Career progression and getting that promotion....

Hi everyone, welcome to another blog post.

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Today I am sharing with you the topic of career progression and sharing some tips which I have found really helpful over the last couple of years.

Over a period of two years, I doubled my salary at work. Not only that but I went from a job which didn’t excite or fulfil me to a job I really enjoy, one which provides me with challenges and one which gives me a sense of purpose. I’ve gained experience, qualifications, more responsibility and the feeling that I could fit into many other roles quite comfortably without feeling out of my depth.

Opportunities don’t find you, you cannot sit back and expect a new job to come to you, more money or more knowledge…. You must give these things the time and energy they need in order for you to grow, learn and prosper. Reading this post is hopefully your first step on that journey and will motivate you to invest your time and energy into trying to land that dream job. So what has worked for me personally? Below I am sharing with you my top five tips which I hope will help you achieve your goals and aspirations at work, be it more money, more responsibility or autonomy:

Tip number 1: Look at job adverts for your ‘dream job’ and dream BIG!

Look at what skills, experience and qualities they are looking for in this role. Write these down and identify how you can gain those skills and experiences over the next 6 months, 12 months, or couple of years. Make yourself a plan and seek out opportunities to build the necessary skills and experiences, I spent two years working really hard on my plan and ensuring I developed the skills and experiences I needed to progress in my career.

Opportunities aren’t going to come to you so you’re going to have to look for these opportunities and embrace them! For example, if the role you want needs experience of budget management, speak to your manager or finance team if there is a budget you could get involved in managing, no matter how small it might be. Find an opportunity to gain this experience so you can evidence it when you apply for the new role.

Do not tell yourself you’ll never get a job like the one you’ve seen - we don’t settle for limiting beliefs around here but if you’re struggling please see my blog post about limiting beliefs which will help you unpack them and rewrite your story in a more positive way!

Tip number 2: Don’t be motivated by money.

This won’t apply to everyone but I don’t think there’s any denying the fact that most of us are motivated by money. Would we all still be doing our jobs if we didn’t get paid to do them?

Someone once said to me ‘don’t be motivated by the money’ and it’s really stuck with me ever since. You need to focus on your skills and experience and the money will follow in time. It’s true. I’ve never understood people who say “that’s not in my job description” or “I’m not paid enough money to do that”. If you want to progress in your career, you have to seize those opportunities to do things outside of your usual role, that’s the only way you’re going to gain the knowledge, skills and exposure you need to step up. You can use these additional experiences to evidence your ability to undertake a more challenging role and demonstrate your positive attitude towards accepting more responsibility.

It’s easier said than done to say ‘don’t be motivated by the money’ or ‘don’t chase the money’ but in reality you may have to earn less and do more for a short time, but the money will follow. Going above and beyond will pay off when you’re able to demonstrate a strong case for your promotion or provide a strong application for a more advanced role!

Tip number 3: No qualification is ever wasted.

Qualifications don’t only evidence your knowledge and skills, they show you are ambitious, interested in your subject area and that you seek opportunities and ways to overcome challenges. I have undertaken a number of qualifications over the last couple of years and signed up for some very random courses but I truly believe that these things are never wasted. If there is just one fact you take from a course, or improve one skill of yours by 1%, then you are better than the person you were yesterday! Sign up to that course and enrol for that qualification, girl!

Tip number 4: Keep a work log.

We’ve probably all been in the position of applying for a job, reading the person specification and all of a sudden feeling like we’ve got nothing to write. Or is that just me?!

A work log is quite simply a log of tasks you undertake at work and things you have achieved. I also like to write down any challenges I have faced, how I overcame them and what it has taught me. This has been incredibly valuable for providing evidence on job applications as it is so easy to forget to include small but important details which can make the difference between getting the new job, or not! You can often forget that the reader doesn't know you or your current job so this is a really good way of ensuring you sell yourself well and show off all of what you have achieved and are capable of.

I have created a free downloadable work log template which you can access below to use as a template for your own!

Work Log Template.pdf

Download PDF • 118KB

Tip number 5: You must believe in yourself if you expect anybody else to believe in you.

Whether you are in an interview or going about your day to day tasks at work, I once read the saying ‘act confident and nobody will question you’ and I really think this is true!

If you go into an interview or just into work every day lacking confidence, not sure if you’re capable of the job, putting yourself down, not sharing your successes… then how is anybody else going to believe you are capable of more? The message you give out in your body language and the way you talk to yourself and about yourself, speaks volumes. This is why showing up as your future self is so important, check out my blog post all about this if you’ve not read it yet. By showing up as a confident and capable individual you are giving out a message that you are ready for that promotion and that there is no reason for anybody to doubt that. Believe in yourself and others will believe in you!

I hope these tips prove useful for your development at work, they’ve certainly helped me over the last couple of years. It’s been interesting to reflect and type them to share with you, ensuring I am still doing these things myself.

I look forward to sharing another blog post with you next week, thank you as always for reading.

Love Alice

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