14 Ways to Measure and Achieve Career Success

Dictionaries and different people may agree on different definitions of success. What matters is determining what success looks like to you and looking for ways to succeed in your career and aspirations in life. In this article, you will learn different factors that define your career success and how to achieve a successful career.

Table of Contents

14 Measurable Factors to Achieve Career Success

Basic skills

One factor that defines career success is basic skills. This is because employers always pick employees with essential skillsets such as effective communication. Other necessary skills, especially for the digital era, include operating selected software on computers and time management. Without these skills, know that you have a long way to go to have a successful career.

Your initial goals

Success has its definition from the angle you give it. Once you know what success means to you, you can figure out how to start working toward it and what to stop doing. You need to be realistic in achieving your goals. Making a list of milestones and marking off completed tasks is an effective way to achieve career success.

Read also: How to chase your dreams and achieve them.

Social norms

Avoid letting your environment define the way you appreciate your achievements. When you constantly strive toward others’ expectations, it’s difficult to focus on your wants and needs. A large percentage of society defines a successful career based on money. However, many achieve career success and measure it based on creative freedom or a flexible lifestyle.

Your career choice

Family may have many opinions when it comes to your career. Honor them, but don’t forget your path. While it’s nice to listen, make sure the career you choose makes you happy because it will define how far you will go. Suppose you’re finding it difficult to define a metric for your success comfortably. In that case, it may indicate that you need to consider a new career path. If you’re not happy, you can’t achieve career success.

Read also: How to choose the right career for you

Job attainment

This is another factor that determines and helps you achieve career success. Searching for a job is a big deal that requires your commitment and research. Learn to put in maximum effort to get the best results.

Many employers seek employees who know how to present themselves positively and display enthusiasm and knowledge about the companies they approach. Before going to an interview, find out all you can about the company. This will make you stand out among others. After all, if your goal is to rise to a managerial position in a particular industry, one of the ways to start is to get a job.

Job survival

Indeed, layoffs are often a matter of numbers, but they could also be a matter of performance. You have fewer chances of being downsized if you have a strong record of high performance than employees who put forth an average effort. Depending on your goal, the longer you stay in an organization, the easier it is to build a successful career.

Your network

Your network indeed determines your net worth, and your association will define your allocation. Whether or not you achieve career success is sometimes entirely tied to this fact. The more comprehensive and intentional your network is, the easier it will be to access opportunities and achieve career success.

Read also: A Guide to Networking for young Nigerians

Character

Your character and personality also determine and help you achieve career success. For career growth, the character is more important than you may think. Anyone who has a good character will exhibit a long list of positive personal attributes, including but not limited to the following:

Honesty and Integrity.
Loyalty, Dependability, and Accountability.
Self-control and Emotional Intelligence.
Optimism through a Positive Mental Attitude.
Enthusiasm and Persistence.
Passion and Motivation

Social support

As human beings, we seek human encouragement and support to help us get through difficulties. Having support or someone to motivate you is very important for success in your career.

It’s easier to have a successful career with support and positive reinforcement of our goals. Because if the family is against you, chances are you won’t be able to go for your chosen career, talk less of achieving success in your career.

Growth opportunities

There is always room for growth, making it essential to find opportunities to grow and be successful in your career. You can start this journey by asking reliable people to update you on career development opportunities. Attending conferences, masterclasses, training, lectures, and seminars are also great ways to develop your career.

Read also: A guide to Mentorship for young Nigerians

A balanced life

As Nigerians, we live in an environment where people say, “This life has no balance.” But, life must be balanced when defining your career success. Achieving a work-life balance is an essential part of feeling happy. You should have hobbies or things you do asides from work.

Boundaries

Learning to set boundaries is an important metric to define and achieve career success. Saying “no” to specific tasks or responsibilities takes self-discipline. By setting your boundaries right away, people can learn to respect them, and you will get closer to that perfect picture of a successful career.

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Reaction to mistakes

Nobody is above mistakes, regardless of years of experience. When this happens, you must be able to admit you made a mistake and look for ways to fix it. Take the time to find practical solutions to your errors in a timely fashion and restore your reputation. If you’re not receptive to learning from mistakes, you may be delaying your journey to achieve career success.

Your strengths

This is the last but not the least of the factors you can use to measure, define and achieve career success. As you navigate your career, pay close attention to your unique goals. Knowing your strengths will help you use them to your advantage. Knowing your strengths also allows you to quickly adapt to various workplace conditions and issues as they arise. Your strengths and inclinations will put you on the right path to achieving career success.

Conclusion

If you are not finding satisfaction in your career, know that it is okay to change. Doing this may help you achieve career success faster than you imagined. Never define success the same way others will define it. Success could be failure upon failure, and then one massive breakthrough at the end.

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About Author

Olunlade Toluwalase Joshua

Olunlade Toluwalase Joshua is a Certified Content Writer, a Certified Computer Operator, and a Certified Copywriter. He is also a sexual puritan, a youth advocate, the Gospel's Voice.
He is passionate about the gospel and impacting lives with his writing skills and public speaking.

He guides youths to navigate the destructive and distracting hurdles on their path.
He is a reporter in a non-governmental Academic Organization called Aremu Oluwabrain Academy (AOA), the online Community of every Nigeria Student, to interact and get useful information.