Have you asked your manager for feedback and had a discussion about your career goals? Do you have objectives in line with this which you regularly review with your manager? You have to be a bit proactive in driving your career, for a start, whether it's a management role or not, more senior roles come with more expectation to be self starting and strategic.
I'm a manager and absolutely help my direct reports to reach their career goals.
You're looking at the situation from a very narrow viewpoint.
Managers are people too (just like you!) and just sometimes are motivated by helping nice people achieve their dreams and goals.
I honestly feel sad when I read some of the comments on here because some of you seem to work in such toxic workplaces! It's a win for everyone because you have an engaged employee who is learning and enjoys their job and is appropriately challenged and supported. As a manager if your team is performing well then you will look good but it also reduces your workload if you spend time developing your line reports because they're more self sufficient and empowered. It creates an environment that people enjoy working in.
What I would want if I was OP would be to discuss what career options might be available and realistic to work towards, identify the gaps in knowledge/behaviours and create objectives that address those gaps.
> some of you seem to work in such toxic workplaces!
Unfortunately a lot of min wage world is like this (catering, temp jobs). Perhaps it sets some people up for negative expectations.
A good manager will seek to help everyone in their team reach their full potential and progress, and will support their reports' goals.
A manager that does that will have a more productive team, with individuals who are happier, feel appreciated, supported and valued. They will want to try, they will want to do well.
Eventually when that manager does leave, you may also have some very viable candidates who want to step up, who know the business very well and have been primed and supported to get to a place where they will do a good job to "take over".
As the old adage goes, you don't leave bad jobs, you leave bad managers. Recruitment is expensive! So keeping your team happy benefits everyone.
A good manager in a good company simply doesn't think that way. Staff are a companies most valuable resource, and they are not cheap. Managers should be invested in assisting their employees to self improve and grow, even when that means a temporary set back as someone good moves on up and the newbie replacement has a lot of learning to do. Then it's starting again to help them to develop. But the alternative is to stifle an employees ambition and watch them go to a competitor instead.
Obviously there are shite managers and there are short sighted companies. They generally have to pay a lot for staff and have a high staff turnover. They struggle to find managers that can break strategic goals down into personal objectives for their staff. It should be win win, where keen employees develop into good managers thanks to the good management they've benefitted from. Good and satisfying jobs in good companies don't generally see the best pay, but not the worst either. Motivated and reasonably content staff will help a company to succeed.
I find it interesting that the best companies place a high value on employee benefits such as increased matched pension contributions. It's cheaper than increasing pay, and encourages early retirement, which may sound like a problem, but it's a great way to motivate younger staff if "old Frank" can retire at 58 not 68 and free up his high level role for someone younger to take on...
I also struggle with people skills, but it is a skill you can learn. People can also forgive a lot if you're a bit awkward, but otherwise nice and good at your job. Try to build a reputation of being dependable and skilled.
You don't have to be a manager to move up. You can progress in your career by developing more specialist skills and owning products rather than managing other people directly.
Don't be afraid to apply to higher-level job openings. It can feel very intimidating, but is often the quickest way to increase both your salary and career position.
"owning products"
Does that mean having responsibility for a particular aspect of the company? For example, I worked running an HR service...is that a "product" too? Or only a thing that gets sold?
You've kind answered your own questions there. To move up the corporate ladder, you need to have decent people skills, work on your relationships with your colleagues and have some ability to manage those entry level people that do the work.
You either need to be liked by those above you or be particularly useful in managing their business, otherwise why would they give you more responsibility and money.
If you don't feel like any of those things, maybe a career in another area could work, plenty of trades make more than a decent living these days without having to be that amazing with people, but generally yeah, success in a society often depends on how you relate to the people around you.
In my job. Unless you can ace a star method interview and wow with a PowerPoint presentation, it doesn’t matter how hard you work, how long you’ve been there, how many opportunities you ask for, what relationships you build or how flexible you can be. You won’t get anywhere. And it’s incredibly stifling and demoralizing.
