How to Make a Leap in Your Career

Career progression is one of the key objectives of ambitious women in twenty-first century Britain. Getting ahead in your job, impressing your superiors, and being given more responsibilities and higher pay are goals that you’ll be striving towards. In this article you’ll learn some tips regarding promotions and career leaps. Showing you how to take a giant step forward in your chosen career path, the tips below apply to ambitious and driven individuals who are looking to achieve a senior role in the coming years.

Sideways Moves

One of the simplest ways to make progress in your career is to hop from company to company, when the time is right. This involves patience and job-searching, only making a move when you find a role to apply for that boasts a higher wage and a more impressive set of responsibilities. You should always be on the lookout for more competitive roles in companies similar to yours; even if you don’t fancy moving to another company, you’ll be able to use the job offers or feedback you get from other roles as leverage in your own job – pointing out to your current managers that you deserve a pay rise or a promotion.

New Qualifications

Another way to make a quantum leap in your career is to specialise, getting a qualification in a specific discipline that’ll help you in your current role – or in a role that you have your eyes set on for the future. There are a number of ways to retrain and re-enter education as an adult woman. You may choose to start night classes, or classes on weekends. You could sign up for a short online course, which delivers you a certificate on completion. Or, if you’re ambitious and you have the time to spare, you should consider taking up postgraduate studies at the University of Exeter, where you can study online or in class to achieve a master’s degree that’ll help propel you into more impressive job positions later in life. Click here to find out more.

Networking

Some people sneer at networking, while others see it as one of the easiest ways to climb the greasy pole of a career. Whatever your attitude to getting to know senior managers in your business, and others in your industry, networking is a way to open doors that would otherwise remain shut in your career. If you impress business managers when you’re in a social setting, they’re likely to remember you when it comes to hiring new people for their companies, or finding senior staff to promote. Make sure you’re attending gatherings and parties at which high-level employees will be attending – and make sure you add them on LinkedIn after your conversations, too.

Diligent Work

If you don’t feel you have the time to study at present, and you’re comfortable in the company at which you work, then you should simply apply yourself to all the work you do with diligence and a can-do attitude. It can take a while for this kind of work to be noticed by senior staff, but when you do get noticed, it leaves an impression. If you’re early into the office, and late to leave – or if you take it upon yourself to help other members of staff with their work – then you’re going to find yourself talked about in glowing terms in the offices of senior management. This hard work will also be your leverage when you do go into meetings asking for a promotion or a pay rise in the future.

Asking Directly

Numerous studies have found that women are slightly less likely to ask for a promotion or pay rise directly than their male counterparts. Whatever the reason for this slight skew over time it can make a difference in your career, compared to an equally qualified male counterpart. The solution, of course, is to find the right time to walk into a manager’s office to ask for a promotion. If you’ve been working hard, completing excellent work to your deadlines, and going above and beyond in your responsibilities, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t schedule a meeting with your manager to talk about promotions.

Patience

That said, promotions aren’t just there waiting to be offered at any time in the year. Sometimes companies go through hard times, and sometimes there are no vacancies in positions that you’re looking to fill. You should be patient, where possible, so long as you’re learning and growing in your current role. If you feel you are only coasting in your job, then it might be time to jump ship, searching for a new job where your skills will be further developed and your talents more lucratively rewarded.

Use these tips to plan your next career leap in the future.

Thanks to Zaklina