Leah Perez
VP of Major Accounts
Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare Services
September 13, 2021
Do you have an interest in taking on additional responsibilities but just aren’t sure how to get there?
Are you feeling burnt out in your current role?
In the staffing world, we see this often, and while we can certainly help you to find another position that may offer you a new challenge, you may not be looking to leave your current employer. If this is the case, we have found there are several things you can do to take proactive steps in working to make yourself more promotable.
Here are some tips to consider when looking to grow your career with a promotion:
- Be a Goal Setter and Goal Achiever. Steven Covey has been quoted as saying, “Begin with the end in mind.” To move forward in your career this quote can be helpful. Visualize yourself in the position you would like to attain. Think about the skills and abilities that would make you successful in that role and write them down.
Then, create SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timebound) goals to get yourself more proficient within those identified areas. Ensure your goals are time-based and hold yourself accountable to small milestones along the way. Creating and achieving small, attainable goals can be helpful in building and continuing your momentum toward your goal of that promotion, and/or beyond.
2. Find Your Motivation. Creating goals, let alone staying committed to achieving your goals, can be difficult to do if you are feeling checked out or unmotivated within your current role. Do what you can to intentionally shift your perspective. See your current role as an important rung on your career monkey bars, supporting you until you are ready to reach the next.
With the previous tip, I spoke about visualizing the skills and abilities needed for your next position. Another important component to keeping you on track is to also identify your WHY. Knowing WHY you are setting these goals and WHY they are important for you to achieve can be helpful in keeping your spirits up and focused on the tasks at hand.
3. Work HARD.
While you may have your eye on a promotion, one way of ensuring you remain promotable is by staying diligent within your current role. Sometimes daydreaming obsessively about that corner office with the view can take a negative toll on the work of your current position. Continue to keep your eye on the prize while also working hard within your current role.
By remaining dedicated to the work of the position you are in, you allow your output to be an important way of advocating for yourself. Owning your current role, and knowing the ins and outs allow you to be seen as a subject matter expert and a key player in the process. Your ability to own your current role helps to establish your contributions to the team.
4. Be Irreplaceable.
Some might worry that being irreplaceable within your current role might mean leaders within your organization would not want you in any other role. However, there is a trick to this. If you show extreme competence within your current role, work to create a legacy through sharing your knowledge. Your knowledge of your current role should not just be housed within your own brain. Whenever possible, be active in sharing your knowledge with those around you in meaningful and productive ways. Through training others, you ensure you are not the sole gatekeeper of all information. If you do not have others to train, show that you recognize the importance of your knowledge and begin creating training documents including your processes and important information about what you do every day.
Share your training activities and/or these self-created resources with your leader. Show that not only are you great at your job, but you recognize the larger picture. This shows you are taking proactive steps in assisting with the organization’s development as well as your own.
5. Be Collaborative. You have heard there is no I in TEAM, right? Well, showing you know how to play well with others is HUGE in the workplace. Being able to express yourself in a positive and inclusive manner is helpful to ensure you are exhibiting traits of someone interested in learning from and creating solutions with others.
A team without collaboration isn’t much of a team. Look for opportunities to bring others together; ask questions, stay open to change, show you see the bigger picture, and want to help solve roadblocks that impact the work of the collective team together.
6. Advocate for Yourself. Ever hear of an elevator pitch? This concept can best be described as a short and clear introduction of yourself, should you ever find yourself in the elevator with the company’s owner or CEO. The idea is that you would have just a few precious moments in that elevator ride to communicate to them your professional personality, what you bring to your present position, as well as your future aspirations.
While your office may not have an elevator, the idea is still something you may want to consider preparing for yourself. You never know when you will find yourself face to face with someone who you identify as being potentially important to your career success. Introductions like this are some of the best ways to begin to network yourself within your organization.
7. Network and Stay Connected.
Do you have a mentor? If not, think of someone in your personal or work life who exemplifies the qualities you have identified as being important in your next position? Tell them you see that they are accomplished within many of the areas you would like to strengthen. Ask them questions about how and why they do things. Identify what drives their behaviors and then reflect to see if this is something that can help to further motivate you.