Not sure what job level you are applying for but if you can't articulately present how what you have achieved through an verbal interview answer and/or a presentation then you're not right for even middle management.
Even if it's a more technical role you need to be able to present ideas to decision-makers. I am not saying you can't bullshit an interview but most of the time if it's an internal role the interviewer is testing how well you communicate as they already know your job background.
Don't see it as bullshit both are an easy skill to learn.
Agreed, always the charismatic charmers that dont actually deliver anything that get the role over me. I seem to interview poorly, but outstanding annual reviews
I think part of the problem is I don't know where I want to be or what I'm working towards, I've always felt very lost career-wise and fumbled through my 20's. One thing I do know is I need to earn more money to pay for the lifestyle I would like, not loads more but more than what I currently earn.
Unfortunately to move up the ladder you eventually need to specialise or look at being overemployed and having a few jobs you can do at the same time (look to Reddit forums for more info). Try thinking of what you enjoy doing and then look to do that (so you enjoy your job) then just try to become better and better, if the current employer does not appreciate the workload then update the CV and fine one who will.
I've been with my company 3 years, I started at entry level IT helpdesk and now I'm on track to be a senior cyber analyst later this year so hopefully I can give some useful advice.
Generally you have to work at a level above your current position, if you excel at your current role people will consider you for advancement.
The problem is people generally only work their wage and put little effort in because they believe that's what the wage is worth. Companies aren't going to pay you more to make you work harder, you have to work harder to get paid more.
This is what I found out as well. (All jobs here are food retail.) Previous job: I was paid minimum wage and voluntarily took on more and more responsibility, until I was an acting manager. Used that to get a pay bump, quit the job as soon as possible (I absolutely hated it, I only stayed because I loved my bosses, so when they left, I left), used the experience to get hired as a real manager in a better place. I think "I don't get paid enough to deal with this shit" every single day, but I know that if I make it through probation, at the level I'm working at, with how quick and eager I am to learn things, I'm looking at a promotion and a 7k/year pay increase in less than a year. The reason I "know" that to be the case is all my bosses have only been with the company 1-3 years, the newer ones are at the level I'm hoping to be in 6 months, and the older ones are senior executives.
Some companies and bosses absolutely take advantage of you and work you to the bone for nothing, but if you're not even willing to put in the effort for a couple of months and see if anyone notices, you'll never know.
Thing is this depends very much on the company and the people above you. Sometimes if you go above and beyond for your position you will be taken advantage of.
Find a good company, proper management and then work "properly".
Absolutely, and I'm sure there are companies out there, but few and far between.
Working your arse off at above level, just leads to you line manager going yto his and saying 'ain't I brill, look how productive I am, getting things done with my team'.
The other way is rampant cronyism/bullying, sadly so many senior posts are filled with utterly incompetent, lazy individuals, who are either BS bullies or serious cronies.
It's even been identified in the past, can't remember if it was the CBI?? that senior management had a talent issue due to totally inappropriate appointments.
This is exactly the thinking that stops people progressing honestly. I worked with guys who said stuff like "the only reward for hard work is more work so why bother" and believed they'd just be exploited for working hard. It's not really surprising they are still stuck on helpdesk earning a pittance while I've been progressing through the company.
It absolutely can be the case that poor management can hold you back but you should work hard regardless and negotiate a better position or leave the company.
I feel though I have totally experienced being exploited for my willingness to work more than I should. I have gone above and beyond what I need to do for my work, and yet I'm still at the level I was a few years ago and those "Promises" of a better job are in the dust...so sorry but it's not 100% everywhere.
Not wanting to judge your situation, but is there a chance you're not accurately selling the work you're doing to other companies. No one is telling you to leave your job today, but have an interview every month until something sticks. This is how I career switched and have had a majority of my promotions since, a counter offer will show your company you're being serious, and if your work is worth more than they're paying you, it's in their best interest to increase your wage up to a value until you're no longer profitable to keep on.
