Get ready to get noticed!

In a challenging professional environment, besides a degree and experience, what will help you grow and achieve your ambition is that ''X'' factor, says Dr Raju Mistry, Group Head – Talent Staffing, Aditya Birla Group

In a challenging professional environment, besides a degree and experience, what will help you grow and achieve your ambition is that ''X'' factor, says Dr Raju Mistry, Group Head – Talent Staffing, Aditya Birla Group

Having an ambition to keep learning and growing is great; in fact, it is necessary. Engaging, one has to realise that higher you go; bigger would be your canvas. And to be successful at that level, you have to adapt various skills apart from your core skills, this cannot be done overnight. Therefore, a journey towards career growth should be a conscious and systematic effort. Just like a systematic investment plan (SIP) that you opt for growing your money, a professional needs a planned approach towards career development. And it will prepare you to be noticed for bigger opportunities. That is the way, you move up on your responsibilities as well.

Dream big, reach higher

If one has to achieve greater heights in career, it is important to have a vision and a right plan to achieve the same. Thus, the first step towards growth is to set the vision and your aspirations. For example, a youngster aspiring to be a global professional who wants to go places should know at least one foreign language, besides having the right domain expertise and experience.

Identify weaknesses

Recognising your shortcomings is one of the first steps to overcome them. This will help an individual to increase competency levels transforming him/her into a better professional. Let's say, you are a great engineer who also understands the business quite well but are weak in communication skills. Then, you need to start by accepting it and then work towards strengthening the same. Slowly, you will have learnt the art of getting heard and reaching out at all levels.

Staying updated

As the environment, surroundings and technologies change, so should we. Adapting to new situations and learning new skills will help one stay updated. In fact, it will actually let you stay a step ahead. Remember, knowledge is always useful. What would be the right time to learn how to use a parachute? Well, it's definitely not when you are up in the air! The best time to learn it is when you are on the ground. So when the time comes, you are just ready to use your skills. Similarly, you can learn new skills and stay updated with advanced technologies much before you actually need them so that you are ready to use them when the right time comes. Sounds challenging? Well, it is! How else will you truly ''grow'' otherwise? It is quite akin to running on the treadmill, where your balance and fitness can be maintained only by running continuously.

Being curious

Manufacturing professionals are almost always engrossed in their work. While it is surely good to carry out duties assigned to you with dedication, it would be equally worthwhile to be open-minded to other tasks and assignments that may be beyond your ''core'' job. Just try doing that and you would be surprised to see how it opens new doors of growth opportunities for you.

Being curious about other skills can help you widen your knowledge base and broaden your horizons both professionally and personally. Additionally, it will give you a great level of professional satisfaction. Go ahead and simply do it. After all, you owe it to yourself and your organisation! In our Group, we stroke individual''s desire to learn and grow, and have varied processes in place.