How to Climb the Proverbial Career Ladder

If your goal is to climb the career ladder, you need to continuously market yourself. Successful marketing is necessary throughout your entire career. Never stop selling your skills, abilities, and accomplishments once you land a new job.

Lifelong Learning 

Moving ahead in your career requires you to continually update and enhance your skills. Be sure you keep a record of what you have accomplished. Research indicates that 50% of our skills become outdated in three to five years. With technological advancements growing by leaps and bounds, lifelong learning has become extremely important in maintaining your marketability in the workplace. Today’s fast paced technology requires you to keep your computer skills current. With downsizing, companies have removed their hierarchical layers. No longer can managers expect access to an administrative assistant to type their correspondence.

Take advantage of training that may be offered through your employer or take classes or seminars through a local community college. Volunteering is another good way to learn new skills, and it doesn’t cost anything. Perhaps you would like to gain some skills in the fundraising arena, consider volunteering for a non-profit. Maybe you would like to acquire some training experience, offer to teach a workshop at a non-profit. Document your skills so you can add them to your resume.

Get Noticed

Increase your visibility in your department and other departments within your company. Continue to network with others at work.

Get noticed at work by volunteering to work on a special project. Demonstrating effective leadership skills can help you climb up the next rung on the career ladder. Offer to chair a special committee or identify and fill a need that is not being addressed. Keep your manager apprised of your accomplishments. Don’t be afraid to 'toot your own horn.' If you don’t, who will?

Due to downsizing and restructuring, companies must now rely on teamwork to get the work done. To demonstrate you’re a team player, determine what contributions need to be made and how you can support the group in achieving its goals.

Go the Extra Mile

You won’t climb the career ladder by merely performing your job description duties. To get ahead you need to go the extra mile, displaying initiative and competence. Today’s marketplace requires you to think of yourself as a business. To be a successful business, you need to actively promote yourself throughout your career by selling your skills, abilities, and accomplishments to current and potential employers. 

Show it Off 

Showcase your accomplishments in a career portfolio that contains a sample collection of past work and achievements. Consider including in your portfolio the following: documentation of leadership experience, agendas from committees you’ve served on, and certificates from classes you’ve completed. Use your portfolio during performance evaluations and interviews. The career portfolio is a powerful tool, offering current and potential employers proof of what you’ve accomplished. Your portfolio can be in paper form and/or an online tool. Start climbing the ladder!

Factors for a Successful Career Choice

When exploring career options, it's important to take several factors into consideration, including your skills, interests, work values, personality, and lifestyle.

Skills - You're no doubt good at a lot of things, but what are you both good at AND enjoy doing? These are referred to as your motivated skills.

Interests - Are you interested in animals, helping people, the outdoors, or leading? Or maybe you're creative and enjoy making everything look beautiful or you love to paint or draw?

Work values - What's important to you in a work setting? Is it independence, money, a short commute, flexibility in schedule, or variety?

Personality - Do you need to be around people most of the time to feel energized? Or maybe you need a lot of down time in order to feel energized? Do you like to start and finish things? Or maybe you just like the starting part? Do you make decisions based on the feelings of others or are you more analytical?

Lifestyle - What kind of lifestyle do you want? Do you want a big home in an expensive part of the city? Or would you prefer a small home or townhome? Do you want to buy a new, expensive car every year or are you satisfied with an economical car that you drive for 5 to 10 years? Do you want to travel?

Once you've identified some careers that you want to explore further, conduct some informational interviews with folks working in those careers. Oftentimes we think we have a good idea of what a particular career is like, but talking with folks that are actually doing it, will help to paint a clear picture.

Climbing the Proverbial Career Ladder: Network Your Way to the Top

Want to advance to the next level? Networking can help you do just that!

How networking can help you….

1.     Be seen as an integral part of the company.

2.     Become well known within your industry.

3.     Be seen as a subject matter expert.

4.     Expand your network.

5.     Keep your network alive.

If you’re serious about your career and want to move up to the next level, networking can help make that happen! Let’s say you've noticed someone who has successfully advanced in their career. Ask that person if he or she will brainstorm with you for 15 minutes over the phone about how you can move up from your current position.

It’s not always about who you know, it’s about who knows you. Who are the movers and shakers in your industry? Career influencers are those people who can hire you or introduce you to others who could potentially hire you. They are those people who can champion you- past managers and past customers who know you are great! A career influencer can also be a mentor; someone who has a career path that you want and has the connections and experience needed to help you do the same.  Reach out to that person and say, “I’ve admired how you have transitioned into various roles and I would love to hear how you did it.”

How can you get on the radar screen of someone who can influence your career? What professional associations do they belong to? Join those associations and get involved. Don’t just merely be a member. Step up to the plate and volunteer to serve on a special committee. Volunteer to register members at the monthly meeting. This will help you start to put names to faces. Consider serving on the board. This will help you gain visibility and credibility within your industry and demonstrate your leadership skills. Create a presentation that would be beneficial to the members of this professional association and volunteer to be a speaker at a monthly meeting or special interest group.

Social media is a good strategy to position yourself as an expert in your field and convey your personal brand. It can also help you get noticed by recruiters and hiring managers. Join groups related to your field and industry. Post questions, respond to questions, and get on the radar screen of career influencers. But remember, social media today can be a source for companies to view your activity as well. Keep it positive and informative. And certainly, no fowl language.  Later you will learn tips on how to expand your network and keep your network alive.

Network to Keep Your Work!

Increase your visibility up, down, and across your current organization.

Networking can help you….

1.     Be seen as an integral part of the company.

2.     Become known as a subject matter expert.

3.     Expand your network.

     4.  Keep your network alive.

While some may reserve networking for times when they’re in a job search, others are continually working to build and maintain their network for career insurance- to keep their current job. How about you?

Networking can happen right at work! Network with those above you, below you, and those at your same level and with individuals from other departments and other divisions. Keep your network appraised of your accomplishments. Did you just

finish a big project? Let your boss and your boss’s boss know about it. Let’s say

you meet your boss’s boss in the elevator and she or he says, “Hi, how are you doing?” Rather than simply saying “fine” say, “I’m doing great, now that I just finished the Acme project two weeks ahead of schedule and under budget.” Toot your own horn! If you don’t, who will? It’s important for others to see you as an integral part of the company; someone who goes and above and beyond their job duties. Remember, your co-workers may have a family member or friend that is looking for a new job or a connection. Imagine there impression of you, when you can demonstrate that you can help them, even if it’s only an introduction or a tip.

Are you particularly knowledgeable about a certain area of your field? If so, make sure others at your company know that. If you’re not a subject matter expert, what can you do to become one? Do you need an advanced degree or a certification or maybe take a class? Once you've taken the steps to becoming a subject matter expert, let others at work know what you’re working toward.

Set up coffee or lunch dates with your peers and other colleagues. Later you will learn more tips for expanding your network and keeping it alive.

If you’re not already a member, join LinkedIn. Monitor activities of your network and when you see they've posted an update, ping them or call them. It can be as simple as “congratulations on the new promotion or new LinkedIn recommendation.”

If you were to lose your job today, who are the ten people you would reach out to for advice on your job search? Don’t wait until you are laid off to reach out to them. Contact them today! Set up a coffee or lunch date.