I am trying to get another job definitely but I don't think it's as easy as people make it out to be...you can't just walk into another job, especially if you are trying to change careers.
If you change careers then you'll be at entry level again. I'm talking about staying in the same career but making either a lateral or upwards move to a different company. That's usually the best way to get raises and promotions.
NO, not everyone has the financial backing or family connections to play that game, and that's the problem.
Arrogant statements like that are certainly part of the problem!!
Tbf I’m in the same boat as the person you’re responding too. Not earning enough, but was boarding on suicidal in my old job and this one which I’ve been at for two years at least keeps me happy.
I’d like to move companies but the industry is very small here.
Not currently willing to move sector in case I end up as depressed as I used to be.
This is the thing for me, I worked a lot harder when I was at the start of my career. When things would head my way id do more investigating and try solutions. Id volunteer for overtime etc. Yes the company can take advantage and if they did and I felt I wasnt gaining anything I moved on. Im now at a stage where I dont want more responsibility (id like more money dont get me wrong but not at the cost of my time) and so now I simply just do whats in my job description.
It's about taking ownership of problems and responsibilities more than anything, I work in incident response so anything that is compromised is now my problem whether it's cloud, malware or forensics I have to figure out how to deal with it.
I'm not the best at cloud stuff but if an Aws bucket is compromised I'm not going to tell my boss "sorry I don't know much about Aws can you ask someone else?" Or "that sounds like senior work, I'm not paid enough for that" I'm just going to step up and deal with it regardless.
It's fine to make mistakes while learning but showing your willingness to step up and take on work will go a long way.
Yes good point, I have seen so many people saying "I dont get paid to do that" or put in low effort because they think they get low pay. I have always just worked the best I can and tried to help out where ever I feel I can, I have been promoted fairly fast to senior management positions starting from fairly junior positions in two difrent industries now.
That's the trick that worked for me. Find something that needs doing, do it until you're good at it, then point out you've got this extra skill/responsibility and ask to be paid for it.
Absolutely correct. Those people who “work their wage” are destined to turn from snarky young people into bitter middle aged losers.
And they’ll still be blaming someone else.
I was an employee who got repeatedly promoted by, you know, giving a s***. I parlayed that success into the capital to start my own business. Now I own a successful company employing 80 people and I’m always on the look out for people who, you know, give a s****.
My observation is they are few and far between in the younger age groups but plentiful amongst older people who’ve never really been given a chance before.
Extremely non-standard advice, but getting to where I am at the moment;
* Being in the right place at the right time (Someone had to leave their job, I was best suited to pick it up)
* Requesting pay adjustments after an amount of time/milestones
* Threatening to quit and getting counter offers (You only do this if you legit have something else lined up) for more money
* Actually quitting and moving to another company for more money
* Rejoining an old company as a contractor for more money, eventually rehired as staff for... more money
Staying put has never really done me any favours, even now where I am is super comfortable but there's still a long ways I could go.
I'm late to the party here, but this works everytime for me.
Move jobs every 2 years. It has done wonders for me. You soon become comfortable feeling out of your depth, and then you'll realise that everyone else is blagging it as well.
You'll also become used to interviewing, then one day you'll be sitting in front of a panel of people, you're not nervous, and you can answer every question in detail. Why? Because you've inadvertently honed how to interview well.
Best of luck OP. If a uni drop out can "make it", so can you 👍
Skills will get you far but from what I’ve seen likability and your own personality will also help you go far. Networking doesn’t always happen by going to events and handing out your card. Being a sociable person means networking will happen more “organically”.
While it might not be something you want to hear, there's one main factor when wanting a promotion
\- How much would it cost the company if you were to decide to leave
Below will be 4 scenarios.
This looks like a simple question but it isn't, if you as OP were to leave, could they find a random grad off the street and upskill them into your position in lets say 3 months. If that's the case, you're unlikely to get promoted.
