Career moves are the topic for today. As we move into the year’s second half and the financial landscape continues to evolve, it’s a great time for employees to reflect on their current career journey.
Career moves are common in virtually every industry. Some studies even suggest the average employee switches roles every 2-3 years. Regularly assessing your career and progress towards your goals can help you make intelligent decisions about your future.
However, ensuring you’re making the right choices based on your priorities, professional needs, and ambitions can be tricky. Today, we will look at the steps you can take to ensure you’re constantly moving in the right direction as a finance professional.
Step 1: Self-Reflection and Assessment
Self-reflection is one of the most important steps in navigating a career move. It offers an opportunity to assess how your priorities have changed and whether you’re moving consistently towards your goals as a financial professional.
Review the last year or two you spent with your current employer. Ask yourself if you’ve developed any new skills that made you more attractive as an employee. Have you taken on new challenges, overcome personal setbacks, or accomplished anything great?
Assessing your progress allows you to determine whether your current role aligns with your aspirations. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on what parts of your job motivate you and where you might feel unfulfilled.
Making a list of your accomplishments will also help you showcase your strengths if you decide to look for a new role or request a promotion in your current job.
Step 2: Set Clear Goals
Once you’ve assessed your recent time with your current employer, it’s time to ask yourself what you want to accomplish going forward. What would make you feel satisfied with your progression in the finance industry? Are you looking for opportunities to develop new skills, or do you want to take on more responsibility in a leadership role?
Consider whether you’re making progress towards your targets in your existing job. Are you currently experimenting with new projects, or do you know there’s a professional development plan you can use?
Are there positions you could potentially move into if you were to ask for a promotion, or would you struggle to move any further with your current employer? Setting clear goals will help you to define what you need to do next to progress in your career.
Step 3: Update Your Professional Brand
Whether you’re planning on moving into a new position with a different company or want to ask for a promotion in your existing job, updating your professional brand is crucial. Future employers will look at more than just your response to interview questions to evaluate you.
It’s important to ensure all aspects of your professional brand reflect where you are in your career. This could mean updating your LinkedIn profile with new certifications, endorsements, and achievements or adding further information to your portfolio.
It’s also important to think about your CV and cover letter. Are you still drawing attention to the most valuable aspects of your career history? Do you have new accomplishments you can share with potential employers?
Step 4: Start Building Your Network
Networking is extremely important for financial professionals. The people you connect with in your industry give credibility to your professional brand. However, they can also help you to unlock new opportunities and expand your skill set.
Look for opportunities to make new connections in your industry. You can speak to your professional financial recruitment agency for insights into potential networking opportunities, forums you can join, and job fairs you might be able to attend. You could even look into visiting industry events to learn more about the changing financial landscape.
Strategically search for people in your industry who can help you progress in your career. You could even consider looking for a mentor to help you transition into a new leadership role.
Step 5: Research and Explore
The finance industry is constantly evolving, with new role opportunities and businesses always emerging. If it’s been a while since you assessed the current job market, it might be good to research how the sector is changing.
Find out as much as possible about industry trends, skills that are becoming more attractive to employers, and emerging opportunities. Speak to your financial recruitment agency for insights into the most popular job roles available now and whether they suit you.
It’s also worth researching the employers you might be interested in working with. Learn about the company culture they offer, their employee value proposition, and their reputation with existing employees and candidates. You can use tools like Glassdoor to gather insights on salary information and employee feedback.
Is it Time for Something New?
Finally, it’s time to decide what you want to do next in your career. Based on your research and your assessment of your current role, are you ready to move into something new?
If you’re happy in your current role but feel like you need to make progress, can you speak to your existing employer and ask them about any succession or progression plans you might be able to access? Can you request a promotion or ask for more responsibility?
Alternatively, do you want to move somewhere new? Are there new job opportunities out there that are more aligned with your skills and priorities? Can you consider moving to another employer to increase your salary, access more benefits, or unlock different development opportunities? If so, working with a financial recruitment team will help you to find the best roles for your needs.
Planning Your Next Career Move
Moving to a new role or business and seeking evolving job opportunities is a common part of career progression. However, it’s important to have the right plan in place.
Navigating a successful career move requires self-reflection, careful goal setting, and a strong strategy to enhance and promote your professional brand. As the year progresses, pay attention to opportunities and reflect on what’s right for your future.
Remember, your financial recruitment agency will be able to help you take the right next step when you decide it’s time for something new.
Thanks
Rachel
About Rebus Financial Recruitment
Rebus Financial Recruitment provides a specialist and focused recruitment service to its customers, ranging from various organisations, including SMEs, to large PLCs.
We strive to offer both the client and candidate a seamless recruitment experience. Using our expertise, we get to the heart of employer and employee needs, and, in doing so, we match the two perfectly.
To learn more, contact one of our team today, or call us on 01282 930930.
