What Is Career Success? A Guide To Finding Your Own Unique Answers

You've heard it tossed around; but what is Career Success?

Is it a new thing? Or modern twists on old concepts akin to throwing a fresh coat on a door and calling it a new kind of window?

The concept of education isn’t new. The concept of enjoying your job isn’t new. And the concept of career support isn’t new. So why does bundling them together count as a new thing?

Well, because…. Education is no longer best-serving students. It seems that companies have stopped appreciating and respecting workers. And seeking any kind of support has felt like another potential disappointment.

Facebook became the shiny new thing when MySpace became outdated. This is already happening with many recognized institutions as traditional approaches to education, coaching and support is on its way out. Where they have failed to grow, Uvaro has stepped in to fill the gap.

We set out to provide the educational equal of main character energy among a group of NPCs. And as the main character, YOU are on the journey of Career Success. We can't drive for you but we’re here to help keep you on the road.

...But that still didn’t answer the question: What is Career Success?

Career Success can be defined as experiencing financial health and work you enjoy, while feeling fulfilled in your peer community and life choices.

There are many ways to break down this definition. We’ll offer you a few as we begin to unpack the variables that come with finding YOUR path to Career Success.

Building a career is like building a house. You can plan and draw up blueprints. But you will most likely — almost certainly — run into unforeseen hiccups. The important thing to remember is that your career is something that is always evolving. It changes as you do.

If your career is your house, then your success makes your house a home.

Life will throw curveballs and hurdles that threaten your sense of home-ness. But, DON’T WORRY! When you find satisfaction, support, and stability, you’ll be well on your way to reaching it.

Download The 'What Is Career Success?' E-Book

3 Stages to Building Your Dream Home Career

1 - Set Your Foundation

The most important part of any house is its foundation. Even on uneven ground, a strong foundation can help a house stand tall through storms and floods. Community forms the foundation of your Career Success.

A sense of community has been proven to ease you through career transitions, at any point in your career. Your career support network will help you not just stand, but grow and thrive. These are your peers, mentors, and coaches. They are your touchstone and sounding board throughout your career. They’re there to help you in the difficult moments in your life and career.

Unlike a university or college, these people go beyond your education. They don’t ditch you at graduation. These are people you trust. They are invested in your development beyond a donation or tuition fee.

Now, imagine you were going to spend your life’s savings building a custom home for the first time. Would you ask for help from an Architect? Plumber? Electrician? Even if you are a do-it-yourselfer, you wouldn't dive into a build without the right team.

So, why do we do that for our careers?

Whether you’re looking to change your career or you’re just launching one, you WILL need to rely on others.

When we look at successful democracies, they are founded on pluralism. That’s a fancy way to say they’re looking for a diverse set of opinions in power and to allow those opinions to coexist. Consulting many trusted people with differing opinions will help you make well-rounded decisions. Having a community will offer more opportunities for personal growth and propel you forward through honest and trusted feedback. If you trust them to have your best interest in mind, the power of a community cannot be overstated.

That’s why community forms the foundation of Career Success.

2 - Build Four Walls

So we’ve established that true Career Success begins with a strong community foundation. But what about the rest of your house?

That’s where your 4 walls come in.

It’s safe to say that to feel valued in any industry, finding kinship in peer and mentor relationships is key. Once that is securely in place, it’s time to push yourself and delve into expanding your skillset. While many forms of training offer knowledge, it’s up to you to invest in lifelong career development.

Whether you’re a chef, data analyst, or a tech sales professional, these 4 walls will help you move through your career with ease. Like the walls of a house, they stand concurrently to ensure you’re protected from the elements.

• Learn
• Improve
• Launch
• Succeed

As a basic framework, you can achieve Career Success in a few ways. Find your passion, build on key skills, invest in your future, and stay curious. Apply these principles throughout your entire career: from hired to retired.

That vibrant and growing community of professionals will take this journey with you. They'll make sure you're on the right track!

Like the five stages of grief, or Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, you can hop around from one to the next in any order. If you’re worried about backsliding” down to the Learn pillar, STOP! There’s no such thing as backsliding. A career will ebb and flow.

To say you can’t or shouldn’t learn, improve, launch or succeed at different stages in your career is silly. As an employee in today’s job market, you’re more than capable of changing your mind as you’re drawn to new things. It’s par for the course!

So, let’s dive in.

Learn

• Courses • On-Demand

The first wall needed for a successful career? A safe space to continually learn new skills and knowledge. The important word here is the word continual, not the word learn. That's what makes Uvaro different.

Traditional colleges and universities — and even more modern bootcamps — drop the ball here. They offer one-time learning opportunities for a giant lump sum. And then, after graduation day, these institutions disappear, taking their ‘community’ with them. More and more college students are saying their degree doesn’t help prepare them for a job. They claim to help prepare you for the real world and then ditch you once you get there.

Learning is about longevity. That's why Uvaro jumped in to fill gaps for those who desire a career in tech sales. With courses that cover a myriad of positions, from entry-level to senior management, we have you covered

Online learning has helped us offer opportunities for remote learning and self-paced learning. More than that, it’s allowed us to encourage and promote accessible lifelong learning.

