Learning doesn’t end with a diploma; it’s a lifelong journey that evolves with each experience and new piece of knowledge acquired. For alumni, continuing education opens […]
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Whether you were fired, laid off, let go, want to make a career change, or just quit your job, it's important to find activities that will make you more employable when you're out of work. Otherwise, you'll have a hard time keeping up with qualified job candidates who aren't desperate for a job.
Also, you'll have a lot of explaining to do when it comes to addressing employment gaps on your resume. Your goal is to fill those employment gaps with productive activities that are relevant to your field.
So, when you're unemployed, don't waste valuable time just sitting around applying for jobs online. Instead, make yourself more employable by doing one (or more!) of these resume boosters:
Upskilling is one of the best ways to give your resume a boost. Think about skill sets that would give you an edge in your industry or target job. Then, determine how you can get those skill sets.
Consider certificate programs, online courses, workshops, free webinars and video tutorials, or professional clubs. Even though you're not currently working, you're proactively finding ways to stay relevant in your industry. That fact alone can give you a huge leg up in your job search.
Working with temp agencies (or staffing agencies) is a great in-between-jobs option for professionals.
These agencies will match you with companies and place you in temporary jobs. This type of work can lead job seekers to some great opportunities because it allows them to get paid for their work (although minimal), network with different companies, figure out which companies could be a good fit, and potentially receive a full-time job at one of the companies.
If you can find a part-time job that allows you to hone your current skill sets or build new ones, this is another great way to get a paycheck as well as fill those pesky resume gaps.
Remember, while it would be ideal to find something in your industry, you don't always have to do that. Think about what transferable skills you can gain from a part-time opportunity. How will the skills you use in this part-time job transfer to your target job?
While it doesn't pay, volunteering is a great way to keep yourself busy, sharpen your skill sets, and network with like-minded people. Find organizations in your area that relate to your field or interests and start making a difference in your community!
When blogging first came on the scene, people used it as a way to share their diaries, opinions, and useless knowledge with the world. While some still use blogging as a tool to share their personal lives with the world, others use it more strategicallyâand you should, too! Think about your industry. What advice, insight, ideas, or issues can you write about?
Writing about things that matter in your field can help you establish yourself as an expert in your industry. When recruiters Google you and they see that you've been actively writing about your industry, you'll score brownie points because you're taking steps to be a thought leader in your field (and most employers dig thought leaders).
Instead of spending all of your time sitting on your couch simultaneously searching for jobs while watching reruns of Friends, find ways to stay active in your field. It can really pay off!
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In almost every office, there are "lucky" employees given formidable projects like setting up a new department or coming up with strategies for rebranding the company. Then, of course, there are those assigned to do the so-called "grunt work" such as alphabetizing clients' files, updating suppliers' contact details, and organizing meetings.
There's nothing wrong with doing grunt work, as these tasks are necessary for the business to operate efficiently. However, there comes a point when you want to move on to do more meaningful and challenging work.
Simply put, you want to get promoted.
After all, doing the same thing over and over again isn't exactly going to do anything for your career growth. That's why you should have the courage to ask for bigger responsibilities. Don't wait for your boss to hand that exciting project to youâyou must be proactive! Fight for it if you have to.
Here's how you can show everyone you're ready to move up in the world and finally earn that promotion:
Do the grunt work with enthusiasm. If necessary, over deliver. For instance, if you're tasked with alphabetizing clients' files, you can also make backup copies of the said files. If nobody wants to face a particularly difficult client, volunteer for the task. Doing so would prove that you're willing to do even the most difficult things to make your mark. This also establishes your reputation as a reliable member of the team.
Once you're done with the tasks assigned to you, you can help out any co-worker who's overwhelmed with their tasks. Don't be pushy, though. Let your co-worker tell you what to doâand then give it your best shot. Make sure you have your co-worker's permission before you tell your boss and other office-mates about the collaboration. Otherwise, people might think you're trying to take credit for their work.
Make an inventory of what you can do. Find a way to highlight these skills. If you're good with words, you can offer to help your co-workers write their reports. You can also acquire more skills that will help you snag your target projects. For example, if your company has an office in Paris and you'd like to be assigned there, then learn French.
