Four smart career moves to make in your 30’s

Turning 30 years old is considered to be a huge milestone to some people. This is because they perceive the big 3-0 as the end of youthfulness (20s) and the beginning of mature adulthood.

Moving to the third floor brings about mixed emotions of being scared that one is growing old or excitement on starting a different level of being a grown up.

After the party goes down and left alone to your thoughts, one starts to think of how they should be starting a family, doing a masters or PhD, having a side business, owning a house or parcel of land, driving a good car, having a good paying job with a title among others.

While others perceive turning 30 as just a mindset, thus it is just a number, to the society at large, people look at the person ‘differently’ with unsaid expectations of what they should achieve in the said age bracket.

With that in mind, what are the most important career moves a professional needs to make while in the third floor that is commonly considered the prime years?

Build a personal brand

There’s a fresh air of confidence to people who are in their thirties. The fact that they have settled into their identity is shown by their poise in their appearance, career decisions, relationships and overall choices. It is, therefore, important for one to stop seeing themselves as just a job title. That is not the defining mark of your career.

With rich experience, better understanding of what you’re good at in your career, who really are and what you are passionate about, it is time to improve your personal brand by developing it uniquely to make it sell.

According to Destiny life coach Israel Nthiwa: “By 30 years, one should plan down the kind of legacy they want to leave behind.”

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This can be mould into introducing or improving a certain aspect that is not part of the tradition in your industry. For example, the introduction of mobile journalism away from using big heavy camera.

“This can also leave behind footprints that young professions may want to emulate when they are growing in their career,” he adds.

Get clear on a bigger vision for your life

Mr Nthiwa explains that once a person turns 30, they must have clarity on what really makes you happy and pursue that.

“You must make a choice whether to be a victim of life circumstances or a creator of your destiny,” he says.

Having a bigger vision will become one’s “career playbook” and will help them do everything from recover from a setback to move to a better opportunity if it comes along.

For instance, Kenyan anchor journalist, Betty Kyalo recently shared on social media how starting her own beauty business, Flair By Betty, after a failed one with another partner has been her biggest achievement as she turns 30 on March 15.

Turning 30 this week🥳🥳 @FlairByBetty is one of my biggest achievements. Thanking God. By the way for the gifters, I’m accepting gifts of non- monetary value. Bye! pic.twitter.com/br4xH6HJt1

— Betty Kyallo (@BettyMKyallo) March 11, 2019

Take networking a notch higher

When in college and fresh into careers, people are always advised to grow their network as they come in handy in the near future. In your 30s, however, networking should be more than just attending events to meet people whom are your career crush.

For instance, one can start by joining associations, groups and professional seminars. These gatherings provide a good platform for one to develop and sharpen their leadership skills. If you have a vision to become a manager or a CEO, start focusing on your leadership skills.

Moreover, networking can give you valuable connections. It shows that one is focused in developing their career and understanding different aspects of your industry. This is useful as it may help you become more innovative and creative in your work.

[ See also: Five ways to know you are ready to switch jobs ] 

Continue with your education

A college degree alone is just not enough to propel one throughout their career. Change is inevitable and it comes with change in technology, governing systems and so on. Therefore, it is important for one to keep up-to-date with new events happening across the world through education.

Thirties is a great time to go back to school. One can acquire new skills and get new qualifications that will help them further down their career. It’s important to decide if you want to further your education in things related to your industry, or if you want to learn something new which should enable you transfer your skills.