Many people want career success, but what does that actually mean? Many people define success as being fulfilled with their career endeavors. But what is the definition of career success? You can define career success as achieving everything you set out to do in your career. It involves taking more responsibilities and opportunities, building better relationships with coworkers and supervisors, getting a higher salary or compensation, and fulfilling company expectations.
The problem is that there’s no definite formula for success. Although there’s no one-size-fits-all approach that applies equally well across industries and job roles, you can sharpen some traits and abilities that successful professionals exude. Therefore, people need to find ways to achieve career success on their own.
Key Traits of Successful Professionals
Most of the time, career success is owed to a combination of skills, experience, and career-related traits. Some professionals have a natural talent for what they do or are skilled at getting things done. Others are determined to reach the top of their career by working hard. Whatever it is that helps people succeed professionally, those who embody these qualities are more likely to achieve career success than others.
For example, to be a successful real estate agent, one must be a skilled negotiator, knowledgeable about the local market and its intricacies, and possess good people skills. To be successful in any career, one must possess both tangible skills like these and intangible qualities such as confidence and determination. Below are the key traits of successful professionals:
- Confidence and determination: Confidence and determination are fundamental traits because they often drive career success. These two traits help people believe in themselves and their work, which is a key to career success.
- Ability to conceptualize: Successful professionals are very good at thinking outside the box and coming up with new ideas or ways of doing things that other employees may not have thought about. This ability can lead to career success.
- Ability to visualize: Not many people can visualize the career they want and what steps they need to take to get there by themselves. Successful professionals, however, have this ability which can lead them to the right career path early on in their career. Having a vision is very important because career-oriented people usually find what they want and focus on it until they achieve their goals.
- Intellectual Humility: Admitting mistakes or taking a step back when necessary is an essential trait because career success requires a lot of time and even more dedication. People who are career-oriented know this and understand that they need to put in the work if they want to be successful. They also tend to take responsibility for what happens, which can lead them on a better career path than people who don’t admit their mistakes or constantly blame others when things go wrong.
- Empathy: Understanding others’ situations or problems and handling criticism with dignity are also important because career success requires understanding what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes. People who are career-oriented are able to understand other people and their problems, which helps them when they’re negotiating a deal for the company or trying to bring employees together. They also don’t take criticism personally because they know that being career-oriented means being able to handle criticism well.
- Selflessness: Those who are career-oriented put their company’s interests ahead of their own, which is another important trait for career success. People who do this will always be focused on the best interest of the company. They’re not only concerned about themselves but also about helping out the company achieve growth and success.
- Willingness to embrace change without being afraid of it: Change is inevitable, and career-oriented people know this. They also have the willingness to embrace change without fearing it because they can see that change can bring better opportunities for them to learn.
Focusing on Career Success
Career success is something that’s desired by many people, but it can also be very difficult to achieve. Professionals need to have the right traits to help them succeed in their careers, and they should be able to maintain these traits for a long time. To make headway in your career, you need certain qualities such as the courage to take on challenges and the confidence that you have what it takes to get ahead of your competitors on the corporate ladder. You also need determination and patience because success doesn’t come easily or quickly. Last but not least, you need to be dedicated to your roles and responsibilities.