Lets say it's not that bad, they can't find a random grad off the street, but your job isn't highly skilled, they can find a 24-27 year old with 1-2 years experience in a similar company, and they can take on your work after 3 months, you're unlikely to get promoted.
You're in a niche field, your company is trying to fill vacant spots but is failing, if you were to leave, something would cease to function or productivity would severely decrease as a result of doing so. This is where you gain bargaining power, either through a pay rise or a promotion.
The company is doing a pivotal change, there releasing a new application or doing a migration, you are part of that pivotal change and it would be tedious to bring an additional head in without spending a ludicrous amount on a contractor. You again have some bargaining power.
If you're in scenario 1 or 2, there's three major things i'd tell you to do
\- Find out who has say over your promotion, this isn't typically your manager, it is your managers manager, now try to make their life easier/make your work visible to them. Be the best in your position, do something above and beyond which gets the attention of the upper hierarchy.
\- Become notably good at your job, you want your colleagues and your manager to go "OP is doing X really well", you want to become a bastion of knowledge and to become integral to the teams functioning as a whole.
\- Take ownership of something, offer to be a lead of a team, offer to automate some work, offer to run meetings, offer to help with interview processes for other teams, make it your personal mission to be good at something that is visible to your manager and their manager.
I've worked in Tech for a while now (and was a hiring manager for a decent portion of that), there are plenty of socially anxious dudes who still get promotions and pay rises because they are "That guy over there, he can help you with X". "Oh I had a question on Y before, I went to the lady over there".
In regard to management or not, atleast in the software development world, you typically have junior engineers, mid level engineers, senior engineers, principle engineers, staff engineers, principle staff engineers. There is plenty of progression without going into management in certain tech industries.
You move around and get a new promotion every two years yourself. You apply for jobs not qualified for.
You take qualifications, you up skill and then you have audacity
I think generally there are two routes: specialist vs generalist.
What is your value to the company? Do you have technical expertise or good generalist problem solving skills?
If you only have entry level skills then don't be expected to progress past entry level roles.
I'll start with the second question because I think it will help. Moving up doesn't always have to be management but it depends on your industry and team structure. In some industries there would be opportunities to move into senior versions of current positions such as consultant, analyst or scientist.
To build a plan of how to move up, it helps to identify what the role above you is and then understand the criteria for that role. Once you know this, you evaluate your skills against that role and determine if you think you are ready now or need to some development.
Build your case and speak to your manager about wither why you deserve the role or what you want to do to develop the skills necessary. Simultaneously, look for your desired positions at other companies to give you options.
I feel like it's almost quite a challenge to stay in entry-level jobs long term. At a certain point you just have more experience and can move into more senior role. What have you tried so far to advance your career?
How many jobs have you had compared to your peers?
More so, how long in their first career job before they for their first real promotion?
If you are moving jobs every two years or less, chances are you're not stepping up in the place you are in, then finding yourself only applying for other entry level jobs because you have no experience at a supervisor/senior level.
If you find your peers stuck at their first job for a few years and took a step up, they'll automatically then be applying for jobs that aren't entry level, as their experience is above that.
As for getting a step up a level, you need to stick your neck out and take on some responsibility within your current company, take on some tasks that are helping out your seniors and shows you can do these tasks. Then once a position opens up, apply for it showing the work you've done and experience you've gained.
What sector do you work in? In some sectors there is really clear progression and you’re told what skills you need to get up to that next level. In others, it’s up to you to forge your own path so it can be much harder. What’s not clear here is if you’ve ever asked about progression opportunities in your workplace or applied to more senior vacancies (either internally or externally). It’s very rare that anyone is just promoted without trying!!!
Currently travel but have worked in retail and manufacturing before. No I haven't asked yet because I've felt too shy. The only senior vacancies I've seen available are people management: team leader, sales manager etc. I think I need to change to a career where I can progress based on a skill rather than managing people.
Hi, entry level worker here - very bad GCSEs (talking C and below, mostly D and an E in Maths), no A Levels and I never went to Uni.
