Here are 10 tips to trace a trajectory and achieve that job you’ve always dreamed of.
Define it
What is more important to you: a flexible schedule, economic stability, academic and professional achievements, being your own boss? Make a list of what you need to be happy as a professional and what aspects take a back seat. Once you define it… don’t stop till you achieve it!
It’s your responsibility
Imagine your trajectory as a ship where you’re the captain. Yes, there are sailors that support you with the sails and technicians that help you with the engine, but you must make the decisions to take it to port. No one is more responsible for your success than you.
Trust the process
If you put in the work and persevere, opportunities will arrive sooner or later. Trust goes hand in hand with patience. Maybe what you are looking or waiting for will not arrive when you want it, but it will come. Meanwhile, keep shining and trust the process.
And yourself
Your job is yours for a reason. They saw potential in your abilities, the way your think, your education. Make decisions with confidence, take steady steps and cross the bridges you have to cross with strength. Mistakes are valid, doubting isn’t.
Don’t demand too much from yourself…
In our need to grow, we may demand too much from ourselves, wanting to know everything and getting things perfect on the first try. Remember that you are a human and are in a constant learning process. No one’s born knowing everything.
But don’t fall asleep either
Invest in your development. Analyse what is the best way to invest your time, energy and resources to achieve the goal you’ve set, be it what it may. Maybe you don’t need a master’s or doctorate degree, but you do need field experience or nailing a process to perfection.
Look for mentors
Among your colleagues, leaders, family, friends, even celebrities, search for guides that inspire you and have a flesh and blood example of what you want to become. Ask how the achieved it and ask for advice. Never be afraid to ask for help.
Don’t compare yourself
Everybody grows and learns at their own pace. Not because your teammate got a superior role faster means that you are wrong or inadequate. It only means your process is different. We all have our talents and abilities, and we grow according to our effort.
Everything is gonna be alright
You’ll make mistakes, there’ll be missteps along the way. The world won’t end. Breathe, take note of the mistake, learn and do your best to not trip with the same stone.
The world spins around
And circumstances change: learn to adapt. Maybe that process you learned at school is not used exactly as you were taught. Maybe you’ll have to take an unplanned detour to reach the goal. Instead of looking at those changes as obstacles, think of them as opportunities to learn.
Claudia Zúñiga is ALFA Foundation High School’s Director since 2015, when the school was founded, and has been a teacher for more than 20 years. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Systems, a Masters in Administration and another in Education. She began her career at ALFA in the Human Resources System Planning division; she later was a teacher at ITESM for 18 years, before beginning her path at ALFA Foundation.
