If you’re succeeding at your job, it probably feels like your career goals are on track and all is well. You perform your tasks effectively and you get along with your manager and coworkers. Everything feels right. Yet, you could be sabotaging your career goals without even knowing it. Here are five things you should do to avoid sabotaging your career goals.
1. Apply for Promotions
You won’t succeed if you don’t try. While this sounds simple, many struggle with the confidence it takes to put yourself out there. When an opportunity comes along, we pass on it because we’re afraid of being turned down. We don’t want to be told we’re not good enough or that we’re not ready for that promotion. If you want the responsibilities, pay raise, and career advancements that comes from a promotion, you have to apply for opportunities that align with your career objectives.
2. Find a Professional Mentor
If you’re looking to advance your career, you need a professional mentor you trust. It always helps to learn from someone who has been in your position and succeeded. The advice and support a mentor provides will help ensure your career is on track. A good mentor will help you set attainable and measurable career goals, encourage you to never become complacent, and help you stay motivated.
3. Do an Annual Career Progress Review
Evaluating your progress is an essential part of reaching your career goals. Doing an annual progress review allows you to measure where you are in relation to your goals. If you seek out your manager’s feedback, you will have a better sense of what your strengths are and what you still need to work on. With a constructive progress review, you will know what additional steps you should be taking if you want to advance in the company.
4. Volunteer for Tougher Assignments
Another thing you should do if you want to advance your career is volunteer for tougher assignments. By doing this, you’ll challenge yourself, learn new skills, and improve. Opportunities might arise that are outside of your department or area of expertise. If the opportunity will benefit your long-term career objective, take the risk and go for it. This will also demonstrate to your manager that you are willing to take on more challenges and responsibilities. Managers pay attention to which employees do what they are expected, and which employees go the extra mile. If you volunteer for harder assignments, you will show management just how ambitious, capable and motivated you are. Show them you’re not afraid to step outside of your comfort zone and take risks.
5. Be Open to Change
Finally, you want to demonstrate that you are open to change. It’s okay to be vocal about your desire for change, too. Some people don’t discuss career growth opportunities with their bosses because they don’t want to seem ungrateful. Yet, if your management thinks you are content in your current position, you won’t be on their radar when talks about promotions happen.
It’s easy to settle down in a job and become complacent. If you want to progress in your career, you should seek out a professional mentor, apply for promotions, volunteer for tough assignment, demonstrate that you are open to change, and seek out feedback.
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