Kicking It Up a Notch

By Lisa Mistkowski

How to move to the next level in your career.

We are indeed a society of "grass is greeners" — for better or worse we are always looking ahead to the next car we'll be driving, the next vacation we'll be taking, the next house we'll be living in — and the next job that will help us pay for all of it.

But career advancement may not be only about the money. As we grew up, our yearly achievements were built into our lives. We'd go from kindergarten to first grade (hopefully), all the way through to high school, college and maybe even beyond. The working world doesn't always provide that same structured progression, yet most of us are conditioned to yearn for it.

So, how do you get to the next level in your job? As with everything else, there's no guarantee. But perhaps seeing some examples of people who have moved up the proverbial ladder could spark an idea or two.

Pro Bono Approach

No, nothing to do with Sonny and Cher, this means volunteering to do work for another department on your own time and dime. Sound crazy? Not really — it worked for our first mover and shaker, Heather H. While working in a clerical role in the product information department for a Fortune 500 company, she offered to help out the marketing department with a project she could complete in her spare time. Daunting as the prospect of taking on additional work might have seemed, it actually accomplished several things.

  • Visibility with decision-makers on the marketing team who saw her as someone who REALLY wanted to work in their department.
  • Opportunity to prove she was capable of doing the work.
  • A chance for her to see if she liked doing that type of work. So did it pay off? Yep, not only did Heather get hired by the marketing department, but within two years was promoted to manager and is currently a director.

Leap-of-Faith Approach

Let's look at Martha D., a successful pharmaceutical sales rep and mother of two with a flexible schedule that allows her to drop off and pick up her kids every day. Martha never anticipated going into sales and started her career as the manager of a physician's practice. In that role, she came in contact with many pharmaceutical sales reps, one of whom encouraged her to try for an opening in their company. What lessons are there with Martha's story?

  • Don't be afraid to look past the obvious advancement opportunities. You can look outside your company and leverage your experience to get a position in a related field.
  • Consider doing something completely different than what you're doing now. In Martha's case, someone saw qualities in her, such as organizational and people skills, that could be easily applied to a sales position. With the company's sales training under her belt, Martha was off and running in a completely new line of work.

Leap-of-Faith Approach — Part Two

Carol J. was a customer service rep with no expectations of ever going into sales when a sales manager saw qualities in her that he felt could easily translate into a successful sales rep. A junior level position opened up in his division and Carol moved into the role despite initial hesitation on her part. She has since risen to a senior account management position and enjoys the flexibility and benefits that it provides. Carol's experience shows the value of:

  • Finding a mentor who can ease you into a job that's outside your comfort zone.
  • Listening to what others say they see in you, even if you think the role is beyond your current job skills.

Start-Low, Aim-High Approach

It's possible that a receptionist job or telemarketing position is not quite what you expected to land as you took the plunge into the working world. Though wearing an apron covered in buttons with catchy phrases and serving drinks will pay you more in the short run, the "entry level" corporate or office job will pay off in the long run. Case in point is Linda R. With a double major in college, internships at radio stations, and writing for the school newspaper, Linda accepted a position as a receptionist in a small New York City public relations firm.

  • That receptionist position gave her visibility to the firm's senior management who eventually gave her a shot at an account executive position. Companies like to promote from within because they already know the individual's work ethic and style.
  • If you've got the drive and chutzpah to do a certain level job, but just don't have the experience, start by doing anything in the industry to learn its particulars and get you that invaluable work experience. That experience can be the first step toward your dream position. By the way, Linda R. did so well as an account executive that, after 20 years she's now a senior vice president in a multinational public relations agency. Pretty impressive climb up the corporate ladder, huh?

New Horizons Approach

You may be someone who is excelling at your current job and gets offered a move — in position and location. That was the case for Rich M., who suddenly found himself with an opportunity to move into management and move across the country. This is a huge change and not for the faint of heart — but, at certain times in your life, may be just what you're looking for. What helps is if the opportunity is a fit in position and location. (Rich's new destination was sunny Southern California, which made it an easier decision). So, for the opportunities that are life-altering on many different levels:

  • Make sure your eyes are wide open in terms of the challenges of the new job and the new environment. If the job and the place are both a positive, then the rewards of the move can include improvements to your personal life as well as career advancement.
  • If you think you want or need a change of scenery in the short term, look for career opportunities that offer temporary assignments in various locations. Firsthand familiarity with different areas of a company and the country is a big positive for many employers.

Hopefully you can apply some facet of these real-life examples to your particular situation and move yourself into the job that will keep you happy — for a while...

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