No matter how ambitious you may feel when you launch a new career path, it won’t be long before you suffer burnout and frustration with the lack of advancement momentum. While a lack of opportunities may be partially to blame, there are plenty of things you can do to increase your options in advancing your career. By pursuing multiple methods for taking additional steps in moving up the corporate ladder, you can achieve the momentum you once envisioned for yourself.
Work Towards Actionable Goals
You can begin creating an upwardly mobile career by setting short-term goals for yourself. When your supervisor or team leader assigns a special project to you, use that opportunity to establish your leadership skills or your ability to multitask. Each new task can be used to add some value to your role within the organization. You should also be setting personal goals for yourself in your day-to-day activities. This may include boosting your productivity levels or learning more about different departments in your organization. You can use the opportunity to cross-train in different positions to help you increase your qualifications. Each day, you should go to work with a short-term goal in mind. Each goal should bring you one step closer to reaching your long-term career goals.
Learn How to Use Power
Regardless of your position within any organization, it’s never too soon to start paying attention to how the hierarchy within the organization works. Try to observe how people relate to one another. You should pay special attention to how your colleagues relate to your team leaders or supervisors. Making these observations will help you see how or why certain people are promoted over others. As you begin to put together how people move through the organization, you’ll have the information you need to use your own power to your advantage. You can use your current level of power to gain more power within your organization.
Improve Your Qualifications
You should also be looking for more ways to increase your qualifications. By learning more in advance and gaining new credentials, you’ll be ready to seize a new opportunity for advancement when it does present itself. You can take personal development courses to help you improve your leadership skills. You can also take courses that will give you hard skills, such as classes in tax law, accounting, or computer programming. Look for courses that will be useful in helping you achieve the next rung in your career advancement. As you complete a course or earn a new certification, don’t forget to add that to your resume. You should also bring it to the attention of your employer to show that you’re taking the initiative in advancing your career.
Build Your Network
While you may be interested in advancing your career in a single organization, you also should keep yourself open to the vast opportunities available throughout your industry. Take the time to meet colleagues working for other organizations. Attend industry-specific events. Network with professionals in related fields via social media. Keeping an open mind and showing interest in meeting others will help you build up a vast network. You can use a growing network of associates to discover new opportunities, collaborate on joint projects, and take advantage of a wide range of opportunities. These connections can even help you advance your career within your own organization by giving you the resources to fulfill the tasks of any position more substantially.
Work With a Mentor
Many young professionals are turning to career mentors to help them stay on track with their vocational goals. A mentor can provide you with insight and advice that will help you maneuver your career path more skillfully. By following a mentor’s guidance, you can avoid common pitfalls that would otherwise stall or sidetrack your career advancement. They can also help you discover faster ways to achieve the same level of success, helping you reach your long-term goals sooner than you might expect. In many cases, a mentorship is as rewarding for the mentor as it is for the mentee.
The key to advancing your progress in any career path is perseverance. As long as you remain dedicated to your success, you can achieve your long-term career goals. When you make a mistake or experience failure, learn what you can and create an adjusted strategy for success. This process of learning and growing can help you achieve any dream you have for yourself.