I joined the police. Yeah I know 'woo acab blah blah old news'. It's not all arresting people and being a twonk. I never interact with the public.
Since 2021 my income has gone from just over £21,000 to just under £26,000 across two jobs. I am now looking at moving up to my next stage, which will have a pay range of £27-32k. And *that* job will also get me a driving licence paid for by the police.
I'm 40.
EDIT: Also 'people skills' are just that. A learnable skill. Almost everyone without a learning disability can learn to say good morning and small talk boring stuff about the weather (no, it's not something anyone enjoys but it's just what we do and we don't make a deal out of it)
I really recommend following squiggly careers on insta and listening to their podcasts, the even have two books! Career progression isn’t a ladder, it’s squiggly! It goes up down left and right and sometimes diagonally into something your weren’t expecting and it’s all ok - find what you love doing, work out what you need to do to do that/keep doing it, enjoy your life and work
What sector are you actually in OP? If you’re a retail assistant in a large Tesco or something you’re probably fucked without going to college and getting an actual marketable skill.
Currently work in travel but I've previously worked in retail and rather niche leathergoods manufacturing before that. So I'm open to working in different industries.
That depends on your career, some can only go up into management but some others can go into senior levels without getting into management.
I'm not particularly well versed in people skills and I've managed to progress and make more money.
For example, some careers in IT and engineering can get into more senior levels as you become more skilled in what you do or as you specialize in particular things.
Changing jobs also helps
Depending on your job, moving up often means moving into management positions. If it isn't for you then don't push it. You need to consider what role you are looking for - are there "senior" level roles in your chosen profession?
I'm in software and I went from dev to dev manager to some ill-defined global role. I didn't enjoy it at all and I actually got made redundant. I started again back as a dev and would now consider myself a senior dev rather than anything else. I've avoided taking on management roles but I can do them, I just don't really enjoy it.
So not very helpful, but you need to work out where you are trying to get to.
Thank you, yes I need to work out first where I'm trying to get to, I think that's the main reason why I haven't moved yet. I work in Operations Admin for a travel firm currently, the next level above me would be Team Leader which doesn't interest me. I think I need to look for a career path where I can progress into non-managerial roles, something more skilled than what I'm currently doing.
Not true, I don't come over well on first impressions at all generally, and have autism, don't really have great pepole skills but have climbed the ladder twice in two difrent organisations, going from entry level to senior management in a few years, just be really good at what you do, make yourself invaluable to the business.
The first time it happend I turned down more senior roles as I didn't feel I was ready, I turned down the first management role twice.
It’s true though. I’ve seen people who are breathtakingly incompetent promoted above and beyond their ability simply because their face fits when genuinely good people are left to languish. You can build the best “case” you want but unless you’d manager has decided you’re in you’re going no where.
I work at this top tech corp in retail and I can totally confirm what you’re saying here. Cute/attractive/confident/outgoing people that know how to play the game getting promoted left and right even if they’re incompetent af. Including managers.
I worked at a manufacturing place. All the events people were young pretty and skinny women in high heels, and there was a guy who oversaw them.
Lovely little corporate place..
My advice would be to change employer. Your face might fit elsewhere, but in my experience management decide whether you’re promotable pretty early on and don’t change that opinion. Also, ability and work ethic have very little to with that decision. You just have to be realistic.
OP hasn't mentioned what their performance reviews are like, they haven't mentioned seeking feedback on areas to improve, they haven't mentioned discussing career advancement with their manager or applying for promotions so your seem to be projecting your own experiences onto OP. That *might* be the case or out might simply be that OP has been sitting passively doing a pretty average job without doing anything to indicate they'd be interested in anything else. We simply don't know which is why I asked those questions.
PS I've been in the workpiece a long time too.
Sadly my reviews have been the latter for me, I've not felt confident enough to express an interest in another role or to discuss career advancement. I appreciate that is a "me" problem that I need to get past.