Get to know everything about your company. Immerse yourself in all sorts of information about the industry that you're in. Know the trends and other factors affecting your line of work. This information can help you suggest new projects and tasks to your boss. When you pitch a project, it helps if you present your skill set as well so your boss knows what you can do.
Remember: YOU control your career's direction.
You don't have to wait that long to get the project or position or promotion that you want. If you have the drive and will to succeed, then you can move forward in your profession at a much faster pace.
The trick is to do everything that you're assigned to do extraordinarily well and to keep improving your skill set. This way, you're always ready to take advantage of an opportunity for career advancement.
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If you're an executive or somebody in a leadership position, you have an executive presence. Your executive presence is your reputation. It's what people think when you walk into a room, and what they say about you when you're not in the room.
As a leader, actively maintaining your executive presence builds credibility, trust, and, ultimately, a following. It gives you a competitive advantage over other job candidates, allowing you to gain access to better career opportunities.
Every executive needs to think about their presence. But before you can effectively build a strategy to grow your executive presence and create tools that support it, you need to understand what your executive presence is. To start, here are three components of executive presence every leader should know...
Gravitas is the first component of executive presence. It's your chosen value. It's how you like to create value in the world, and how you save or make an organization money to justify the cost of hiring you.
One of the factors of executive presence that corresponds with gravitas is your depth of knowledge. As an executive, you've gotten to where you are today because you've thought through a lot of situations. Developing gravitas happens naturally in your career as you gain more experience and climb the corporate ladder.
Some traits related to gravitas include practical knowledge, composure, confidence, resonance, and vision.
The second (and most important) component of executive presence is communication. How do you deliver on your value? Communication also includes things like your personality and your approach. These are the things that are going to convey your executive presence.
A factor of executive presence that corresponds with communication is your delivery of knowledge. After thinking through a lot of situations in your career, you've been able to communicate that evolution of thought. You've taken those experiences and learned and grown from them. This is the most important component of executive presence because, for leaders with an effective executive presence, communication makes up 51% of it. In other words, the effectiveness of your executive presence depends on your delivery of knowledge.
Some traits related to communication include authenticity, constraint, integrity, concern, and humility.
The last component of your executive presence is your appearance. This is how your value is interpreted. It can be physical appearance (how you dress) or it can be body language like facial expressions and hand gestures.
The final factor of executive presence that corresponds with appearance is your style of delivery. As an executive, you've thought through a lot of situations in your career and communicated that evolution of thought, and now appearance is the type of representation you choose to convey that message.
Some traits related to appearance include personal style, intentionality, inclusiveness, interactivity, and assertiveness.
As a leader in your industry, you have an executive presence. When others are assessing your executive presence (your reputation), they're taking into account your gravitas, communication, and appearance. Understanding the three components of executive presence is the first step to building an effective executive presence strategy, one that will give you access to better career opportunities.
To learn more about how to build your executive presence, download our eBook, 4-Step Process for Creating Your Executive Presence Online, written by J.T. O'Donnell, founder and CEO of Work It DAILY.
If you're an executive looking to advance in your career, you need to make your executive presence a priority. This includes your online executive presence. Failing to consistently contribute online in a meaningful way will put you on the fast track to being irrelevant and forgotten.
It's time to take control of your professional reputation. We invite you to sign up for a FREE workshop with J.T. O'Donnell, a LinkedIn Top Voice. In this 45-minute workshop, J.T. will share the five things all executives should be doing on LinkedIn right now to ensure they remain at the top of their fields.
J.T. will explain:
Canât attend live? No worries.
Sign up and weâll send you the recording after the event.
We hope to see you there!
It's that golden moment, the one you always dream about. The moment your boss offers you a raise, and you didn't have to ask for it! It doesn't happen often unless you have something in your contract that stipulates your pay increases, or some other sort of mandated pay raise. However, for the majority, an impromptu raise is just a dream.
There are no promises to be made here. Many raises, even those you ask for, depend on a variety of factors. You have control over whether or not you deserve a raise, but not always over getting one.
Luckily, there are some things you can do that will push you closer to getting a raise, whether you ask for one or not:
It doesn't matter if you're in sales or not. If the company you work for isn't able to bring in new business, they aren't going to grow, and they won't be able to afford to give you a raise.
In today's business world, everyone is in sales. You are a business-of-one. You have to sell yourself, your company, your skills, and your products. If you aren't a salesperson, you may not have the know-how to follow a sale through to the end, but you can still bring in business.
