When it comes to growing your career, I’m a big proponent of being proactive. I don’t believe that a professional in the Animal Health industry or Veterinary profession can be reactive and reach their full potential. When you’re proactive, you’re exposed to more opportunities, and when you have more opportunities, you have more chances to grow.
One way to be more proactive is to ask yourself questions about your career. When you ask questions, it forces you to think about them, and if you’re not satisfied with your answers, it also forces you to do something about them. And taking action is what being proactive is all about. Some of the simple questions you can ask for building and growing your career include:
- Have you met with your supervisor to discuss the expectations for your position and your goals for the next 12 months?
- Does your employer offer training?
- If your employer does offer training, what kind of training does it offer?
- What industry events and tradeshows could you attend this year?
- Which of those events would your employer send you to?
- What other training opportunities are there outside of your current employer?
- How could you expand your network, both inside and outside of LinkedIn?
And the last question is, “If there was one opportunity for career advancement that would absolutely grab your attention, what would it be?” I ask that question because that’s how an Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter may be able to help you. When you have a good recruiter in your network they can keep your qualifications in mind and can let you know when they have an opportunity that could be better than what you have right now. When the time is right they can help you make a strategic move and continue to grow your career.