Building a sustainable career is different from being a successful in a job, although the latter does contribute to the overall career picture.

If you’re looking at your career as a lifelong journey, you must always look for where you would like to be in intervals such as five, 10 or 20 years. You also must plan for changes and advancements that are likely to happen. Few industries remain unchanged over the course of one’s career. And if you do not stay ahead of the curve, you still could stick with your industry, but your career accomplishments may not be fulfilling.

A better route is to get more involved in nurturing your career, which can be achieved through continuing education, volunteering and networking. All of these options don’t only help you be a proactive professional, but also provide you with endless opportunities for taking your career to the next level whether through mentoring or landing a new job.

So here is how you can reinforce your professional life with career development activities.

Continuing education

You may have all the qualifications that your current job requires, but if you want to position yourself for the next opportunity, you must know what it takes to get there. Experience on its own will get you only so far. Continuing education, extra certification or even taking online courses on areas that can bolster your skills can help you stay ahead of the curve.

When choosing your continuing education options, you must consider what you’re trying to achieve. Someone who is considering a career change may go into a direction of taking courses that appear to be irrelevant to the current career. If that is not your goals, make sure you pick your education carefully. It should be relevant, but challenging and new. It also must meet the growing demands of your industry.

Volunteering

In the early stages of your career, you’re likely to be picked up as a board member or a conference speaker. But you can work your way through industry organisations and association by volunteering. You can find organisations that interest you either because of their professional events, education opportunities or networking potential, and provide your time and efforts to get involved.

Although volunteering is unlikely to be a rewarding experience immediately, it can help you get immersed in professional environment the enriches your career. You will get to know the trends, the players and the future. And you should be able to find roles that interest you and justify the time you dedicate to helping out.

Networking

In today’s easy access to online professional groups, networking doesn’t have to be face-to-face. But building a massive network of contacts on LinkedIn may not help you achieve your goals. If you want to use networking as a way to become more proactive in your professional circles, you must get to forums, events, conferences and the like and see people. Some virtual conferences could be an option, but make sure that you’re not taking the easy route and missing out on the benefits of human interaction.

Having said that, there are loads of networking activities that you could do online regularly to help you build and expand your circle of connections. For example, join forums — active and busy forums — and share you experience and knowledge by answering questions. Share industry-relevant stories or write blogs on topics that interest your peers.

The more involved you get in both the virtual and real worlds, the more likely you will learn about your industry’s changing needs and trends. Along with your other efforts and excelling at your job, you should be able to position yourself ahead of your peers. All you need is knowing what you want to achieve in your career and being proactive in getting it.

The writer, a former Gulf News Business Features Editor, is a Seattle-based editor.

Building a career

Look beyond your current job

Understand industry needs and requirements

Keep learning and educating yourself

Volunteer and network in professional circles

— R.O.