For example, just because I was an accountant at Dr. Snooze mattress company doesn't mean I had less of a chance to get a raise than the people on the sales floor. I'd still get leads and find new accounts. I used excellent customer service to ensure other companies kept coming back to do business with us.
Start looking for ways to bring in new business and you'll be amazed at what you can learn.
This "something" should be related to your field, obviously. There's no point in learning everything there is to know about QuickBooks if you work as an account supervisor. Sure, it might occasionally come in handy, but the goal is to become a go-to person on a topic.
If someone has questions about an account, they should be coming to you, and you need to be able to answer them. It's even more impressive if you can reach out before they even realize there's an issue. Not only does that mean that you increase your customer retention, but your clients will remember that and recommend you.
Not just any mentor. Do what you can to ensure that the mentor you choose is someone you would like to model your career after.
In today's marketplace, having a mentor that's a little bit old-fashioned (or at least respected in the industry) might be a great way to distinguish yourself. After all, careers now last about 4-5 years, instead of 40-50. You need to be on-call 24/7, but that doesn't leave you any time for a life. A mentor can help you work through the kinks and can help you to pave a path that others want to follow.
With guidance from a mentor, you'll stand out from other employees on the job, and could be next in line to get a raise.
There is nothing that will make your boss love you more than if you make them look good. After all, they'd probably like a raise just as much as you would, so it makes sense that they need you on their team. Stepping on their toes and making them look like they don't know what their doing isn't going to win you any favors.
When I was working at McElroy Metal, this tactic worked perfectly for me. I gave my supervisor all the credit for a huge sale I made, and he quickly became a favorite with the owner. When it was time for him to give promotions, I was the first one to be recommended.
The thing is, once you've made yourself irreplaceable, you can ask for pretty much whatever you want (within reason, of course). Becoming an indispensable employee involves doing what you're supposed to, plus everything listed, and then a little bit more.
After all, people who make themselves exceptional stand out for a reason. Having the perception that losing you would decrease productivity around the office and cost them money means that job security is locked in tight, and your boss will want to fight to keep you.
There is no way to promise that you'll get a raise. Much of it has to do with things you have no control overâthe company's current standing, when a promotion becomes available, or the overall economics of the country.
Even if that can't be guaranteed, however, you can drastically increase your chances of getting a raiseâwhether you ask for one or not.
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There are a host of online courses available to help people level up in their careers or learn new skills entirely. But, to fully take advantage of online courses, you need to have your priorities in order and know exactly what you want to accomplish.
Some courses are offered for free, but there are also many that cost money. As you review available online courses and determine the ones worth taking, you may have to consider both finances and time constraints. Consider these four categories when choosing online courses:
Online courses that can help professionals do their job better are among the most valuable courses that you could take.
It's easy to work in a role for a long time, but not grow in it. You can't let that happen! If your career isn't growing, it's dying.
In order to make yourself an indispensable employee, it's important to keep up with industry trends and constantly take inventory of the skills you need to do your job exceptionally well. Some companies will even pay for their employees to take courses or certification programs if the employee can prove it will help them do their job better and ultimately benefit the company.
As far as choosing the right online courses, it helps to write out the specific areas where you're looking to upskill, and then research which courses check off the most boxes. LinkedIn Learning has a diverse course selection and the website Coursera has an extensive library of courses.
Beyond doing your job better and making yourself an indispensable employee, there's a certain sense of satisfaction that comes with always trying to get better.
Breaking into a new industry as a result of a career change or layoff is never easy. One of the first major steps a person has to do is an assessment of professional skills. This is where professionals determine what skills they have that are transferable to the new industry, and what skills they're lacking.
For example, a journalist looking to make a transition into marketing has important communication and writing skills that will transfer well into the industry, but would probably benefit greatly from a course or certification program in online marketing.
Just because a professional completes a course or certification doesn't mean they're qualified for the new industry. But, it may put them in a better position to secure a job interview, and it at least shows potential employers a willingness to learn.
If you were laid off and are unsure about your next career move, Work It Daily has free career quizzes that could point you in the right direction.
Taking courses to gain extra skill sets or to pursue an additional passion is a very advantageous position for professionals.