Learning institutions that enable career change, and then promote career progression are rare. That’s why we shifted to a membership model. We know a one-off course isn’t going to cut it in today’s job market. Pro members get unlimited access to our live courses. Grow vertically in your career, or grow horizontally in your career. This kind of flexibility comes when accessing new skill sets and career paths. We make it simple.

Picking up a college degree and some hard and soft skills aren’t the guarantee to Career Success they once were. More than WHERE you learn, it’s about HOW you learn and that you KEEP learning. So stay curious!

Improve

• Workshops

You’ve got one wall standing: let’s build a second. This is all about finding a safe place to improve your skill set. And how do you get better at something? Practice, and refinement.

Skill development takes time. Heck, building your dream career takes time. But through constant practice, you will see growth! Your Learn wall covers an exchange of knowledge and skills. Improve focuses on the growth and flexibility of said knowledge and skills.

To be good at something, you HAVE to receive feedback and practice through repetition. In this repetition, the goal is not perfection, but growth. An environment that encourages you to fail in the name of improvement is unique to Uvaro’s course and workshops, and something not found on many college campuses.

We built roleplay drills of real-life scenarios into our curriculum from the get-go. Our instructors all work in the tech industry today and are on the pursuit of Career Success themselves. They bring that relevant knowledge to class, and to any workshops they teach. It all comes back to that foundation of community. Because without a community you trust, it’s that much harder to find safe environments to practice in. It's even harder to find trusted professionals. Especially those who can provide you with helpful feedback to correct those areas for improvement.

One can’t coexist without the other. There are always areas of your performance you can improve. But you might not notice those areas without someone looking out for you. Plus, it’s those community members that will help you remember 2 key things:

1. Everyone fails.
2. It’s how you handle failure that defines you.

Use your community. Find the right environment to improve the areas where you need to improve, and continue to strengthen the areas where you are already strong. Emulating real-life circumstances can up the pressure.

We let you fall down and get back up again with minimal real-world consequences. We created our workshops to set you up for successful mistake-making. You won’t burn any bridges. It’s a learning environment without grades. Everyone wants to see you succeed.

We’re your Career Success company. It’s what we do.

Launch

• Job Board • Career Resources

The Launch pillar — and 3rd wall in your house — is about more than getting a job. It’s about getting the job you want. With confidence. This pillar is about knowing what you’re reaching for and showing everyone involved that you are ready to reach it.

The job search is no small feat. It’s emotionally draining. Riddled with rejection and can be desired as a full-time job in itself. It’s for these reasons that it’s a dedicated pillar.

Some people who are reading this will be looking to land their first job in tech. Others will be looking to move up in their career. Some will want to move sideways. Any kind of change can be challenging. Find the right tools, resources, and knowledge for each step of the way. This is where you’ll find the confidence to keep moving forward through your transition.

Traditional education institutions and job boards don’t give you those skills. In fact, they send you out into the ocean on a raft and say figure it out.” That’s why launching into your career is as important as having the skills to perform your job.

You can’t do a job unless you have that job right?

Learning how to write a cover letter, format a resume, and nail an interview are only the beginning. Uvaro has taken it a step further. We now offer job-matching technology and interview coaching for our members. That’s how crucial it is to achieveing Career Success.

Launching into an industry or profession — or re-launching after time away — can be daunting. Especially if you don’t know anyone. If you have your community behind you, you can carve a path forward using those connections. Any industry feels warmer when you know people. Uvaro aims to be those people before you step in front of the interview panel.

Succeed

• Coaching

The 4th and final wall — our Succeed pillar — covers the little things. Though little” doesn’t devalue their importance. We’re talking about the day-to-day victories that keep you growing in the right direction. Support, guidance, and coaching can all contribute to your success. Things like mental health and work-life balance are all key players in your Succeed wall as well.

As any of our career coaches will tell you, success is personal. And so are your goals.

We need to look at why success is different for each of us. Age, Type of work, lifestyle, family, and passions change throughout our lives. As a result, our career needs are going to shift over time and so are the obstacles we face. A career coach can help guide you toward healthy and sustainable career decisions.

They — along with your wider community — will help you every step of the way. This sort of guidance can help you answer the following questions with a yes, every time. When you look at your day-to-day, consider the following 11 questions born from Uvaro’s 11 internal principles of Career Success.

Uvaro’s 11 internal principles of Career Success

If you find yourself answering no," take some time to reflect on why this is. How might you be able to change the answer? Bring these questions and answers to any career coach. You’ll both have a better understanding of how you can find success in your day-to-day life. Or, whether it’s time for a change.

Barriers to Building Your Dream

So we’ve built 4 walls. Sounds easy enough right?

Well if it was that easy, more people would be living their dream. When we look at the data, we see a different picture painted for so many.

There are a number of reasons you might find yourself withdrawn or even dreading your day job. This can be caused from small inconveniences all the way up to systemic barriers preventing you from thriving in your career. Even if you’ve followed every step, you could find yourself unsure whether you’re in the right place.

