7 Easy ways to boost your career And get paid more

You can make great strides in your career without spending long days and nights at the office. Advancing your career is the result of several small steps. While none of these is likely to make a significant difference by itself, when combined, the results can be impressive.  Read on to get my top 7 tips to boost your career potential.

You can boost your career and increase your paycheck with these 8 easy strategies:

• Be reliable. We’ve all worked with the employee that couldn’t be trusted. He was the one person that you knew wouldn’t be able to keep his promises. Avoid establishing a similar reputation. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. Be 100% reliable at all times.
  
  
• Be on time - and in most cases - early. Whether it’s for work or a meeting, always be on time. Do you control your time or allow it to control you? Avoid being too early for meetings.  Five minutes early is perfect.  Always have your work done on time. Give yourself the opportunity to impress. If you can have something done by Wednesday, tell your boss it will be done on Friday and turn it in early. Consider that most people do the opposite and get themselves in trouble. You'll be under-promising and over-delivering and making yourself look like a boss in the process.​

 

• Dress for success. Many promotions are given to the candidate that looks the part. Always dress up one level from your peers. You’ll be surprised how much of a difference it makes. Having the right level of confidence come from looking and feeling your best.  Although this might be thought to be dated advice - how you look in the workplace and in life still makes a difference with a lot of folks.
  
  
• Keep your resume up to date. Keep your resume current. I don't know how many times I see people miss opportunities because they have to take days to create a resume when a job presents itself.  Spend a few minutes each month adding any new, relevant information to your resume. When a good opportunity comes along, you’ll be prepared!
  
  
• Update your LinkedIn profile. Many recruiters find potential job candidates via LinkedIn.com. Have you taken a look at your profile lately?  Ensure you have a professional head shot, a compelling summary, and recommendations from trusted sources.  Also, make the effort to get involved with LinkedIn groups and make contributions to the ongoing discussion.   By just making this small change, you can boost your personal branding effort 100%!

 

• Enhance your public speaking abilities. Few of us enjoy public speaking, but those with good presentation skills are in high demand. Since so few people have the courage to build their skills, it isn’t too challenging to become an effective public speaker. There isn’t a lot of competition.If you’re looking for a respected training program, Toastmasters International is hard to beat.  Find the Toastmasters group closest to you and upgrade your speaking ability.

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• Find a mentor or hire a coach. The right mentor will take pride in helping you advance your career. A mentor can provide invaluable advice and introduce you to others who can be very beneficial to you. Many of the most successful corporate employees enjoyed the benefit of one or more mentors along the way.  And, if you need more active accountability and support, then an executive coach or career coach might be the way to go.  Coaches provide you with the insight and momentum you need to get ahead in your career.  They help you see your innate gifts, talents, and abilities.  You really can't go wrong with either.

Avoid doing what most people are doing and don't follow the pack. The average employee decides to do the minimal amount of work to keep their paycheck. It isn’t difficult to stand out from the pack by being a little more conscientious. Are you ready to take your career to the next level? Boost your career today by excelling at the little things.