Networking does not have to always be formal; networking for some can mean just being more open to talking with people at work who you may not interact with often. Small talk while in the break room could be a great way to break the ice with other professionals within your industry. Avenues like LinkedIn and industry-related organizations’ websites are other ways to connect.
8. Continue to Learn.
Take advantage of any opportunity to learn something new. Does your organization offer free and voluntary webinars during your lunch period? Sign up. Is there an offer for a training class or a refresher of a program you currently utilize? Go! Is there a workshop on the weekend about something you are interested in within your industry? Look into it! Heard about a new book written by a leader you admire? Read it!
Consider any opportunity you can find to learn something new or to further strengthen your knowledge on a particular work-related (or personal interest) subject. Learning is so important. It allows us to stay open to new ways of seeing and/or doing things. It offers us the chance to stay fluid and not just be stuck in our old ways of doing things.
To make the most of learning something new is to allow yourself to be vulnerable. It can be hard to get comfortable with the feeling of admitting that we don’t know something. However, it shows great strength to stay open and brave to the vulnerability of learning.
- Be Involved and Engaged in Company Initiatives and Company Culture. Just as I am encouraging you to attend company-sponsored training sessions or learning opportunities, I strongly encourage that you stay connected and engaged with your company’s initiatives. When you feel a connection to the work your organization does, and the people with whom you work, it is easy to support organizational changes.
Work to stay positive and open to offering an encouraging word to others who may be struggling on your team. Be the one to ask questions when unsure, versus simply relying on the game of telephone the office might tend to play. Stay constructive in your actions and in your word.
- Stay Out of Office Politics and Gossip. Relationships with coworkers can be important to your overall job satisfaction. As tempting as it may be to get the latest gossip from the office water cooler, I would advise you to avoid it whenever possible.
Nothing positive comes from gossip. If your coworkers have questions about a new process or a decision that was made, encourage them to ask their leader about it, rather than trying to fill in gaps of information with their own assumptions. Things can get very twisted when direct questions are not asked, and certain members of the team attempt to get answers from others instead of going directly to the source of the initial communication.
11. Don’t Be Afraid to Take the Lead. The way in which you assert yourself at work can be instrumental in navigating your work life. If you find roadblocks to your daily processes, rather than take the steps to work around them, take the initiative to create a dialogue with others on the team. Find solutions together. Sometimes it just takes one person to start the conversation to get things done.
Be the person who when they see something, say something.
- Communicate Your Desires to Your Boss. Taking the lead often means speaking up and taking action. If you are looking to move up within your organization, it is important to follow the tips above, and once you are feeling more confident in your abilities and track record, make some time to speak to your boss. Ask to have a meeting with them.
Prepare to share with them your recent 12-month efforts in your current role, the things that you are proud of, ideas to further improve efficiencies, and your professional goals for the future. This dialogue is important because it showcases your passion and care for the organization, as well as an opportunity to advocate for yourself.
I am hopeful the above tips are helpful to you and that you can identify at least a handful of opportunities with which you can incorporate to get yourself to the next level of your career. With the right attitude, an open and curious mind, and a dedication to your own growth, you will find plenty of opportunities that require your skillset.
Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare Services is always available to help. If you are not sure what you want to do next, give us a call and one of our staffing professionals will work with you to identify potential opportunities. And, who knows, they just might guide you toward the career of your dreams.
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There is no doubt that 2021 will bring forth opportunities with which to leverage new and emerging employment trends. Follow the Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare Services Blog to stay connected with a variety of topics aimed to help support you! Whether you are an active job seeker looking for tips and tricks to land your perfect job or an employer looking to fill a challenging position, we are here to help you HIRE UP!
Leah Perez, VP of Major Accounts | September 14, 2021
As the Vice President of Major Accounts, Leah focuses on the national level clients. Leah has over 16 years of recruiting experience in various industries from medical/clinical to administrative/accounting, all of which has launched her to being one of the most well-respected staffing leaders in California. Clients and candidates would describe her as urgent, ethical, and most importantly she takes the time to understand her clients needs so she can properly assist them. Leah would love to speak with you so she can help your business reach new heights