Climbing the career ladder isn’t just about earning promotions, raises, and the keys to the corner office. It’s also a lifelong education in the details of a particular field and the skills required to succeed among fellow professionals. Consequently, those who have climbed the career ladder gather a great deal of wisdom during their travels. Four of the toughest but most commonly-learned career lessons those at the top impart to their younger colleagues include:
- You are your own best advocate. Too many young employees assume that the workplace is like school – you work to turn in an outstanding project, fiscal year, or season, and the company notices and provides rewards automatically. In fact, each employee must be his or her own best advocate in order to be noticed properly. Speak up, whether to ask for a promotion or raise you’ve been working towards or to keep your past accomplishments “top of mind” among managers when it comes to assigning new tasks.
- Your reputation is valuable. Employees who regularly go “above and beyond” even when they’re not directly rewarded for it have learned a valuable lesson: your reputation as a shining star in your field matters, and it is not earned overnight. Rather, a good reputation is earned bit by bit, through the effort you put in every day. When it comes time to ask for help, you’ll find people excited to recommend you, connect you with job openings, and to consider you for new positions.
- A bad boss can ruin a great job. Not every “great job” is as great as it appeared from outside. You may love your work, adore your environment, and be excited to spend each day with your co-workers, but a poor manager can make your daily life miserable. Before accepting any job, ask questions about your manager and see how other employees enjoy being supervised by this person.
- Dream jobs are just that…Dreams. In reality, you cannot spot a “dream job” until you’re inside it. As much as you think you’ve always wanted a particular job or to work for a particular employer, you won’t know for sure if a position is right for you until you’ve taken it and worked in it for a while. Skip the dreams in favor of asking plenty of questions during the interview process to learn as much as you can about the real employer and position for which you’re interviewing. If you really want a “trial run,” consider working on a temp-to-perm or contract basis until you get a feel for which job fulfill your dreams.
At ABA Search & Staffing, our experienced recruiters can help you take the next step on your career path. Contact us today to learn more.