We all have interests beyond our careers, and sometimes our careers turn us on to additional interests. For example, a doctor with a passion for graphic design may take courses about how to develop a freelance business on the side.
Others may take courses to help transition into a new position at their workplace or climb the ladder at the company.
One of the best steps any professional can do is to get ahead of the curve and anticipate skills that they may need in the future. Taking this type of initiative will not only impress your employer but may also help you learn more about yourself as a professional to either excel at your current career or chart a new career course.
Not every online course that you take has to be career-related. Sometimes it's good to just take a course for fun or personal satisfaction. The number of courses available online runs the gamut. You can learn a new language, sit in on online lectures from university professors, discover basic life hacks, and hear from prominent people about their success stories.
Expanding your knowledge base can make you a more well-rounded and happier person. This translates well into all aspects of your life.
Online career courses are only a piece of the puzzle. The path to true career growth is putting together a plan for success, and Work It Daily can help!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
When it comes to having career goals, it's important to aim high. But sometimes the challenge we all face in aiming high is putting too much pressure on ourselves and then becoming overwhelmed. Achieving your career goals is all about balance.
The best way to achieve your career goals without putting too much pressure on yourself is to understand that it's very unlikely that you'll achieve your goals overnight. You have to build a career plan, be flexible about it, and work to chip away at the goals that you set.
Here are three ways that you can successfully manage your career goals:
Setting mini goals is a way to help accomplish your overall goals, but in a way that is manageable and less overwhelming. For example, say your goal is, "I want to be promoted in a few years." This is a solid and ambitious goal, but for some, it can be difficult to know where to start in making this goal a reality.
This is where mini goals come into play. In order to put yourself in a position to get promoted, you can start with the mini goal of, "I want to do something every month to help grow my career."
Accomplishing this mini goal could include taking a month to focus on courses or certifications that will help you upskill, using another month to put greater emphasis on your networking efforts, and using yet another month to learn a new skill entirely. All these mini goals help make you a more well-rounded employee, and that type of effort adds up over time.
There's no guarantee that you'll get promoted in a few years. There are so many factors at play, but focusing on career growth will at least put you in a position to be considered.
This is similar to setting mini career goals in the fact that you're taking small steps to achieve a larger benefit. Changing the smallest habits can make a huge difference in your career.
One habit that many job seekers can improve on is how often they update their resumes. A lot of people don't update their resumes until they're applying for a job, but a better habit would be updating your resume every six months.
Updating your resume every six months helps you keep track of things you've done to learn and grow your skills. It's much easier to remember recent events than to try to go back three years ago to assess what you've learned. It can also be motivating, as it can serve as a good reminder of the skill gaps that you still need to fill.
Other career habits to change could include cutting out 20 minutes of daily social media time to focus on your career instead or making it a point to reconnect with one LinkedIn connection a week.
Creating better habits can go a long way toward helping you accomplish your career goals.
At Work It Daily, we're big proponents of the 3 Cs because they can help professionals at all levels of their career journey, including those looking for a job, aiming for a promotion, or exploring other ways to grow their careers.
Here's a refresher on the 3 Cs:
Content: There's a lot of great information on the internet, including at Work It Daily, that can help professionals plan their career goals, including video tutorials, online quizzes, blogs, etc.
Coaching: Whether it's an online coaching platform like Work It Daily, or consulting with a trusted colleague or friend who has had career success, take advantage of the knowledge of others.
Community: Whether it's a coaching community, or someone you know also trying to get their career in order, it's always best to not address career challenges alone. In addition, it never hurts to have positive reinforcement.
All of these small steps can make a big difference in helping you accomplish your career goals, and the best part is that it's all manageable. As long as you have these small goals in mind, and stay organized, you can grow your career without feeling overwhelmed.
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How do you get a promotion? It's a good time to start thinking about growing your career and positioning yourself for one.
Here are six tips to get the promotion you want at work:
With many companies leaner than they were several years ago, there are probably many internal voids. You want to identify and fill them. We recommend looking at how you can informally be of service.
For example: ask your supervisor or team members how you can step in and support them as well as identify where you see hiccups in efficiency. Approach the appropriate person with a case for how you can step in and help.
At the same time, make sure you do not commit to work you know you cannot complete efficiently and to the best of your ability.
