4 Ways to Grow in Your Career While Working From Home

Hybrid work life is here to stay and most of us are working from home. It’s been great for retention and more and more companies are allowing flexible schedules for employees. 

I personally enjoy it! It’s nice not having to frantically commute every day and getting to work in a more comfortable space. I can rotate sitting at my desk, the couch, or the kitchen table and some days I’ll go into a coffee shop. But as digital creators in the freelance space, how can we  continue growing in our careers while working from home? I’ve detailed four ways to stand out in your professional digital profile and stay on top of new opportunities.

Keep in Touch with Your Network

This one is so important! Encourage yourself to stay in touch with former or current colleagues, mentors, and peers in professional spaces. The more you stay connected, the more chances you have for new opportunities. I can’t emphasize this enough! There will come a time when someone you know is asked for a referral, someone looking for your unique skill set, and you want that acquaintance to refer you! Not only that, but staying connected will keep you motivated even from behind the screen. It’s human nature to crave interactions and community, and the more we feel it, the better we perform both in work and in life.

Keep Your Digital Profiles Updated

When was the last time you updated your LinkedIn or website? LinkedIn is a fantastic platform for new opportunities, and the more you keep it up to date, the higher your chances of being discovered on there. I teach how to optimize LinkedIn in my career coaching sessions, but some things to definitely keep in mind:

• Make sure your title is for the jobs you want. If you’re an aspiring PR professional, don’t keep your title as student or intern, but as PR associate.
• Your About Me has key words for your ideal industry. This is one of the best ways to optimize your page. Going off the PR example, make sure to include words and skills you possess like press releases, social media, marketing, etc.
• All your work experience is updated with corresponding skills to match. LinkedIn has a great built in tool to match skills to previous jobs.

Be Responsive and Communicative to Inquiries

It’s so easy to fall down the anti-social rabbit hole when working from home — and I say this from experience. Sometimes I become so hyper focused on projects and work that I kind of stop responding to messages unless they are urgent. Lack of communication can result in missed opportunities, delay other’s work deadlines, and overall kill motivation pretty quickly. I will never advocate being the person who automatically responds to every email and message either because that can also result in quick burnout. When I find myself caught up and thinking, “I’ll respond later,” I’ve made it a habit to set reminders or even dedicate blocks of time responding to inquiries. Being communicative in all professional settings goes a long way in building trust and future opportunities. You never know when someone may bring your name up as a referral!

Set a Schedule and Stick to Routines

It’s a blessing being able to set your own work hours and schedule, but it’s also easy to get a little sloppy. Again, speaking from experience here! I have to stay dedicated to my morning routine otherwise I start slacking off throughout the day. Other tools like time blocking and prioritizing to-do lists also help. Stick to a schedule that works best for you. If you’re not a morning person, don’t force yourself to be one! Give yourself grace and do your best to show up for you every single day.

XoXo,

Azadeh