How To Leverage Recovery Skills For Success

Do you feel stuck in your job? Unfortunately, feeling stuck or stagnant in your career is always a possibility. You may think you hit a glass ceiling, but there is hope. There is always room for professional development, which can answer your questions about how to advance your career.

Competition is high in today's job market. While the market doesn't look like it once did, you can find opportunities to boost your chances of a promotion. Open yourself up to the possibilities that exist and get out there to create your own. Engaging in professional development updates your skill sets and places you in positions where people will notice you.

What Are the Benefits?

The skill sets needed for many of today's jobs are constantly shifting. Likewise, as technology changes, so do the requirements of most positions. Whatever the case is, increasing your knowledge, setting achievable, realistic goals, and building new skills can only help you.

When you invest in your professional development, you show your employers you are committed to learning the latest in your field. As you gain new skills, your self-confidence can increase. Self-confidence signals to others that you believe in your knowledge and abilities. Some benefits of self-confidence include:

• A willingness to try new things. Technology rewrote how specific career fields employ and promote people. When you have self-confidence, you are willing to take chances and try new things. 

• Increasing resilience. You're bound to experience challenges or setbacks in your career and personal life. Believing in yourself enhances your ability to bounce back from those negative events.

• Access to opportunities. When you believe in yourself, doors will open. Your willingness to explore or create opportunities provides you the platform needed to be visible to others. Self-confidence helps you break down boundaries, letting you go after what you want. 

Take the Initiative

Limiting yourself to what you're comfortable with limits your chance of job growth. When you entered substance abuse treatment, you took the first step in changing your life. This shows initiative. In your professional life, use that sense of initiative, bolstered by the skills you learned in treatment, to take every opportunity that presents itself, and have conversations with people above you when you're ready for new challenges.

Focus on what you do know and the fundamental skills you need, then identify gaps in your knowledge and see who might be able to provide you with that knowledge. What did you do the first few times you attended aftercare or 12-Step meetings? If you answered, watched, and listened, you know what to do at work. Pay attention to the people at your job and assess who you need to learn from. A trusted mentor will guide you and listen to you if you're unsure about a situation. Your mentor is like your sponsor. Both are important to learning new\ skills and shifting your thinking.

As you probably know, no one is going to hand you the things you need. If there's something you want or need help with, find someone who can help. Take the initiative and get a jump on learning new things. Employers take notice of this kind of thing, which can often lead to promotions or taking on new responsibilities.

Find a Community

Online classes, certifications, and undergraduate/graduate degrees give you the formal education you may need to advance, but they won't provide everything you need. While skill-building is necessary, networking and broadening your professional circle are equally important, if not more so. Whether you meet people in your company or attend networking meetings, get out there and mingle. Meeting people in your industry opens up the possibility of finding out about classes, training sessions, and new positions. 

Making connections with others in your field guides you to master the skills you are learning or already have. Networking finds people who share your passion for your field. If you have all the skills for a job or task but no one knows that you do, odds are you won't get chosen for it. When you network and have a community that is aware of your skillset, opportunities will come your way.

Discover Your Purpose

Find what connects with your values. When you coordinate your core values with your desire to grow, you provide the catalyst needed to grow in your career. Your purpose isn't limited to your current or desired position.

If you can't find what motivates you or aligns with your values in your current career, consider a switch to one that will.

Don't Limit Yourself

You won't always have a project or task that will increase your skills. If there's a project or task that doesn't directly relate to your position, but it gives you a chance to meet new people or learn new things, don't count yourself out. Don't limit yourself; try something new. Because you took the initiative to broaden your credentials, you can have confidence if the time comes to put your name in for a new position.

With hands-on experience and advanced knowledge in specific areas, your qualifications make you a viable candidate for advancement or a shift in the area you work.

Recovery Teaches You Self-Confidence. Don’t Be Afraid To Use It

Professional development is vital to advancing your career. Instead of thinking self-defeating thoughts, use what you learned in substance addiction treatment and recovery to build self-confidence. Don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone, find a mentor, or volunteer to work on a project.

Each time you push beyond your boundaries and challenge yourself to learn, you increase your professional development. The Edge Treatment Center sees your commitment to ending your dependency on substances as a step toward developing healthy professional skills.

Our therapy sessions guide you to discover your potential while growing your self-confidence. To learn more, call (800) 778-1772.