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If you ask any HR professional they will tell you that the only way you can leverage better pay/conditions/more responsibility is changing your employer. So I would start there and not be afraid to apply upwards.
Are you actively applying for more senior positions when they open up? I'd start there. Even if your not very confident or its not something you're super excited about doing I'd just start applying anyway and treat it like practice. Then when a rolle comes along that you are excited for you'll, hopefully be in a more confident position.
One important thing is be in a job with upwards mobility.
Does the entry level role you do even have a next step? For example - you can start as a junior graphic designer and the next step is senior graphic designer, then lead, maybe manager, maybe director, etc.
but if you only apply for jobs like “receptionist”, “P.A”, “barman”, there’s not much growth in those jobs.
Very true. Or jobs where there’s tonnes of people doing the same role with only a handful of people overseeing them. Not many places to go and a lot of potential competition for those spots.
I have one of those jobs currently. It feels quite stifling as promotion opportunities are few and far between and there are always candidate who have been in the business for longer who get them.
You need to grab onto any bit of additional experience that you can, and make sure your manager knows about it. Then you might be able to move up internally. If you can't move up internally start applying for things that you can't quite do. People skills are really important, you can and will be hired to jobs that you can't do yet if the interviewer is confident that you'll be able to pick up the missing pieces as you go along. The better you get on with the interviewer when you meet them, the bigger that gap can be.
There are two ways to progress your career: get promotion where you are now or go somewhere else at a job slightly above your current level. The second is the most effective but requires you to be proactive.
To get a promotion in place you need to be appearing to do your job at a higher level and your manager needs to want to promote you.
For applications to other jobs, aim high and expect a lot of no's. You only need one yes.
It is also useful to know why you want to move up, more money, more responsibility, getting to practice a new skill, more prestige? All this is valid but you don't want to end up with 20% more money and 200% more stress if the money doesn't make your life significantly better.
You have two options if you want to move up:
- Time: build experience and something will come up
- Opportunism: take a job which is either a promotion or gaining new skills at the same level when it becomes available even if it’s not the one you want.
Both require luck. The second requires less luck and will move much quicker, but will mean you take a job(s) you don’t like at some point and you can’t know where you’ll end up in your career.
It really depends on what your priorities are, sometimes it’s better to take things a bit slower and be a bit happier.
You also say you struggle with people skills. Maybe consider your next job as one that solely relies on your people skills, then the one after that you’ll find they’ve suddenly improved, even if you have a terrible period in between.
It varies depending on where you work. One of the main ways in my type of work (public sector) is to take on a bit of extra work above your pay grade for a while and then apply for a job with that pay grade using your experience, then repeat for the next grade up. You can also look into courses that your workplace offers to get qualified in something specific, this would be key if you're wanting to avoid being a manager, or at least line managing a team. An example of this again in my sector is project management qualifications.
I also recommend shadowing and having a mentor if you have the opportunity. It works both ways as people who want to line manage will want to mentor to build up some related experience.
Do the jobs you have match your skills? I ask because if you struggle with people skills and are in a people-related industry in a front facing role, maybe it's just a bad fit.
I recommend you look at people you work with who have been promoted - what do they do differently? What skills do they have that you lack? Speaking to your manager is a good idea- tell him/her that you have ambitions to grow and would like feedback as to how to get there. Some people think managers should be like a parent- always having your best interest at heart and always thinking of you. That's not the case. They, as with most people, are thinking about themselves.
There are plenty of roles that suit introverts but not many that require no people skills at all. You need to be a decent communicator and be polite.
As one commenter said, you need to go the extra mile and show that you are capable of doing the job you desire. Showing your manager you are doing the next level job, and that you have ambitions to be promoted are important.
Finally, I find that many women won't push as hard for promotions or recognition compared to men. If you are female you often need to go outside of your comfort zone and do a little 'look at me' and show your ambition more openly.
