Whether you are new to the world of education or you have been involved for longer than you care to remember, you will be aware of how competitive it is and how it continues to change and move forwards. The education world is always developing, changing and growing. Platforms, levels and exams are always changing, so in addition to keeping up to date with the latest changes, you also need to keep ahead of the competition at all times to advance your career and achieve the success you have been dreaming about. Here are 7 top tips which will help you stay ahead of the competition.
Go back to studying
Even though you are learning all the time on the job, nothing beats going back and studying in a more formal setting. This might be a bit more difficult now you are holding down a job, but it is not impossible. You can study online masters degree in education to further your career and boost your resume. A masters degree will certainly help your resume stand out and the great news is that you can fit in learning at the evenings and around your family/home life. Online learning ensures that you are progressing with your career and getting to where you want to be, without sacrificing that all important quality time with family and friends.
Networking
Meeting other new like-minded professionals can be difficult at times, especially if you work long hours, study and have a family, but it is not impossible. There are online networking groups that you can join to meet like-minded individuals and to also discover new opportunities. The more people you know within the education sector the better off you will be as sometimes it comes down to who you know and not what you know that moves your career on.
Helpful hint: Why not try and seek out a mentor. A mentor or guide will help you through the process of advancing your career. Whether the mentor is someone in your school or within your larger network, they can be beneficial and instrumental to advancing your career.
Motivation
You will not get any further in your career if you are not a highly motivated individual, who brings positivity and good energy to a group or situation. If you are not pushing forward to further your career no one else will be either.
Be open to change
Career advancement and opportunities to grow do not always come along as you expect them or when you expect them. So remain open to change as it can happen at any time. When you are open to change and you welcome it, new opportunities become open to you which you might not have even considered looking at before.
Helpful Hint: Get organized. Organized individuals can achieve more than people who are disorganized. So start organizing and decluttering your home, life and workplace now. Remember that a tidy desk makes for a tidy mind.
Move outside your comfort zone
Quite often it is very easy to fall into the rut of doing the same things day in and day out. Before you know it you are on a slippery road down to retirement and you realise you have not done half of the things you wanted to do. So stop now and come out of your comfort zone. Look at new jobs and opportunities slightly further afield than you were looking at before. Look at teaching a new subject, area or even age group. When you move outside your comfort zone and you challenge yourself, you are building up your resilience which inevitably means nothing will stop you from getting where you want to within your career.
Be helpful, Be nice
New people, old people and young, are coming into the education system all of the time, some with experience and knowledge and others with none. You should be kind and helpful to students and peers alike. Often in a workplace with competitiveness comes nastiness and resentment. Do not be one of these people that constantly seems to be in a bad mood, instead be nice, do not talk about others behind their backs, be nice to be around and opportunities are more likely to come your way.
You do not want to get a reputation for being an unhelpful and unfriendly colleague, as this will honestly do you no favours when it comes to looking for a new job, or going for that promotion you might be after.
Helpful Hint: Put yourself out there and be seen. Volunteer for roles within the school and wider community. Be seen as a helpful individual who can add value to any role they do.
Create a plan
It is one thing knowing where you want to be and what you want to do, but do you honestly know how you are going to get there? Do you know what steps are involved to achieve your dreams and realize your goals? If you fail to plan then you plan to fail. So take some time out today to write down exactly where you want to go and by when. Creating small manageable goals and targets makes even the biggest of goals and ambitions more realistic and easier to work towards. To make your plan work, it is best to break goals and targets down and make them SMART – Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time Based.
When pursuing you dreams and goals within education whatever they may be, whether you want to be a Head teacher, Lead lecturer or Primary school teacher, you must remember to look after yourself during the process. Maintain a healthy and well balanced diet to leave you feeling good and remember to take time out from work for yourself and those around you. Taking time out will ensure that you achieve a healthy and productive work life balance and that ensures your mental health and wellbeing are looked after at the same time too.
