Setting Incremental Goals to achieve career north star

So you think you know what you want to do – now what?

1. Get certified!!! Start with a competency or industry (I suggest competency)

   1. Get it on LinkedIn and start following people with similar certifications

   2. Then get certified again… and again! (Differentiate yourself through trusted 3^rd party achievements)

2. Framing things to your advantage

   1. Strategically focus your resume to highlight the skills most applicable to the job you WANT – not aspects of your current job that are not applicable to the application

   2. Create a custom resume and cover letter for each application based on the job description

   3. And yes, you read that correctly – create a new and customer cover letter for each job application, too – don’t be lazy (Differentiate yourself through hard work)

3. Fight for opportunities to prove that you’re competent in your competency (Two approaches)

   1. Do it for free – create a project that demonstrates your value or join a non-profit (Differentiate yourself by proving true passion for the career – outside of work hours - i.e. Non-profit or GitHub project for fun)

   2. Just get in the door – start at a company, that has opportunities in your area of interest, in a different role and actively demonstrate your ability to transition to the new role

So you still don’t know what you want to do – now what?

Spray bullets until you hit a target, my friend. Try certifications, free online trainings, heck watch youtube videos… just keep learning and trying new things!

What’s the key? Never give up.