Whether you're looking to add value to your business, your position or you're looking for a way to alter the direction of your career, becoming a quality management professional offers the skills and opportunities to take your work to the next level. After all, quality is what keeps a business running smoothly and what keeps customers and clients coming back for your products and services.
In today's post, we'll talk about five reasons becoming a quality professional can boost your career.
1. Professional Exposure to a Variety of Industries
Never underestimate the value of on-the-job education and experience — the skills you've acquired this way, as well as from your education are transferable, i.e., they are valuable within more than one industry. Having the training to be a quality professional means you'll have a professional advantage through industry diversity. This is especially true of those looking to change directions with their careers.
However, it can also be a boon to business owners. It will give you perspective enough to course correct if a different, but related, direction is better for your company than what you'd originally intended. It allows you to embrace developing changes and ensures you stay on top of procedural shifts.
2. Learning Management Strategies and How Companies Operate
Quality professionals gain access to a myriad of key positions and decision makers in their industry that you can (and will) ask in depth questions, which in turn gives you practical knowledge about how a certain industry, or business, operates. Audits and assessments expose you to the types of experiences and insights that help you grow professionally.
As a business owner, this will also help you run your business more efficiently. You'll understand the structure and procedures that are necessary, and thus will hire (or train) professionals that can meet your business needs in that context.
3. Increasing Your Marketability, Value to Your Current Position, or Earning Potential
As you grow professionally and your understanding of, and experience with, different aspects of an industry (or many related industries) expands, you will invariably be worth more as an employee. Whether that means you're a more attractive prospect to hire or a more valuable employee to keep, it can lead to either advancement or more competitive pay. While this obviously will not happen instantly, based on taking certification classes, the time you put in and the experience you gain will highlight your willingness to achieve more and your capability to fulfill new roles.
As a business owner, your knowledge as a quality professional will transfer to your business, making it more marketable within your industry because you're able to run it efficiently and meet client needs within various regulations expediently. You will help build a reputation for your company as being reliable and worthy of business because you're well informed of the necessary procedures to ensure top quality work.
4. Opportunities for Business Travel, Even Globally
While the number of travel opportunities you have access to will depend largely on what kind of quality professional you decide to be, depending on your role, you may travel as little as the other side of town or as much as to the opposite side of the world. A vendor assessor, for example, will probably need to travel often and coordinate with supply chain management teams as well as affiliate organizations.
5. Entrepreneurial Options Including Starting Your Own Auditing Firm
Starting your own business can be intimidating, but quality management is always in demand and quality professionals can take advantage of all the points we listed above to transcend industry boundaries and become a full time or part time entrepreneur. Quality professionals have the skill sets that are desirable across the board, and thus they can build client lists that can offer numerous opportunities to continue their professional development.
Now that you understand the benefits of becoming a quality professional, you may be wondering what the next step is. To find out more about how to become a quality professional, take a look at the courses offered at CLIMB Professional Development and Training, like our Getting Started with eAudits class.
