How do you build your career capital?

To build career capital, focus on mastering specialized skills and staying current with industry trends. Seek out challenging projects that broaden your experience and show your ability to solve complex problems. Expand your network by connecting with professionals, seeking mentors, and attending industry events. Demonstrate leadership by taking initiative on high-impact tasks, and develop a personal brand through public speaking or sharing insights online. Cultivate soft skills like communication and adaptability, while ensuring your work aligns with your values. These elements make you a more valuable and sought-after professional.

In my opinion, building your career capital starts with a thorough assessment of your current assets, such as your skills, experiences, and professional relationships. Understanding what you already bring to the table helps you identify gaps and areas for improvement, enabling targeted growth and strategic career development.

Your career capital is fundamentally about the skills, knowledge, and experience you have gained. This is enriched by how you express your character, engage with activity, and deliver impact. As a first step, you should write down every single role you have had since age 15 and capture the activity, skills, knowledge, experience and impact. Could you reflect on how your character enabled you to succeed in each role? This is the most potent inventory of career capital you can have. Could you look over the story it tells and build from there? You will find exciting trends and themes... I promise!

First of all, let's clarify what we mean by career capital: Career capital means all the skills, experiences, knowledge, reputation, and relationships that you can accumulate throughout your career. It represents the valuable assets and resources that enable you to achieve success in your chosen field or profession. Therefore, the best way to start making an inventory of your assets is to start listing all of your skills: technical, soft, and natural talents. A great way to go about it is to make a list of all the key roles & projects you've had in your career and point out what the skills & knowledge you had (and you have acquired) that supported you in doing a great job. This way, you will ensure that you have a complete picture.

Be a PIONEER Problem-Solver: Solve deeper issues in your domain. Leverage data and insights to uncover root causes and provide innovative solutions. Innovate: Use technology and innovation to enhance your work and unique execution style. Optimize: Develop and apply your unique strengths. Focus on becoming a specialist in a niche area. Network: Build relationships. Create and add value to others. The Goto people are the most respected. Excellence: Strive for high-quality outcomes in everything you do. Establish Brand: Build and maintain a strong personal brand. Reflect & Learn: Continuously learn and improve through feedback and experience. Develop an Apprentice Mindset: Embrace continuous learning, seek mentorship, and stay curious.

Make sure you ask your mentors, supervisors, or a recruiter in your industry what skills are important for where you hope to go, and go from there!

In my view, planning your learning goals is crucial for accumulating career capital. Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) objectives that align with industry needs and your career aspirations. This enables you to target your development efforts efficiently and ensures continuous advancement and marketability in your field.

Join Toastmasters and get a mentor (who's 15 years further along in the path you want to take). Those 2 things will do more for your overall career growth than most other things. Toastmasters is for learning and practicing communication and leadership, while a mentor can help guide your career decisions.

After pinpointing areas for growth, set learning objectives that not only elevate your career capital but also align with your personal values. As you outline these goals—whether it’s taking a course, engaging in workshops, or joining professional networks—ensure they're SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Incorporate your skills and strengths in achieving these goals, ensuring they resonate with your values. Documenting these objectives and regularly assessing your progress will effectively propel your professional development.

Equally important to kickstart your goal, take time to take a walk, calm your mind, body and spirit and allow yourself to picture and envision where you can see yourself. Map out a list of things you can do and brainstorm. Write it down, journal on Notion and share with your friends. If you want to go far, go together!

In my perspective, building your career capital is greatly enhanced by seeking out diverse experiences. Venturing into various projects, industries, and roles can provide you with a broad skill set and an innovative outlook that set you apart. Diversifying your professional experiences can also expose you to new networks and perspectives, making you more adaptable and valuable in your career.

Working on side projects is the next best way to gaining experience after a job. In fact, working on side projects will demonstrate your flexibility, self-starting mindset, creativity and adaptability to your future employers/clients. Learn new skills. Expand your knowledge base. Work on things outside your comfort zone. This is how you build career capital. You don't have to wait till you're working in a fancy company with a fancy job title.

O frio na barriga, se não tem tido frio na barriga para fazer alguma coisa, possivelmente sua vida não está evoluindo. E importante ter um desconforto controlado, sempre estar se colocando em situações que são desafiadoras e que vai te pedir novas posturas e aprender algo novo, com isso nós criamos novas habilidades, removemos crenças que podem nos limitar e logo aquilo que era desconfortável passa a ser algo mais tranquilo de fazer.

Going out there and "getting your hands dirty" in the areas you're drawn to is a great way both to test them out AND build career capital. If you aren't sure how to start getting experience in a sector or role you'd like to move to, then ASK PEOPLE already in that space: "What would you advise someone like me to do who wanted to dip their toe in / get more experience in this space?"

Highlight your skills and achievements. Example: Showcase projects that demonstrate your programming, marketing, or management skills. Earn credentials to open doors. Example: Pursue certifications, degrees, or awards that are valued in your industry. Build a strong professional network. Example: Connect with mentors, colleagues, and industry peers who can provide guidance and opportunities. Maintain a positive professional reputation. Example: Deliver high-quality work consistently and behave ethically in all interactions. Communicate your value through personal branding. Example: Share your expertise through articles, presentations, or social media to establish yourself as an authority in your field.

A personal brand isn't a nice-to-have. It's a must-have. This is how you stand out. This is how you showcase your skills. This is how you find opportunities you wouldn’t have had access to without a personal brand.

Quem não é visto, não é lembrado! É importante destacar para você mesmo e para o grupo de pessoas que tem contato ou suas redes sociais suas conquistas, novas habilidades, participação em eventos e também leituras ou certificados que concluiu. Isso permite passar uma imagem de que está sempre evoluindo e pode abrir novas possibilidades de interação ou até novos negócios ou uma troca de emprego.

Building your career capital is an ongoing journey, not a destination. To thrive: Embrace Growth Mindset: See challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. Build Relationships: Cultivate professional connections for support and diverse perspectives. Develop Specialized Skills: Focus on niche expertise to stand out in your field. Seek Mentorship: Gain insights and guidance from experienced mentors. Adapt to Tech: Stay updated on industry-relevant technologies. Balance Life: Prioritize well-being for sustained career success. By prioritizing these strategies, you boost your success, satisfaction, and marketability in your career.

Progresso não tem linha de chegada. E necessário sempre estar a caminho do próximo passo, o mundo e muito dinâmico e se parar você além de não evoluir ainda fica defasado, a vida e como uma esteira rolante de aeroporto, se ficarmos parados ela nós leva para trás. E mais importante que estar em movimento e saber para onde está indo, caso tenha dúvidas e sempre importante contar com um Mentor ou um Coach que vão te ajudar a definir essas metas.

Career changers must tailor their approach to building career capital by identifying transferable skills, acquiring new industry-specific knowledge, and engaging in strategic networking within their target field. They should craft a narrative linking past experiences to the new industry, showcasing adaptability and a quick learning curve. Gaining relevant experience, even through volunteer work or internships, is crucial if you don’t already have some form of it already! Additionally, mentorship in the new field can provide essential insights and guidance, helping to navigate the transition and demonstrate value in a new professional context.