Tips for Advancing Your Career
Posted July 21st, 2014
Used to be, you kept your nose clean at work (no drama or huge mistakes), showed up every day, did some extra work regularly…and you’d get a promotion.
No longer.
Today, to advance in your career, you need to do more. How much more? Read below for tips on how to advance your career this year and beyond.
- If you’re a generalist, you’re not going to get noticed. You need to be an expert in something and you need to be known as an expert. Which means you should share information with your network on industry trends and offer your own take on news and developments within that industry. The easiest way to do this is on LinkedIn within groups apropos to your business sector. Doing this shouldn’t take much time – you can spend just a few minutes a week on LinkedIn adding your two cents to the conversation.
- Don’t offer fluff, however. You don’t need to comment on every question asked. Respond with solid information or opinion only on those conversations where you feel you can truly add something of value.
- This will take some assertiveness and boldness on your part, but reach out to the people in your industry who are considered to be authorities within it and learn from them.
- Closer to home, seek out mentors within your current company. These would be people who are established at your company and who can help you make your way through office politics and the challenges of advancing at the firm.
- If you want your company’s leadership to notice you in a good way, you’re going to have to align your goals with the company’s goals. (If you can’t get excited about what the company wants to accomplish, that’s a sign that you may need to find work elsewhere.)
- Work to help your boss reach her goals. Work to help your company reach its goals.
- As you do this, make sure your boss knows about how you’ve helped her reach the goals she’s set for your department or company. The best way to do this is to send her a monthly or quarterly report about your work and your accomplishments. This isn’t a “brag rag,” but is instead a factual document you send on a regular basis that shows your projects/tasks, what’s on your plate, what you’ve accomplished, and your successes. Sending these regular reports can be extremely helpful when it comes time to sit with your boss and ask for a raise/promotion because all the things you’ve done to help her achieve her goals and increase the company’s bottom line are there in black and white.
If you’re looking for new opportunity to advance your career in Oakland, send your resume to the recruiters at Bayside Solutions. We have great relationships with some of Oakland’s top employers and we’d love to present your qualifications to them. Contact us today.
