How to Find a Company with Upward Mobility Options
Posted January 12th, 2017
Most people don’t believe they have reached the top rung of their career ladder. Often, the desire is to do your current job well while learning from the experience. Then, the hope is to move up one more rung on the path to their ultimate career goal. But not every company has upward mobility options as part of their construct. When that happens, it is easy to feel trapped in the land of limited potential.
So, how do you make sure the company you choose to work for can do more than serve as a single step along your career path? By researching these key points.
Your Career Path
You may know that you want to move up the ladder and you may know what job represents the top rung, but do you know the steps required to get there? If not, then your first research topic needs to be the standard for career progression in your field.
Often, it is difficult to evaluate if a company can help you move up if you don’t know where you need to go. See review the next position or two along the way to your ideal job, and use those s touchstones for the rest of your analysis.
Position Availability
Now that you know the next steps beyond where you are today, you can see how much potential the company offers in that area. For example, find out the number of people on staff that hold those job titles or perform similar job duties. It doesn’t matter whether the positions aren’t available to apply to today, you simply want to know if they exist.
Then, you need to know how many employees hold your current job title (or the job title to which you are applying). Why? Because those positions effectively represent your strongest source of competition. While the number of positions available along a career path often decline the higher you get, there is a big difference between 10 employees competing for one higher level position versus 30 to one.
Internal Policy
Finally, consider any policies regarding employee training and education within the workplace. If there are solid references to specific options available to those working for the company, then you can see precisely what you can expect. However, a lack of career development options could be a sign that the business isn’t concerned with providing employees the opportunities necessary to move forward.
Personal Drive
Now, it is important to note that career development shouldn’t be placed entirely on the employer’s shoulders. Employees need to take control of their forward progression regardless of whether there are built-in mechanisms. If you need a particular skill to move forward, find out what you need to do to get it. You might need to pursue more education on your own time or volunteer with an organization to get real-world experience.
Ultimately, if reaching that next step is important, you need to do what it takes to get there. So, if your current employer isn’t providing the opportunities you want, consider working with Bayside Solutions to find a better environment in which to meet your goals. You can contact us today to see what opportunities for advancement may be available with a new employer in the area.
