Whether you’ve been in your career for a short time or a long time, the vast majority of people have ambitions to go further – to earn more money, acquire greater authority, or perhaps simply the satisfaction of proving your skills within a workplace environment. Whatever your reasoning though, it can be difficult often to take that next step up the career ladder.
If you’ve therefore found that you’ve hit something of a wall, here are 5 things written by Sarah-Jane McQueen to bear in mind that can help you move past the obstacles in your way. Sarah-Jane McQueen, General Manager of CoursesOnline to professionals looking to develop their skillsets and acquire qualifications from within their respective industry.
Identify what it is that you want to move on to
It might sound overly simplistic but there’s no point really in simply saying to yourself “I want a promotion” unless you have something specific in mind. Having a clear and defined goal in mind will enable you to therefore tailor your approach towards achieving it. Such clarity will enable you to understand which skills it is that you need to develop rather than leave you guessing as to where to focus your self-improvement efforts.
Try out different approaches to learning
Just as it is with school pupils, everyone will have their own preferred ways of learning. If you need to improve your skills or gain further qualifications to progress then it’s worth taking the time to see what methods for learning are out there. You might work best at a dedicated in-person workshop that spans a day or a week, or perhaps you might learn best remotely via an online course that can be completed at your own pace. Whilst this might be dictated by some extent by what it is that you are looking to learn (for example if a practical element is involved), the majority of subjects will offer a lot of flexibility in how you can approach them.
Ask your peers for constructive feedback
For success within any workplace, it’s crucial to have the respect of your colleagues and doubly so if they are operating under you. It can likewise also be difficult for many people to accurately identify their weaknesses and areas for improvement so there’s an opportunity here to kill two birds with one stone. By asking your colleagues to identify what it is that you can improve on, you not only demonstrate that you value their thoughts but their feedback will provide insights that you might not have otherwise picked up on. These you can then work on and will provide a demonstrable greater value to your organisation.
Keep an eye on the jobs market
Even if you are happy within your current role and have no desire to move on, it’s well worth every now and again taking a look on job boards and recruitment websites to see what other jobs related to yours are available. If for example you’ve been in a position a while and the average wage for the same job in other organisations is greater, then you can cite this in your next performance review as to why you feel that you should be paid more. Employers know that to retain the best talent, they have to pay competitively so this gentle way of exerting pressure can be particularly rewarding!
Take the development of your team seriously
As your career advances, the chances are that you’ll be tasked with managing a team at some point. Whether this team is large or small, you’ll need to transform your mindset away from immediate personal success to focusing on the success of the team members for who you are responsible. The higher up you go, the more you usually have to focus on making decisions that will get the best out of people and less on involving yourself with the everyday execution of tasks. It can be a difficult transition if your background has been focused more on individual targets and objectives but being able to bring the best out of others is an immensely valuable skill that employers will always love to have on board.
