Advancing in your career requires a lot of strategic planning. This involves investing significant time (a very time-consuming process!) in various areas such as market analysis, company research, studying new developments, network building, following industry trends, exploring new opportunities, analyzing job vacancies, and researching the career paths of others (ex-colleagues, old classmates, etc.). You need to analyze where you are standing now and know where you want to go next. You need to reinvent yourself every time. You need to reevaluate your career all the time. You always need to think about what's next.
Shaping an idea of where you want to go next or what you want to do in the future can be a tough process. Based on this idea, you can research the market to see what is or isn’t possible. This is where I personally always get stuck. I have a good idea of what I want to do, but it is challenging to match that with a concrete career path within my reach (I do not possess a PhD from Harvard...).
Once you know your future direction, you can build a plan. If you need more experience, you can search for another vacancy that may provide that experience or study and learn until you understand a certain field better. You can dive into any topic by reading books, the internet, asking people who are experts in their job, etc. There are endless opportunities to learn. It only requires you to find time and creativity to do so. You did a great job if you can showcase some of your work or your learning journey.
Growing in your job often requires a promotion to a higher position on the corporate ladder. If you do not succeed at doing so, your growth will stagnate. If you stagnate in your growth and there is no visible growth in the short term, changing to another company should be a no-brainer.
These are some great examples of employee growth within Quora. I found this image on their careers page.
The only exception is when you are 50+, and instead of learning, you earn very well. It is simple: you either learn or earn. But don’t choose to earn over learning below 50. People who did learn more will outperform you when you're in your 50s, especially in this fast-changing world.
The phases of the employee life cycle: 1. 📈Attraction - 2. 🔎Recruitment - 3. 🤝Onboarding - 4. 🚀Development - 5. ⭐Retention - 6. 👋Exit
🔁The recurring stages in a new job or promotion
These are the stages I am recurrently experiencing in every job I’ve done.
1. 👋The onboarding
This period is always a learning experience. You meet new colleagues, gain insights into different processes, and discover a new corporate culture. Going to work in this stage should be fun and challenging. Training requires a significant investment from the company.
2. 👷♂️The work period
Everything normalizes after a few months. You know the basics of how the company operates and what your job is all about, and you know your colleagues better. If you like the job, you're not quitting; you’re doing the work. You start being productive for the company.
3. 🤔The thinking period
After a while, when your onboarding period is behind you, you start thinking about your future. In my head, questions start to arise.
Is there a future for me in this company? What’s my next growth opportunity within this company? Does this company align with my future goals?
I am researching what comes next. I am starting to feel bored at work in this period. I am not always going to work with a smile anymore. I start having that feeling of ‘pfff, another workday.’ You can have these moments as work is not something we always do for our pleasure. But it is time for a change if you start having them very often.
4. 🙋♂️Exit from your current position
The timing and the duration of your job depend on many factors. After quite some time, you must grow to a new position or start a new challenge elsewhere.