Back in the day, the word “creativity” was primarily associated with artists or creatives. But did you know that it’s also a crucial element for your career? It’s one of the critical skills that many employers or businesses look for in their candidates. Applying creativity into your professional life increases your desire and drive to learn new things.
But apart from boosting your curiosity to learn, creativity can help you pave a rewarding and prosperous career. To help you improve your creativity and utilize it to your career advantage, here are some tips from us:
1. Have clear goals
It’s not only your personal life that needs clear goals; your career needs it, too. Having a successful career doesn’t always happen by luck. The best outcomes happen with precise and careful planning. Pushing yourself to be better and figuring out what you want to achieve will make it easier for you to make it happen.
In goal setting, you need to be concrete and accurate. What type of growing industry do you want to be a part of? Are you looking to shift to a new job? If yes, name it. Being specific with your visualization will enable you to set realistic timelines for your goals.
2. Learn new creative skills
Did you know that there are two most tried recipes when it comes to boosting creativity? They are playing an instrument and cooking. Learning to play music, in general, can trigger your brain to work creatively and can improve your focus. In fact, studies suggest that guitar and piano lessons can lead to greater imagination and creativity. Challenge yourself and learn to play the piano or guitar now!
Another useful skill that fosters creativity and mindfulness is cooking. While this can be a rule-based task, it also promotes flexibility as you can always make changes in ingredients and recipes. Furthermore, cooking also requires you to understand harmonies and interconnectedness, just like when writing poetry or making music. Other productive activities that can make you smarter and more creative include writing, painting, dancing, meditation, exercise, and even learning a new language.
3. Create the opportunities yourself
In almost all types of careers, especially on the creative side, you’ll need to produce the work you want to be hired for. Instead of waiting for the career opportunities to fall into your lap, create them. Professionally speaking, employers offer a salary for what they see on your resume. If you’re targeting a freelance career, you should know that building an impressive portfolio is crucial.
You can focus on personal pursuits first and do things you love, and then start with side gigs or projects. To better figure out the most suitable opportunities to create for yourself, ask yourself these questions:
- What is your North Star?
- What type of work do you want to do every day?
- What does your dream project look like?
4. Try the Six Thinking Hats technique
One widely used technique to improve decision-making, problem-solving, and creative and productive thinking is the Six Thinking Hats. Often used by organizations and groups, this method can guide you with career change as well. In general, this technique promotes fresh solutions and broadens a person’s thinking process.
Some studies about the Six Thinking Hats Techniques suggest that it can also foster better communication and higher quality decisions. To give an overview of what the framework is made of, here are the six imaginary hats that you put on mentally and what they symbolize for:
- White Hat – Facts or objective thinking
- Black Hat – Identifying problems and risks
- Blue Hat – Structured thinking and overall solution
- Green Hat – Creativity and new perceptions
- Red Hat – Feelings and emotional thinking
- Yellow Hat – Optimism and forward-thinking
5. Build your confidence
Confidence is valuable for living the best personal life and advancing your career or job. Being confident keeps you from backing away, but it helps you pursue new opportunities. It can help you make better decisions and even increase work productivity. In improving your confidence, you should first stop comparing yourself with others. Focus on your own skills, achievements, qualities, or possessions. Count the blessings.
Taking care of your body through self-care practices is another good way to boost your confidence. After all, you need to have the best health to get you through career challenges. Other things you can try include using positive self-talk, practicing self-compassion, and just having fun.
Creativity is not only nurtured and encouraged in a theater or an art studio; it is also nurtured and encouraged in almost every career industry. And if you’re looking to be more appealing to the right employers and set yourself for success, creativity is a critical skill to master. Stay creative and daring, and you’ll surely flourish in your chosen career.