If you are struggling to further your career in 2021, you should make sure that you are using technology.
Technology has now started to become integral to both advancing your career and succeeding at your job, not least because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is likely to become more important in the coming years.
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Then, if you are looking to introduce tech to your career, here are some of the best ways to do this.
1. Take an Online Degree
Technology can help you to further your career before you even apply for a job as it can help you to get the qualifications that you need to stand out to employers. Rather than having to move away to attend university or college, online degrees are now starting to become much more popular.
There are many more online degrees available than in previous years, and this means that you will always be able to find one that can help you to progress. For instance, at Suffolk University, they provide a variety of different online MBA programs that can help you to succeed within your industry and to specialize in certain sectors.
Online degrees rely on technology. When you decide to take an online qualification, you will be able to access an online portal through which you can watch lectures and connect with your course mates. You will even be able to get feedback online, check plagiarism, and hand in assignments.
If you need the help of a lecturer, you will be able to contact them by email. Then, online degrees can give you just as beneficial an experience as traditional degrees while allowing you to study flexibly in your own time. This will then allow you to advance your career even if you already have a job or if you have other commitments, such as children.
2. Find Career Apps
Now, most people’s mobile phones contain their entire lives, including reminders, shopping lists, and vacation photos. Not only do they contain items that relate to a person’s home life, but they can also help people to succeed at work. Then, when you have decided to advance your career, you should consider finding career-related applications that can give you the portable tools that you need to succeed.
For instance, productivity apps can help you to focus amid distractions, can help you to collaborate with others, and can allow you to share files. Not only this, but you might consider downloading a storage application, such as Google Drive, which can allow you to access your documents no matter where you are, ensuring that you can finish your work even when you are not at home.
Other popular applications for your career include calendar and organization apps, as these can ensure that you never miss a deadline again and that you can avoid any of your meetings clashing.
Some apps can even be directly useful for your career. For instance, many apps can allow you to take a career quiz. These career quizzes can help you to find out more about job options that have not even crossed your mind app.
Career-related apps might also include apps that can help you with interview practice, that allow you to research specific jobs and their salaries, and that can even allow you to apply for jobs directly from your mobile phone.
3. Attend Virtual Interviews
With the COVID-19 pandemic still showing no signs of going anywhere, you might be finding it difficult to arrange in-person interviews. However, now more and more employers are starting to arrange virtual interviews on video conferencing software such as Zoom.
This software has been used to coordinate group meetings and to help employees to communicate with each other regularly throughout the pandemic. Using this for interviews can help you and your potential employer to feel as if you are in the same room as each other and can allow you to connect from afar.
However, attending a virtual interview is very different from attending an in-person interview. Then, before you choose to arrange a virtual interview, you should make sure that you brush up on your virtual interview skills. This will make sure that you can stand out effectively to potential employers and that you can give them the confident response that they are looking for.
4. Invest in a Business Laptop and Gadgets
It is not just the internet and software applications that you should look at when you are trying to find ways that tech can help you to have a successful career, though. You should also consider investing in the right gadgets, such as a business laptop.
Having a business laptop is essential for most jobs, especially if you are going to work from home or on a remote basis. This will allow you to complete most of the essential tasks that will be part of your day-to-day responsibilities without any issues and will ensure that you can stay connected even when you are outside of the office. In many cases, you will also need a good business laptop to apply for jobs, write cover letters, and conduct effective job searches.
However, you need to make sure that you can find the right business laptop. To do this, you should look for a laptop that is light enough to carry around with you, that is powerful enough to complete all of your work duties without it taking hours to complete a simple task, and that is reliable enough that it will not break down halfway through your working day.
Most of the time, it is better to spend out more on a laptop, than buying a cheap laptop and having to replace it often. More and more people are swapping out their business laptops for a tablet, such as an iPad, though. This is especially the case if they only need it to perform simple tasks, like sending emails, rather than longer and more complex tasks, such as writing reports.
5. Research Companies
However, one of the simplest ways that you can use technology to progress your career is to research different companies. Research is important when you are looking for a job, and even when you are deciding to start up your own business. Then, to find companies that you want to work for, you should simply give them a quick Google.
This will help you to find everything from their website to information about their mission and even the salaries of some of their jobs. By doing this, you will have a better chance of finding companies to work for whose aims align with your own ideals and who you will be happy to work for. Researching the company that you want to work for can also help you to find out what experience you need and can also help you to know what to expect when you go to an interview with them.
6. Create an Online Presence
If you use technology to take one step toward progressing your career, though, this should be to create a large online presence. Your online presence has never been more important professionally, as it can help employers to find out more and you and the expertise that you will bring to their team. Not only this, but you may also find that you are approached by employers on digital platforms or that you can contact them directly yourself online.
Then, you can create a great online presence by creating a social media account for yourself on business websites such as LinkedIn. You might also consider creating a business page for yourself on more general social media websites such as Twitter. You should then post regularly and communicate with other professionals and brands on these platforms to ensure that you make the most of them.
You should also consider creating a website for yourself that can help you to establish your brand. You can then set up a blog on your website where you can share your expertise and give potential employers an idea of the type of work that you can produce for them. This is especially important if you are planning to go freelance. You can then share this blog on your social media accounts, ensuring that your online presence is wholly interconnected.
7. Hear About Job Opportunities
Lastly, tech can help you throughout your career by allowing you to hear about job opportunities. Most of the time, job openings are not advertised physically, but online. Then, you can hear about job opportunities by looking at the careers websites of the companies that you want to work for and applying for positions that you are interested in directly through these.
You might also consider using job search websites, such as Indeed, which can allow you to filter out the best job postings near you and in your industry. In addition to this, you can also hear about job opportunities by deciding to network online. You can do this by joining digital networking groups and business forums.