An intrapreneur is someone who uses an entrepreneur's mindset, relationships, skills, and behaviors within an organization's four walls to develop new, innovative ways of working, new products, or new services.
Whether you are developing a new corporate social responsibility initiative or a new procedure for onboarding entry-level talent, elicit the support of all key stakeholders, do your homework to set yourself up to succeed, and set clear, mutually agreed-upon criteria for success.
By launching a new venture within your company's four walls, you may just create your new position. And when you succeed, you will have evidence of your leadership experience.
It's important to develop mutually beneficial relationships within your department and team as well as throughout your company. Don't forget to connect with your co-workers, old and new, and continuously try to network with those outside of your immediate office or work environment.
To put yourself in line for such an opportunity as a promotion, set the time to get to know all of your colleagues. Be curious about their work and the opportunities they foresee on the horizon.
This is another important muscle to flex when positioning yourself for a promotion. While it's important to have an eye on your goals so that you stay on top of your chief responsibilities, you also want to pay attention to how your work plays into the bigger picture.
Get clear on your department or organization's one, two, and even five-year goals, and work with your supervisor to make sure that how you are spending your time and energy is moving youâand the companyâin the right direction.
People want to work with happy people. Andâlet's face itâright now, too many workplaces are seas of persistent complaint.
Senior leaders also want emerging talent who see opportunities rather than obstacles. Not only does a Negative Nelly or Negative Ned kill moral, but she or he also comes across as someone incapable of solving problems and inspiring others toward solutions, which are keys to positioning one's self as an effective leader.
If you want to get that promotion, focus on being positive at work. Your encouraging nature will show your manager you have the right attitude for a leadership position, therefore making you that much closer to getting promoted.
This might sound obvious, but we can't tell you how many people know a position is open in their companies and fail to advocate for themselves or hope that a supervisor will read their minds and make them that offer they can't refuse.
This is particularly important for women.
Men initiate these kinds of conversations about four times as often as women! You don't want to under promise and over deliver forever. Once you know you have laid the foundation for your ask, set a specific day and time to talk to the appropriate person about your aspirations, and make sure you facilitate the conversation in such a way that you are creating a compelling story about what you have achieved in your previous position and what you believe you can achieve moving forward.
Most promotions won't fall into your lap. If you want it, sometimes you just have to ask for it.
Remember, sometimes the greatest impediment to our upward mobility is ourselves. Take this advice and position yourself for a promotion today.
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Moving up in your career takes skill and determination. It also requires you to work on your career, not just in it. When we think about people who have mastered the art of career advancement, executives and other business leaders come to mindâthose at the top who know their stuff and are very influential within their organization and line of work.
To inspire you to reach new heights in your career, we recently asked our leading executives, "What is the smartest thing you have done to advance your career?"
Here are their responses...
The single smartest thing Iâve done to advance my career was to get an MBA. At the time, I was a marketing manager working for a company called Schwanâs (markets frozen food products in grocery stores). I had three objectives in going back to school to get my MBA: work within the CPG (consumer packaged goods) industry, advance my career, and increase my salary. It took me three years to get my MBA, going at night after working all day. Once I graduated, I was able to secure a job with ConAgra Brands, a Fortune 500 CPG company, as a brand manager. My salary increased by over 55% with ConAgra Brands. During my four years with the company, I had the opportunity to work for some of the most established brands within their portfolio like Orville Redenbacher and Chef Boyardee. And my salary grew by over 48% during my tenure with the company.
From ConAgra Brands, Iâve gone on to work for companies like The Coca-Cola Company, Activision to mid-size companies, and emerging growth start-ups. My MBA has paid off tenfold for me and opened up huge opportunities throughout my career.
Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.
As I sit and think about this subject, I am flooded with many things. Defining the "smartest" is proving to be challenging. As I continue to contemplate the idea, one thing remains constant... never giving up on learning.
When I am feeling stagnant in my career, I realize I am not learning something. When I am frustrated by a task, I learn from others how to accomplish that objective. When I am confused or stumped by a problem, I seek others in the world who have struggled for answers. The common theme... I am learning.
