Is my career on track?
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People often ask us – “How do I know if my career is on track? How do I know if it has stalled?” People often try to compare their career to others, and get nervous. Is there any objective measure of a healthy career?
Research shows that successful people advance their careers by attracting career opportunities. Their everyday action builds a strong reputation for a particular kind of work that they love, and this means that people think of them when suitable opportunities arise. People point out opportunities to them, or approach them with offers.
Therefore, the simplest test of whether your career is on track is – are you being approached with opportunities you find interesting and exciting?
If you’re not being approached at all, and people aren’t bringing opportunities to your attention, the chances are that it will be down to one of the following:
Our definition of career success is “being so well thought of that you can write your own ticket.” Are people offering you opportunities? And if not – what action can you take to make this more likely?
Research shows that successful people advance their careers by attracting career opportunities. Their everyday action builds a strong reputation for a particular kind of work that they love, and this means that people think of them when suitable opportunities arise. People point out opportunities to them, or approach them with offers.
Therefore, the simplest test of whether your career is on track is – are you being approached with opportunities you find interesting and exciting?
If you’re not being approached at all, and people aren’t bringing opportunities to your attention, the chances are that it will be down to one of the following:
- People don’t know what you are good at. They can’t match you to roles, because you are unknown to them. They have no idea what you’ve achieved, no picture of you at your best, no idea what lights your fire. If you are being approached, but with opportunities you aren’t interested in, they definitely don’t know enough about your interests and passions.
If this is the case, you need to get clear on what you’re good at and love doing. Think about the best bits of jobs you’ve done. Work out 3 skills and abilities you are great at, and start telling people how much you enjoy this type of work. You also need to start sharing your achievements, and tell anecdotes and success stories. When people ask ‘How’s it going?’ tell them “I’m on a high at the moment, because I’ve just got some great results showing an x% improvement in…” You don’t have to boast, just talk to people more about what you do, and share good news. You have to educate people to understand the kind of role you’d be brilliant at; they can’t tell just by looking at you!
- They don’t know you are looking for an opportunity. You probably have lots of people around the business who would be happy to help you – but you haven’t activated this goodwill by sharing your ambitions or the fact that you are actively looking.
You need to let people know that you are looking. This is not about saying “Give me a job”, more about “I’m looking for an opportunity to… if you hear of anything, let me know”, and “I’m still looking, I looked at xyz, but it’s not quite right because…” If people know you are looking, and you make time to catch up with them, you’ll have multiple opportunities to be in view – and that can remind them to point something out to them.
- You haven’t built a wide network of friends in the business or profession. If you tend to stay quietly behind a computer screen and say little, you are out of sight and out of mind. Maybe the people who are happy to help you are in too narrow an area.
Look for opportunities to work alongside a wider ranger of people. Volunteering is good here – whether it’s organising the Christmas party or a charity venture, being on a committee or helping HR out with assessment centres or the graduate scheme – volunteering helps you become a colleague with people across the business or within your profession. - You don’t know it, but you might have a negative reputation to dismantle. This is a painful subject, but sometimes people are doing 1-3 above and getting absolutely no interest.
The only way to find out if you are doing something that other people don’t like, or have made an unfortunate impression on a key decision-maker, is to initiate several very honest, very private conversations. You need to make it safe and easy for people to tell you what exactly is going on. Whatever you do, refrain from pushing back and arguing about whether it is true, or fair. While you might not feel this applies to you – the key message of seeking feedback holds true for everyone. As one Managing Director told me “If you don’t know what people are saying behind closed doors, when your name comes up in promotion discussions – shame on you.” (And he learned this because at one point he discovered that he had a reputation for being very arrogant – and he did something about it.)
- You’re being too demanding. If you are telling people that you want an opportunity in a field that you have no experience in, for an equal salary, without moving house, in the middle of a recession – there may be no opportunities that fit your requirements.
Think wider. Could you negotiate changes to your role or a new role that would take you in the right direction? Or do you have to accept that there’s a price ticket that you’ll have to pay, to get what you want? - You’re happy where you are, and people know this. Maybe you’ve just started a new project, and you aren’t looking for opportunities just yet. Or maybe you love your current job. If so, the chance to spend 35 hours of your peak time doing something you just love, has to signify success!
Our definition of career success is “being so well thought of that you can write your own ticket.” Are people offering you opportunities? And if not – what action can you take to make this more likely?