Even when times get tough, both in your personal life and in your career, it’s important to show up consistently for the life you want. Whether you’re in business for yourself, you hope to be someday, or you’re just trying to get to the right position in your worklife, there are some things you can do to boost your career ASAP!

5 Ways to Level Up Your Career

1. Create a homebase

It’s easy to convince yourself that an email address with your name on it is plenty when it comes to letting people know who you are. Even when that email is a gmail address…or a yahoo address (yikes 😬).

Show that you take your career seriously by taking your online presence seriously first. Create a digital homebase, like your own website, where you can display and share your personal brand. There’s no better time than now to focus on your digital presence and get yourself out there online so people can discover you and your skillset.

When you’re building your homebase, ask yourself ‘what do I do well?’. Present your strengths front and center so people can see the value you will bring to the table!

Psst! Want the hookup on a custom domain so you can officially launch your homebase? Try Hover! Use my code AmyLandino and get 10% off your first domain name 🙂

2. Do a self audit of how you spend your time

Whether you’re already a habitual calendar-blocker or tracking your time is totally new to you, make a note of how you spend your time each day. Put the things you do in your calendar as they happen, as you would with any other appointment. Enter them in as blocks of time so you can see exactly how long each task took to complete (or exactly how many episodes you watched on Netflix…).

Once you’ve tracked a week or two of time, look back and reflect on the things in your schedule. You don’t have to change anything yet necessarily, but take an honest look at where your day is going. How much time is spent on passion projects or working towards goals? How much is spend scrolling the phone or watching TV? What could you be filling that time with that might start to move the needle for you?

You can’t start to make important and impactful changes to your schedule without getting real with yourself first. Track everything and sit down with yourself to see where you can make some adjustments. We all have the same 24 hours — make the absolute most of it!

3. Read industry specific books

Take advantage of the fact that experts out there have shared their knowledge in 200-300 pages just for you. Read books about the industry you want to be in or the people who have already succeeded so you can skip the mistakes and be prepared for the hurdles.

Even if you’re not an avid page-by-page reader, try an audiobook to pop on in the background while you’re doing something else. Do what you need to do to get the info and skip the obstacles so your journey to success can be a bit smoother.

4. Level up where you are now

Maybe your ultimate goal is to change jobs or start a business, or just get out of where you are right now. But striving for something better doesn’t mean you should second guess your current position or start cruising through each day with little to no effort.

Don’t give up on where you are now, because it could help benefit you in the future. While you’re working towards your goals, remember to keep proving yourself at your current job. Take it seriously — you know that phrase ‘dress for the job you want, not the job you have’? I believe you should act for the job you have while you go after the job you want!

5. Meet people

In 2020, get out there and meet people is pretty figurative. But get out there! We can’t make things happen in our lives without knowing people who can help us along the way. Getting a job doesn’t always come from sending resumes and applications out into a dark void of the Internet — sometimes it comes from who you know.

Even if you can’t physically get out there and grab a cup of coffee with someone, it’s so easy to connect with a few people over Twitter or join a virtual coffee sesh to brainstorm. Find a way to connect with new people over new ideas and see what opportunities come your way.

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QOTD: What goal are you working towards in 2020?