Getting your first job and starting your career are not exactly the same thing. For many of us, a first job is bagging groceries or lifeguarding at the local pool. The start of your career, however, is the first job you take on the path to what you truly want to be. You may still begin at entry-level, but instead of taking the job for the hours, you’re planning to build a future. For example, if you want to be a park ranger, taking a trail-clearing job at the national park is a start to your career – not just a summer gig. If you just got your bachelor’s in engineering, your first real career job might be in a manufacturing plant where you’ll get that essential hands-on experience that will inform your future designs. How do you know you’re on the right track or building your new career the right way?

Starting Over

Fortunately, careers can be built from many different directions so these first steps are your opportunity to build a foundation of experience and opportunities for your future advancement. Here’s how to get started with a new career – whether you’re a young person fresh out of school or rebooting from scratch in response to recent life and market changes.

Decide What You Want to Do

Choose your career path. Pick something you enjoy doing and map out the roles that do that task with increasing rewards and prestige. Do you love to work with clients or with numbers? Would you rather see your work reflected in the real world or build digital masterpieces? Do you want to end your career in a leadership role, as a specialist creator, or a highly paid consultant?

Each path has a starting place, and tasks you’ll do in the roles along the way. Choose your career path based on what you want to do – day to day – and where you want to wind up at the end of many promotions and new positions.

Aim for Serious Roles with Upward Mobility

If you are a young person looking for your first career job, step away from the summer-intern programs and assistant roles and start looking for serious roles with upward mobility in your career path. Being a junior accountant is a better career choice (if you want to go into finance) than being a barista. Why? Because junior accountants can get in-line career training and promotions to more senior and specialized positions. Your experience in a serious role will set you up to be hired for better positions in the future, requiring the experience and industry knowledge you gain in the first role. A barista’s upward mobility (as with most student-type roles) is limited to store manager, at best.

Pick your job opportunities carefully, building a foundation from which the rest of your career will rise. Most importantly, look for roles where there is a real opportunity for training and promotions – upward mobility inside the job itself – to fast-track your progress to the next stage of your career.

Knowing You’re on the Right Track

How do you know you’ve chosen the right career soon enough to make a new decision or double-down on your future? Job satisfaction plays a major role. Do you enjoy the type of work you’re doing?  Do you enjoy the data you work with or the clients you manage? If yes, you’re on the right track. The next gauge is whether you like the training for the next level. Are you eager to get back into the classroom or virtual lesson because learning the work is fun, interesting, and motivating? If yes, you’re on the right track.

If you start a new career and aren’t happy in your new role, determine whether it’s the workplace or the work. A toxic workplace can sour even your favorite work, while unpleasant work can indicate that you may need a slight course correction. Maybe you need a different specialization or a different type of project for your talents to shine.

Launching Into Your New Career & Future

Once you have that first in-career role, prepare yourself for future success. Look for opportunities to build your resume and portfolio of past work. Volunteer for projects and take on clients that will give you new experiences or show off your skills. Network by getting to know your boss, coworkers, and other employees in the building. Learn people’s names and, if you make friends over lunch, connect on LinkedIn afterward in a casual, friendly way.

Sign up for in-line training that will further hone the skills of your chosen career. Learn new technologies, methods, and industry applications of your skills. Take leadership courses so you can gain promotions as team lead and eventually manager – or keep sending yourself to school so you can get jobs that require a master’s or special certifications. Eventually, following these strategies, you’ll realize you’ve built an upward trajectory to be proud of. Whether you’re a student looking to build your first career or you’re tackling your second or third career in a long, busy lifetime, contact us for more useful insights on career building and forward momentum!