Career advancement is a hard thing to plan and implement. You have to be ambitious and willing to make sacrifices to stand out from the crowd. If you are a newbie employee waiting for your employer to give you a promotion, it’s time you know that you can only merit a promotion if you do things that are not done by the general run of them. You ought to think outside the box and do what is expected of individuals in an organization’s upper echelons. Here are tips to help you expedite your journey up the corporate ladder:
Further your education
Successful business owners and investors know the significance of increasing one’s knowledge and skill-set in career advancement. Most people believe this means reading industry journals and articles, which is true to some extent, but recruiters need more than that. They prefer products of higher-education programs from accredited institutions. In a word, you are more likely to land a higher-paying executive job in a large corporation if you have an MBA or doctoral degree than if you are a mere bachelor’s degree holder.
Know your goals
Career advancement is not just about getting to the top of the world. It is also about ensuring you finally land in a place you are comfortable being in and have a clear plan for. The best way to plan for the ultimate prize is to break down the journey into smaller deadlines and milestones and only focus on attaining those mini-goals. That way, you won’t deal with too much pressure and will actually have a way to measure your progress.
Work smarter
People have succeeded by working hard. However, working smarter is an even better way to meet your objectives if you know how to tread that avenue. For example, if you are the manager of your company’s marketing department, you can use digital tools such as CRM systems and marketing funnels to monitor prospects instead of doing that through phone calls and other analog means. This will take the workload of you and your team’s shoulders and free you up for more creative tasks. As a result, it will increase your department’s productivity and portray you as innovative.
Build a network
The more connections you have, the more opportunities you get. That’s how the corporate world works. You can start by creating compelling social media profiles and trying to connect with individuals within your industry there. In addition to that, make a point of attending local networking meet-ups and exchanging contacts with like-minded individuals.
Don’t accept to be limited by your job description
Doing what everyone does reduces your chances of making good however perfectly you do it. The easiest way to impress on-looking potential employers is to go beyond the horizon of your job description and create solutions where they are needed. Prioritize what you are charged with by your employer, but when opportunities show up, do not shy away from displaying your aptitudes in roles beyond the scope of your employment. Here are a few things you can do:
- Think up, analyze and suggest business growth ideas to your seniors
- Get directly involved in tasks and projects
- Find cheaper ways to go about daily company operations
- Offer a hand in executing difficult administration tasks
- Express your opinions on important business matters
Set yourself up as an industry expert
Any company that doesn’t follow industrial trends is riding for a fall. You can choose to be that one person that stays abreast of the industry dynamics and developments on behalf of your employer. There are many ways to do that. You can develop a habit of reading industry journals and textbooks. You can also keep track of the market leaders and see the changes they are making to their production activities. For untapped technological advancements and trends, follow industry influencers and online communities.
Embrace teamwork
As the adage goes, teamwork makes the dream work. Readiness to work in a team not only allows for division of labor and ensures everyone is assigned a task they are good at but also reduces the risk of mistakes. You get to learn more new things when you work with others than when you do it alone. It also gives you a platform to showcase your leadership skills and bolster your confidence.
Endnote
If someone told you they know the router to the top of the corporate ladder, they’d be lying. There is no formula. It is a concoction of actions selected with your short and long term objectives in mind. Make sure to follow the above tips to assist your journey of career advancement.