The Buddhists have a saying in Ch'an (Chinese version of Zen) to "Always have a beginner's mind." This saying has served me well because I approach a situation as an opportunity to learn. Place judgment aside, remove my preconceived notions, and enter the situation with curiosity. By opening my eyes to the learning experience, I can grow and become better than I was yesterday. Keeping this optimism is often difficult in the modern workplace; however, in the times I take a setback, I find my greatest opportunity to grow. Growth leads to opportunity. Opportunity has been how I advance my career.
Jim Black is an engineering professional focused on the development of technical professionals. He is also a professional bass player.
My career is more like a bowl of spaghetti than a linear progression. My smartest moves came from recognizing two kinds of opportunities:
1. Doing something no one else wants to do. In my case, this included traveling to train clients in âundesirableâ places, (thatâs how I ended up in Siberia!), writing documentation (too âboringâ for the techies), and creating a 5-level language course for the Bulgarian Army, in my spare time, in a week (task considered "insane").
2. Sorting out disasters. This included building a clientâs compliance process from scratch when we had a violation and retraining a customer free of charge because they had not been trained when given the product. No one gets the Medal of Honor in ideal conditions!
If you can be the person who gets the âcrapâ jobs done, or who fixes things when they go sideways, then youâll get the right reputation.
Liam Anderson has spent the last 15 years in the contact center industry technology space. He helps customers use this technology to achieve and sustain business success.
Professional networking for sure! Networking in the sense of creating mutually beneficial relationships rather than short-term interactions. There are countless ways to do this, especially by joining professional associations and taking on leadership roles. If there isnât an association that captures your interest, then maybe start a new one yourself.
Networking has given me a broader perspective and opened career opportunities that I didnât even know existed. The luxury of a well-maintained professional network adds more value both as an individual contributor and as a leader. Most importantly, networking is about helping the other person. One of my favorite questions to ask is, âHow can I help you?â
Dr. Hannah Hartwell is a learning and development executive and change management practitioner with 15+ years of business transformation experience in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, higher education, and professional services industries.
If you believe in yourself, you should bet on yourself.
Are you the type of person whoâs never happy with the status quo and who always seeks out challenges?
Whenever I find myself starting to veer into zombie mode (doing the same thing repeatedly with no additional sense of joy, wonder, or accomplishment), I know itâs time to learn a new skill.
Over the years, this has meant taking evening college courses, earning additional certifications, and mastering new technology. This is precisely how I gained a key promotion at a former company, during the midst of a large layoff, no less.
My biggest pivot was going back to school full-time to earn my MBA. It was the right decision for me, and my career has advanced even more because of it.
Again: If you believe in yourself, you should bet on yourself!
Andrea Markowski is a marketing director with specializations in strategy development, digital tactics, design thinking, and creative direction. She has superpowers in presentations and public speaking.
What's the smartest thing you've done to advance your career? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily's Executive Program.
Itâs exciting, no doubt about it. Your expertise, hard work, and perseverance paid off. You got the big promotion you were working toward. Then, along with exuberance, reality sets in with a bit of nerves for this new challenge. Now you have to deliver.
Even though promotions are exhilarating, they can also leave recipients uneasy about the change. Going from a position where you had proven yourself into a position with some inherent uncertainty will put a knot in the most confident stomachs.
Oftentimes, the easiest kind of promotion is where youâre promoted into a new environment with a new team to work with. That is like a clean slate. Much harder can be the transition within a business unit. Not to mention, the move from peer to boss can definitely be a minefield. Like it or not, we create an identity at work and many of our co-workers identify us with our role. Change our role or give us more responsibility, and people around us sometimes have difficulty adapting. There are also occasions when the person promoted has difficulty adjusting.
Letâs take a look at some of the steps the newly promoted can take to ensure a smooth, effective transition.
Embrace the newness and recognize your stakeholdersâthose affected by your work and your teamâs work. Even if you are working with some of the same people, there is a good chance you have new stakeholders or new relationships with stakeholders. Meet with them and listen to their feedback. From employees to suppliers to customers to your boss, they will let you know whatâs going well and what needs improvement from their perspectives.
Note the emphasis on listening. You donât need to promise the world just because youâre in a new role. You are there to gather their feedback so you can ensure expectations are met. You will learn a lot when you actively listen and these people will notice your engagement.
Your promotion was a competitive process. Your boss saw something in you that persuaded them to give you this opportunity. There is almost always a learning curve to your new position, but during the transition, put together a plan for yourself and your role going forward. You bring a skill set, expertise, and a new perspective. These are all ways you can add value.
