4 Top Ways To Advance Your Career Without Wasting Money

Job opportunities in Kenya are always scarce, making job seekers go out of their way to find ways in which they can stand out in their respective careers. Anyone not finding jobs can relate to the fact that it’s difficult to standing out from the crowd, especially when most people have the same qualifications as you do. But one proven way you can achieve that is by advancing your career by either taking up an added course or learning a new skill, which may require money that you do not have.

So our question today is, can you advance your career without spending money? In one of our articles that touched on tips on how to avoid being idle during your job search, a reader wanted to know how they could grow their career when they had no money.

“How can a job seeker advance his/her career yet he doesn’t have money?” wrote Justus Mwangangi.

Many job seekers can identify with Justus question. Job hunting can sometimes be an ugly experience especially if you have no source of income. You can hardly afford to print out your CV let alone having money to finance a career growth venture.

According to Michael Gacha, Recruitment Assistant at Corporate Staffing Services, it is possible for one to grow their career without money, and even earn a little from it.

“It is not always about advancing your education that you can grow your career. Just like anyone who pays a lot to go back to school for a masters degree or a CPA certification, there are many opportunities at your disposal to grow your career where you don’t spend any money,” Mr Gacha affirms.

Here are ways in which you can grow your career without spending.

Ways You Can Grow Your Career Without Spending

These tips go for both people in employment and those yet to land a job. They will guide you to gain invaluable skills and experience without paying any money.

1. Free online courses
There are many online courses offered by virtual institutions in the likes of Future Learn, a virtual institution that offers training ranging from weeks to months across different professions. All professionals ranging from administration, IT, finance and so on can find suitable courses that are given for free. edX is the other virtual university that offers graduate degrees for working adults and students interested in advancing their education while continuing their career.

For IT professionals, there are always free tutorials that you can download on your personal devices to gain invaluable skills in the dynamics of technology.

2. Side hustles
Most people look for side hustles to get an extra coin to boost their regular earning. You did not know however that a side hustle can really boost your career growth.

An IT professional who designs websites for individuals and companies during as a side hustle gains invaluable experience and skills they that can work wonders on their career growth.

Today also, people take up online jobs to boost their earnings. For communication professionals for instance, one can join the online translators groups to earn from translating projects from one language to another. An example is Proz.com. Apart from the money you make from such online jobs, you stand to gain a lot in terms of your communication and translation skills for this matter.

The list is endless including developing content for big wigs, online research for big companies, and so on.

3. Networking
Networking is another way you can grow your career without paying a single cent. You establish connections within your career field. Here, you can get wind of developments within your career, any job openings, and the skills you need to be at par with and so on.

For IT professionals for instance, it is important to network on all avenues including LinkedIn, twitter and other platforms as you will need to know the latest developments in technology that is always changing.

4. Volunteering
Hardly will you come across an organization calling for job seekers to pay for an opportunity to volunteer. Few place job adverts that let you know that your time as a volunteer will be unpaid. In a majority of organizations in Kenya however, you are even given stipends to allow you a smooth volunteering experience.

As we already established, there is no better way to grow your career in terms of skills and experience than by volunteering. And as Mr Gacha advices, if you are an accountant, you can volunteer within an NGO during your free time to boost your career and even make your CV more impressive. During volunteering also, you gain important contacts that can boost you career growth especially when looking for future opportunities.

The importance of growing your career cannot be overemphasized if you want to stand out among fellow professionals. Sometimes even without money, there are steps you can take to grow your career, which will be worth your sacrifice.