is something I wish was taught at a much younger age! The sooner you learn professional development advice and start forming professional habits the better of your career will be. Which is why I have compiled the most important 14 professional habits that will advance your career.
Wondering why professionalism is so important?
- It’s the easiest way to show competency in your work.
- It impresses your boss which can lead to promotions and career advancement opportunities.
- It shows respect! Respect for your boss, coworkers, and clients all of which help your career growth.
- It helps you manage your time better- staying professional and on track will help you mange your time at work better by not getting distracted and goofing off!
Now let’s get to talking about the professional habits you should start to work on!
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14 Professional Habits That Will Advance Your Career:
Habit 1) Learn to say yes to new tasks.
The first professional habit you should start to learn is to always say yes to new tasks.
It can seem annoying to learn new tasks and take on new responsibilities. And easy to say “that’s not my job” but you won’t be able to grow professionally if you don’t learn new tasks and responsibilities!
Habit 2) Create a daily time organization system that works for you.
Everyone has slightly different time organization systems that work the best for them. But it is so important to find the system that works for you and then repeat it every day until it becomes a consistent habit.
For me, my time organization system is to accomplish big/important tasks early in the day and then to stick to hourly planning throughout the day.
I recommend experimenting with time organization systems until you find the best one for you.
Habit 3) Always be on time to work and meetings.
Being on time seems like an obvious professional habit but it honestly isn’t as common as it should be!
If you struggle to be on time to work and meetings then I recommend reading this guide: 6 Ways To Always Be On Time.
Being on time to things is essential for showing professionalism at work!
Habit 4) Learn to ask for feedback.
Asking for feedback can be a scary thing to do. No one really WANTS to be criticized and hear what they are doing wrong.
But you won’t always know what areas you can improve on until you have actually heard what they are from your boss, coworker, or mentor.
If you have a hard time hearing and learning from criticism then try reading these 10 tips for taking criticism better.
Habit 5) Step out of your professional comfort zone.
As you grow in your career you will see and learn that learning things that aren’t directly in your job description are a huge part of advancing your career.
Even if your degree is in marketing and your job is marketing, if you get the opportunity to learn about finance or about the software behind your product or anything else then take that opportunity!
Stepping out of your professional comfort zone will allow you to grow professionally and have so many more career opportunities.
Habit 6) Learn to better your digital organization.
Digital organization has become one of the most important parts of your work life that needs to be organized.
Keeping a clean inbox and having a solid digital file organization system is essential for being organized at work. This is a newer professional habit but one you will be so thankful you put work into!
Feel like your digital files are cluttered? Then check out: How To Perform a Digital Declutter.
Habit 7) Accept any new trainings/certificates you can.
Along with taking on new tasks you should also make it a habit to accept any trainings, certificates, or classes that your work or network offers you.
Anything you can add to your skill set can come in handy later down the road when looking for new work opportunities.
Habit 8) Keep your Resume, CV, and LinkedIn updated
If you haven’t touched your resume, CV, and LinkedIn in 1+ years then you definitely have work that needs to be done on them!
By keeping these things updated you can ensure that you don’t forget to add things like new certifications and if you need to suddenly apply for a new job you can do it right away rather than waiting to get your Resume updated.
Also, I have 20 resume tips to help if you are struggling with your resume!
Habit 9) Keep all contact information in your network.
Keeping peoples contact information is so important!
If you meet someone at a networking event and you exchange professional email addresses but then you take a new job next year you may not have their email address anymore.
So keep track of contact information in a place that isn’t owned by your company! And always keep all contact information, you never know when you may need it.
Habit 10) Always know your worth.
Chances are you are worth more than you realize at work!
So learning to get into the habit of asking for raises and throwing your hat in the ring for a promotion will help you grow professionally. And to do that you need to know your worth and don’t underestimate yourself professionally!
Habit 11) Learn to socialize and interact with coworkers professionally.
This is a really broad habit but it is so important. And a lot of it is common sense!
Professionalism at work is the most obvious in the sense of not gossiping, watching your language, not scrolling through social media, not getting drunk at work social events, etc.
If you want more tips about this then head over and read the 10 unprofessional work habits you have to stop doing that address these types of behaviors more.
Habit 12) Learn and cultivate your leadership style before you become a leader.
Even if you haven’t gotten a position of leadership yet you still want to start cultivating your leadership skills as soon as possible.
The most important thing you can do is to start to discover what leadership style works the best for you. Then start to learn how you can hone in on that style and implement it successfully in any future leadership positions.
Habit 13) Improve your public speaking skills and comfort-ability.
Public speaking is something that happens more and more as your career advances.
So the sooner you learn how to speak publicly the better off you will be and the more comfortable you will be when you have to present in front of larger audiences.
Habit 14) Add the extra touch to everything!
The final professional habit I recommend learning right away is to starting putting extra touches on things.
Need to send a proposal? Add some cool graphics.
Calling a client? Follow up with a handwritten note.
Anything you can do to “wow” will help you stand out professionally and help you advance your career!
Professional development can be a daunting thing to learn but by starting to implement these 14 professional habits you can truly start to advance yourself and your career!
Korra-Shay
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