Most of the time when we talk about investment, we would immediately associate the word or phrase with money.
Simply put – how to generate more money with money.
While investing can be summed up quite easily into making more money from what you already have, the concepts around investment are multi-faceted and encompass different levels of complexities.
It can be very simple whereby you simply deposit your money in a bank and earn interest or it can be complex whereby you begin to take a view on foreign currency, international markets, political climate and even future global developments.
But while we are all pretty much familiar with how to make money from our hard earned wages, not many may be familiar with the idea of creating more value on ourselves even though it is something that we’ve all heard at any one time or other in our lives.
When we were young, we were always told by our parents and elders to study hard to get good results with the final accomplishment of getting a good job. What our parents did for us by sending us to school and paying our tuition fees was to invest in us.
While some may think that this is a very calculated way of seeing it, the fact is that our parents invested in our education so that we could have a brighter future. They were investing in our future. And this was what they told us all the time – study hard so you can get a good job.
Now that we’ve all grown up, finished our studies and have started work, do we consider the investment completed? Do we then therefore expect some sort of return on investment (ROI)? As gainfully employed persons, we expect to be able to command a certain scale of salary for what we deem is the pre-requisites for it. If you have a diploma, you would expect a certain salary scale and if you have a university degree then you would expect more and this could probably be considered your ROI for the education process that you have been through.
Now that you’ve started work, you may still want to consider adding value on yourself so that you can continue to command salary increments as well as promotions.
This is where the concept of investing in yourself comes in to play.
And just like the usual notion of investment, this too can be multi-faceted and encompass different levels of complexity.
BECOMING AN EXPERT IN WHAT YOU DO
Being able to do a good job will keep you in your job. But being a real expert in a particular job sheds a whole different light on your value. Increasing the level of expertise in any job role takes more than just the will to do the job. It requires passion.
For example, a teacher regurgitating content from a textbook as opposed to a teacher who finds creative methods of facilitating learning and going the extra mile to understand students’ different learning styles while inspiring students is a far different thing altogether.
The end results speak for itself and an inspiring teacher would be more valuable as opposed to just a decent teacher.
KEEPING YOURSELF UP TO DATE
The world changes at an ever-increasing speed and if you don’t make efforts to stay up to date with technology and skills that enable our work environment, you could very easily get left behind and literally become a relic. While technology may not be too hard to grasp considering that we are surrounded by it, skills can change.
What was once an acceptable method of doing things can change.
You should also keep yourself up to date on your industry developments. Some external corporate training companies offer various different courses for different industries and while it may cost a sum to attend a course, it is an investment after all – on yourself.
ADD VALUE TO YOUR PORTFOLIO
Every once in a while, review your career accomplishments and create a laundry list of what you’ve actually accomplished that would impress a future employer.
In this list of accomplishments, did you develop new skills which resulted in your accomplishment?
Factors such as these add greater value for you and your career and would help you stand out.
If you find that you are lacking in this area, it may be time for you to put your hand up for a project at work that could add value to your role.
Bear in mind that these accomplishments need to be backed up with actual facts, numbers or deadlines and it would be more valuable if you can translate your accomplishments into actual results. Do not be tempted to over embellish.
Unless it is irrelevant to your line of work, do not pass over opportunities to develop yourself further as these will add value to you for your career.
Whatever your investment view of yourself, believe in it and do something that you enjoy and can look forward to everyday.
Don’t forget that your investment of time.
If you are going to invest 30 years of your life into a career, do make sure that it’s something you will enjoy.
This article is for general information purposes only and whilst the information in it is believed to be reliable, it has not been independently verified by us. You are advised to exercise your own independent judgment with the contents in this article. – Standard Chartered
