All too often we let our careers manage us. Inertia takes hold and we may stay in the same role or company for a few years too long because it’s comfortable and safe. Or perhaps we’ve said yes to opportunities that fall in our lap without analyzing whether or not they align with our longer term career goals.
While there always will be factors that affect your career that you can’t control, there are many aspects of your career journey that you can directly influence. By being mindful and owning these factors yourself, you ensure that you have as much authority over your career path as possible.
So instead of letting your career manage you, here are 4 ways you can be the boss of your own career:
1. Identify where you’ve made an impact
Keeping a log of your projects, skills, and accomplishments on an ongoing basis will make arduous tasks like writing a resume or prepping for an interview that much easier. This will also help when you want to have a career development conversation with your boss, or talk about promotions or raises. When you do this, capture the impact you have had on a project – what key skills and traits did you exhibit? How did you stand out? What was the outcome of your involvement? Who did you work with, lead, or partner with? What accolades did you receive?
Documenting your achievements on a regular basis also helps you see where the gaps are. For instance, do you need to get more leadership experience or more analytical work to round out your resume? If you are deliberate about tracking your accomplishments, you can then be strategic about what projects or roles you want to tackle next so that you continue to build your skills and experiences.
2. Manage your relationship with your boss
Being the boss of your career means being strategic about your relationship with your actual boss. Don’t be naïve in thinking that your supervisor has your long term career interests in mind. You may be lucky and report to someone who already places a high priority on developing people, but you may instead have a manager who prioritizes everything but employee development. You’re the only one who can manage your career and building a strong partnership with your boss can make her more invested in your career development.
If you don’t have regular status meetings on the calendar, suggest a monthly check-in. Don’t let more than a quarter go by without discussing your progress on projects and getting feedback on your work. Talk about your career goals and what skills you want to build. If you are craving more exposure to a certain part of the business or would like to take the lead on a project so you can challenge yourself, then you have to ask for it. Show your boss that you are committed to adding value to her team and the organization and you are likely to have someone who becomes your advocate. This makes it that much easier when discussing a raise, promotion, or a possible transfer to a different division in the company.
3. Increase your visibility at work
Many people think that by hunkering down and doing good work, their work will speak for itself and lead to promotions and raises. Unfortunately, doing good work alone doesn’t always suffice, especially if no one knows who you are and what you are capable of. This doesn’t mean you should be “that guy” and shamelessly self-promote and toot your own horn. But, you should look for opportunities to increase your visibility in the workplace – both in your immediate team and outside of your department or division.
Find ways to build a network at work so more people can get to know you and the value you add firsthand. This requires “putting yourself out there” and getting out of your comfort zone. Volunteer to host a brown bag lunch to share your skills and knowledge with others. Have lunch with colleagues in other divisions to learn more about their work and their business goals. Find ways to be helpful to people outside of your immediate team or project scope. Show leadership and initiative by taking on an extracurricular project that can help the company (i.e., team building or a cost cutting initiative).
Over time, you will start to build a reputation as someone who is a key contributor. As a result you will build more advocates and sponsors, who you can lean on to help you achieve your goals.
4. Focus on self improvement & development
You know those infamous interview questions that ask for your biggest weakness or the time you failed? Even if you’re not planning on interviewing anytime soon, you need to be self-reflective and learn from your mistakes or weaknesses to further develop yourself. Your ability to show humility and work towards overcoming setbacks is what sets people apart. In addition to focusing on opportunities that you see yourself, be sure to ask for direct feedback from your manager, your direct reports, your cross-functional team and other colleagues to learn more about how others view your strengths, skills and opportunities. Some team members might have difficulty sharing more constructive feedback, but ensure that you create an environment where you are open to hearing the feedback. Also remember that asking for feedback is not enough: acting on feedback is what sets people apart.
Simply put, if you follow these tips, you’ll create an environment that keeps your personal and professional growth and development top of mind for you and more visible to those around you. It keeps the focus on your forward progress and also prevents many external factors from getting in the way of your end goal. Are you ready to take the reigns and be the boss of your career?