If you are passionate about creating innovative structures for homes, offices, and warehouses, you’ll know that honing your skills takes years of work. Whether you work in construction as an engineer or builder or your skillset lies in the architectural design of buildings, this industry is competitive. Just like any career path, years of determination, hard work, mistakes, and opportunities all morph together to create your unique talents which you should be proud of. Climbing the ladder of success is more than just having great skills – you have got to be the whole package.
If you feel as if you’re working and working and never climbing the ladder, however, there are things you can do which help you become more attractive to employers and better yourself. Learning how to show off your skills in a professional context can be a challenge. With these helpful tips, you will be on your way to further success in the career you have worked so hard for.
1. The Power of Networking
Many people feel uncomfortable with networking. Networking refers to a very simple concept: making connections through conversation. When you think of networking you might think of sleazy businessmen huddled in corners of bars with whiskey in hand, talking about how much money they can make. However, if you remove this stereotype, networking is a powerful tool that can enhance your career in many ways.
The advantage of networking as a skill is that it is totally free and can be done at any time. You don’t have to attend a ‘networking event’, although those are often great places to find opportunities. You can practice the art of networking when you visit new clients, sites, or offices and meet new people in your industry. Here are some tips for networking for the more shy and reserved among you!
Open body language.
If you stand in the corner with your hands in your pockets whilst staring a the floor, you will come across unapproachable. Part of the job as a contractor or construction worker is being confident, open, and ready to chat with your potential clients about their interests. Smile, stand up straight, and you will become approachable.
Contact details at the ready.
You never know where you will meet your next big client. Even if you’re unaware of it, anyone you meet in your workplace or onsite could be a connection who enhances your career to the next level. Have some business cards made up which are professional, simple, and contain all the relevant information for someone to contact you?
Your online brand.
Being on Linkedin, and offering your services on freelance sites (if you work freelance) with a professional, readable, eyecatching profile is essential. Almost every new connection is made online nowadays, and if you aren’t keeping up with the times, you are unlikely to progress to your full potential.
2. Investing In Yourself
When you begin to climb the career ladder in construction and design, you will start making more money than you ever have before. This helps you save towards your future, and achieve your personal goals as well as providing for your family. However, when people begin to make more money, they can actually become more miserly and careful with their money than before. This can lead to a lack of investment in yourself because you feel as if you must save every penny for the future.
Let’s break this down, though: you are your future. Investing in further training for your career, a new vehicle, a home office space or simply investing more in your self-care are all vital for your future. Of course, saving money for big purchases down the line is important. But here and now, you are a person who could benefit from self-investment – so do it.
How do you invest in yourself? Here are some ways.
Further your skillset.
Even if you are already an engineer, an architect, or a construction worker and you’ve studied hard for those titles, there is always more to learn. Plus, consistent training and self-betterment look fantastic on your CV for potential clients or employers. For example, if you are an engineer who is struggling to advance career-wise, take a look at gd&t training courses that could progress your skillset and put you above the rest.
Making a workspace.
Especially if you are a designer or architect, having a workspace that allows you to work effectively is paramount. Renovating a room in your home into a home office can provide you with a tranquil, noise-free, organized space to efficiently complete your work from home.
3. Finding Your Niche
In an industry like construction and design, it is easy to get lost in the noise. There are thousands of qualified people around the world who do what you do. So how do you stand out from the crowd?
The answer is really all about you. How are you unique to others in your field? This doesn’t mean you have particular physical skills that make you a cut above the rest, but instead means that everyone is unique, and can bring something slightly new and interesting to the table. Most people never find their niche and become satisfied with an average life. Those who progress fast and far in their careers have found the unique thing about them which changes the game.
If you’ve never considered this before, finding your unique qualities takes time. It’s about your background, the people you have worked alongside, and the things you have learned. Even one or two key pieces of knowledge can tip the scales between you and another person who does the same job. Similarly, finding your niche is about attitude. If you are a negative person, or you come to believe the world is against you, you’ll never succeed. Look at every experience, good and bad, as something that cultivates your uniqueness and can be channeled into progression.
