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By Samantha Fong
While the new year often inspires fresh goals, it’s never too early or too late to set, adjust, and refine your aspirations. In 2024, 65% of individuals aged 18-24 set New Year’s resolutions focused on career advancement. For the next wave of preparing to launch their careers, here are key professional growth strategies for newly minted professionals to keep in mind.
#1: Find opportunities to automate your workflow.
Streamlining your workflow means your team can spend more time focusing on what really matters – big picture strategy. For example, if manual data visualization consumes a lot of your time, consider integrating your data into a Tableau dashboard to eliminate repetitive entry tasks. This allows you to focus on interpreting trends and developing business insights to help meet your team’s goals.
Platforms such as Excel, Airtable, Notion, and Monday.com are also useful tools to increase productivity. Many free online tutorials are available to help you get started, and some universities, like UCLA, even provide students with free access, giving upcoming graduates an advantage when recruiting for full-time positions (see: UCLA Tableau License).
Automating repetitive tasks not only demonstrates your technical proficiency, but also showcases your creative-problem solving skills. Branding yourself as someone who takes initiative especially makes you stand out as a candidate for promotions.
#2: Seek out a mentor/mentee
Mentors provide exclusive access to years’ worth of industry expertise. By finding a mentor within your current company or broader industry, you can gain the insider scoop on everything from career mobility to project advice.
Mentors can offer targeted support, such as conducting mock interviews or sharing strategies for landing specific roles. Overall, having a mentor on your side can equip you with a strong professional skill set that traditional academic settings don’t necessarily provide.
To find a mentor, try networking at industry events, searching individuals with your desired profession on LinkedIn, or joining pre-professional cohorts that share your career goals. For current seniors, platforms like UCLA ONE and the USC Trojan Network are also excellent resources that connect students with alumni working in every imaginable industry.
For those already established in their careers, mentoring a colleague or new hire is an engaging way to build a strong company culture, support employee retention, and position yourself as a thought leader within your workplace. Mentoring can also be personally fulfilling, offering professionals at all stages a way to contribute to their field’s growth.
#3: Develop your technical skills & industry knowledge
To stay ahead of the curve, make it a habit to learn new skills that can enhance your everyday work. Read blogs, articles, and company reports to identify emerging trends and technologies, and gain a basic understanding of their uses.
For example, the emergence of generative AI sparked a nationwide interest in machine learning tools, leading many companies to develop internal AI tools. This massive shift marks a new demand for AI literacy among those in the tech and finance industries, as companies scale up investments in AI products.
Understanding new technologies can also inspire portfolio projects that speak to your ability to apply industry tools in innovative ways. This is an opportunity to integrate personal interests with professional priorities, showcasing your dedication to learning in a fast-moving environment to management.
#4: Take ownership of projects
View even the smallest tasks as an opportunity to lead. Whether through organizing meetings or checking in with stakeholders, acting as the point of contact for different teams can offer a low-stakes environment for practicing soft skills like communication, conflict resolution, and time management.
Taking initiative also allows you to explore and refine your leadership style. If you lean towards an authoritative approach, you might focus on aligning your team’s work with broader business objectives while delegating smaller tasks to team members to encourage autonomy. Conversely, if your style is more affiliative, you may prioritize building strong emotional bonds with your peers, fostering relationships as a foundation for producing high-quality work. Since effective leadership often requires adapting to different circumstances, stepping up can build your confidence in leading cross-functional teams with diverse needs.
#5: Always be forward-thinking
When you plan to make a career pivot, it is important to reflect on how to position yourself as an ideal candidate for the next role. What tools do you need to be proficient in? What specific work experiences are transferable to your target company? Do you know anyone who is working in a similar or adjacent role to the job you want?
These are all considerations to make ahead of time to prepare yourself for the transition. Conducting informational interviews with people who currently hold your ideal position is also a reliable way to gather data on company culture, compensation, and scope of work to decide if the new role is truly a fit for you.
Adopting a forward-thinking attitude also encourages you to reflect on whether your current job is meeting your expectations. If you feel stagnant without a clear path towards advancement, it might be time to explore other opportunities.
However, it is still important to maintain a positive attitude. Remember to keep a tone of professionalism and follow through on prior commitments. Even though your first job is often just a stepping stone to other roles, your public reputation and peer relationships set the tone for future advancements. The phrase “your network is your net worth”, serves as a valuable reminder — never underestimate the importance of building strong relationships early on.
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As we move into 2025 with a new round of commitments, it’s essential to continue nurturing our professional growth. Whether through seeking mentorship, skill-building, or taking advantage of leadership opportunities, growth is always within reach. After all, the start of a new year reminds us that small, intentional changes can lead to long-term success.
This JCI Visions piece is a part of our Educational Series here at JCI. Our Educational Series helps both new and experienced professionals navigate their career paths. We cover the latest trends impacting PR, Public Affairs, and Communications, to enhance community leadership and professional development.
To access this content, visit our website at www.jcipr.com and find our Educational Series under the Stories tab.
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