Even with Uvaro’s help, these things will exist. But remember: It’s not that we run into problems — hiccups and barriers are inevitable. It’s all about HOW we manage those roadblocks and handle ourselves where they’re concerned.

That’s why we are always here to help, no matter what you’re facing. You know that whole support, coaching and by your side for life thing…

There are bad jobs. It remains true across all industries. But that doesn’t mean you're destined for a bad career. Some of the following barriers can be standing in the way. Some you’ll face and want to work through. Others you’ll recognize as your cue to give notice and walk right out the door. But all in all, these barriers are very real and unfortunately common. They might be present in your workplace...

Barriers On The Pursuit Of Career Success

No matter what the reason, when you’re in a job that isn’t working for you, resentment can start to build. These aggravations — large and small —pile up. Sometimes, they can begin to leak into all other areas of your life as well. If we refer back to our house metaphor:

If your career is your house, then your success makes your house a home.”

Our question would be,

If you had to bring discrimination or burnout into your home, would it be a place you could feel satisfied and comfortable? Or even safe?

None of these are the outcome you want. If you don’t challenge these barriers, you might begin to resent your coworkers, your career, and even yourself. And resentment can lead to further negativity along your journey. That’s why speaking to HR, a trusted manager, or your community can help you release some of those feelings. Any number of those people can also help you find the strength to confront the problem.

Some barriers in life are normal. In any pursuit, there will be inconveniences and difficulties you face. As you go looking to build your walls, remember there are always ways to overcome them in the pursuit of your dream home career.

3 - Make Your House a Home

So here we are. You’ve built up your foundation. You’ve set your concrete, you’ve built all 4 walls and you’ve moved in all those boxes.

But it doesn’t feel like home yet.

That piece that’s missing? That’s the little piece of magic in your career. It’s YOU. Your dreams, aspirations, wants, needs, and lifestyle. Everything that makes you unique contributes to your Career Success. There are so many ways to frame Career Success. Between your goals, pace, career stage, and personality we can’t tell you word-for-word how YOURS will play out. There are WAY too many variables.

Think of a house without decorations or furniture or anything. Does that feel like a home? YOUR home doesn’t look identical to somebody else's. It depends on your style, budget, and what you’ve got in your neighborhood.

What makes your house a home? That’s up to you!

So back to the question we asked at the start of this guide: How do you define Career Success and how do YOU experience it?

The Roof Method

Life moves so quickly, we can get caught up in looking forward instead of taking a moment to acknowledge where we are. Regardless if you're looking for your next job, or want to question your current situation, take a moment to reflect.

If you answer yes” to at least 2 of the questions below then it’s usually a good sign that you're in a great position or headed in the right direction. Keep an extra eye on #3. This is where real Career Success can happen.

1. Does it contribute to your financial health?
2. Are you surrounded by a community that uplifts you?
3. Do you find enjoyment in your work?

Another way of looking at it? Your career should safeguard your home. It’s your roof.

Stability

Support

Satisfaction

If your next move will make you feel stable, supported and bring you satisfaction then TAKE IT. That’s the right move for you.

Maybe 2 pieces of roofing will do an adequate job keeping you dry. And that’s okay as well. We know that sometimes, in life, compromises need to be made. But if it doesn’t hit at least 2 sides of that triangle, chances are you won’t have the motivation or drive to succeed.

But My Dream Home Is A Van With 4 Wheels…”

We can go on and on about what you should do, or what might work for you when it comes to building a home. But chances are YOU know what’s best for you.

Even if all your ducks are in a row. You read through this entire article and your career checks every box. There are green flags all over the place and you can see that, on paper, you’ve done it… Something still might not sit right.

That’s your gut. We know Career Success, but only you have your experience and perspective.

When a big decision comes around, flip a coin and decide that whatever it lands on you’ll do.

Rarely does that mean you’ll actually do as it says. But, it does give you insight into what you want to do. Let's say you’re debating between staying at a current job or leaving. Leaving your current job (heads). You go through this article. You go through every question. On paper, it seems the least sensible to leave. Then, if your coin lands on tails and you feel disappointed? You know what you want, regardless of anyone else’s opinion.

Sometimes, Career Success can mean throwing out the guidebook and trusting your gut. No document can tell you who you are and what you need. There is no cookie-cutter version of Career Success. Only you know the best path forward, and only you can turn your house into a home.

How Uvaro Approaches Career Success

Every concept in this article is included in our curriculum. At Uvaro, we believe your career shouldn’t be something you drag yourself out of bed to do. It should fulfill you and fuel you from your very first day to that last slice of retirement party cake.

That’s why we call ourselves Your Career Success Company.” We’re an entirely remote-run company to keep our classes accessible and our timelines flexible. We want to fit with your schedule. We also help you build your community through cohort-based learning. Not only that, our members tend to stay in touch throughout their entire careers. We offer 1:1 career Coaching, Workshops, and Courses for reps and leaders. We don’t just teach tech sales; that's how we set you up for Career Success. That’s the epitome of lifelong learning!

If you’re looking at diving further into Career Success, check out our Career Success Catalog. Learn how we can help you take the next step.