Determine 30-, 90-, and 180-day milestones about what you are going to learn and how you will proceed in making positive contributions. Utilize the SMART principle for goal-setting (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Bound). The promotion is not the high water mark. You have greater things in store.
Be as transparent as possible about your goals and expectations. This communication should be the case up and down the chain of command, and you have to actively invite feedback and demonstrate a willingness to listen to it.
Once you have developed your plan and milestones, meet with your supervisor to discuss them. If you have not worked closely with this person before, it may be helpful to meet regularly, at least while you get your feet wet. Get to know his or her expectations and communication preferences. See to it that youâre both on the same page strategically and tactically.
The same holds true if you have any employees reporting to you. They should be aware of the direction you want them going in, and they should know how you prefer to communicate. Share your goals and plans. Research has shown that we are more successful at working toward goals and implementing new habits when we communicate them to others. We allow people to hold us accountable. In a team environment, there is no other way to move the needle.
Finally, you may be asking, âWhy so much emphasis on communication preferences?â Relationships at work function much better when the individuals involved have clear understandings. This becomes even more important in workplaces with flexible schedules and working arrangements, different communication media available, and where teams are distributed and function in a virtual environment. Sending an urgent email to your boss when she only checks email once a day can be useless.
Taking the time to understand these important details can ultimately pave the way for cohesiveness and long-term success after your promotion. Good luck!
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You're looking for a career boost. You're possibly past your first-year mark at work. You've learned the ropes of your position, but you feel like you're slowing down. What are some ways you can get ahead at work?
There are many positive things you can do that can help you get ahead at work. In fact, the value of these tasks is they make you more motivatedâtherefore, giving you the career boost you need.
I know. How can you ever feel enthusiastic about work, especially when you already feel sluggish with the same work after a few years? It is precisely this reason I ask you to be enthusiastic. To be enthusiastic at work is about a mental state. You need to make the decision to be enthusiastic. Start by saying, "I will be an eager participant in this project or task."
Attack your task with energy. Do not drag your feet. The more you tell yourself, "This is so boring," or whatever the excuse may be, the worse you will feel. Get interested in the work, and the energy will come naturally. Then, decide to be eagerly involved. You cannot get ahead at work without energy.
Strive to be the most efficient worker on your team. According to Webster's Universal College Dictionary, to be efficient means "performing or functioning effectively with the least waste of time and effort." When you are effective, you're producing the intended result. When you are efficient, you do it with the least waste of time and effort. That means you are capable and competent.
If you constantly strive to be the most efficient worker, then you will eventually get ahead in your career. You will get a career boost because you are the most capable and competent on the team.
Of the five things you can do to get ahead in the workplace, this one probably calls for you to give yourself some pressure. A little pressure is good since it makes you push yourself harder. Strive for excellence in everything you do. Do not be content with good. Go for great.
Exceed expectations by knowing good is sometimes not good enough. Give everything your utmost best. You will naturally see how this becomes your career booster. When you strive for excellence in everything you do, you naturally surpass others in your work.
Have you ever thought that showing up to work early can get you ahead at work? It can, especially when your workplace practices flextime. Many people take flextime for granted. They stroll in and out at their own pace, not knowing they have probably wasted productive time.
Start early at work. Some of my most productive days are those I start early before the phone rings and before my staff walks in with questions. Clear your emails from last night and craft that important email when there are no disturbances.
Make every effort to be the easiest person to work with in the office. Now, I am not saying compromise your need for excellence. For example, this means don't complain and grumble each time there is a team meeting. No one likes to work with someone who nags all the time.
When you are easy to work with, you make working enjoyable for your co-workers too. An upbeat workplace is welcomed everywhere, and you give yourself a competitive edge. That competitive edge is your career booster.
Want to know how your interact with your co-workers, and how it impacts your work? This FREE quiz will tell you your workplace strengths and how to use them to your advantage.
There is no need for complicated plans to get a career boost. Doing these simple things can help you get you ahead at work.
Need more help getting ahead in your career?
We'd love it if you joined our FREE community. Itâs a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades.
It's time to find work that makes you feel happy, satisfied, and fulfilled. Join our FREE community today to finally become an empowered business-of-one!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