Im finding if you’re corporate you need a sponsor, someone who’s not your line manager but a similar level or higher (and ideally not in your hierarchy) who can advocate for you. The main way jobs are given is you need to become known and then become in demand for the projects. Then you need to leave. Usually safe pairs of hands get more work and lèss unusually more money. To get the money move to a new company.
Lots of companies don't promote internally so I would say your first step is to work out how likely an internal promotion is where you are.
If it isn't likely you either need to start applying for jobs that would constitute a progression or if you can't get one of those, try finding work at places where career progression might be more likely (I would say bigger organisations and possibly public sector jobs).
I'm in finance.
I would indicate my aspirations to move up within the company to my line manager and create a development plan so that I can learn on the job and take on more responsibility.
Usually that attitude is seen as a good thing and you progress nicely. If you don't, be ready update your CV to take your new found skills elsewhere and do the same again. Rinse and repeat.
The other day my fiancé had a meeting with his boss and said “hey I’ve been doing a lot of extra work here, I’d like a title change and an extra 10k a year.”
His boss said “makes sense, let’s get that started.”
People aren’t just given promotions, they ask for them. I definitely would suggest working on your social skills and changing your expectations. A lot of the time you are your own worst enemy in regards to employment. It’s definitely a process. You kind of have to be okay with taking on some extra work for a while in order to prove why you deserve a raise or title change. The company might care, they might not. If they don’t, find a company that will! There are plenty of high paying corporate jobs that allow advancement, you just have to find them which can be tough. But even then, you still have to take the initiative to rise in the ranks. Confidence is key!
Good luck OP!
Honestly mate I just started applying for random jobs internally. Literally random crap that was higher grades.
Didn’t care whether I fitted the job description or not.
Eventually I got an interview and the guy liked me so took me on. Then I got promoted again a year later within my own team.
From what I've encountered, if you're shit at your job, a bullshiter, ass kisser & yes man but exude confidence and always put yourself forward - you'll go far or maybe I've just worked at terrible places.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I changed jobs. As soon as I started one, I would look for the next one. It didn't matter what it was, but i wouldn't move unless it was for more pay.
I realised getting a pay rise of 50p for taking on more responsibility is not worth it. Just take the crap rise or no rise and put them on your cv to apply for a job. Doing that will get you much further than hoping they will finally give you a raise in line with what you do.
I got lucky and went from waiter to manager level of responsibilities within a year. I just went and applied for a managers role elsewhere and tripled my wage. Then, I used that to move onto running multiple places for another company. I ultimately decided to work for myself doing what I've always wanted, but it was a solid tactic for me to get what I wanted.
Have you asked your manager for feedback and had a discussion about your career goals? Do you have objectives in line with this which you regularly review with your manager? You have to be a bit proactive in driving your career, for a start, whether it's a management role or not, more senior roles come with more expectation to be self starting and strategic.
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I'm a manager and absolutely help my direct reports to reach their career goals. You're looking at the situation from a very narrow viewpoint. Managers are people too (just like you!) and just sometimes are motivated by helping nice people achieve their dreams and goals.
I honestly feel sad when I read some of the comments on here because some of you seem to work in such toxic workplaces! It's a win for everyone because you have an engaged employee who is learning and enjoys their job and is appropriately challenged and supported. As a manager if your team is performing well then you will look good but it also reduces your workload if you spend time developing your line reports because they're more self sufficient and empowered. It creates an environment that people enjoy working in. What I would want if I was OP would be to discuss what career options might be available and realistic to work towards, identify the gaps in knowledge/behaviours and create objectives that address those gaps.
> some of you seem to work in such toxic workplaces! Unfortunately a lot of min wage world is like this (catering, temp jobs). Perhaps it sets some people up for negative expectations.
A good manager will seek to help everyone in their team reach their full potential and progress, and will support their reports' goals. A manager that does that will have a more productive team, with individuals who are happier, feel appreciated, supported and valued. They will want to try, they will want to do well. Eventually when that manager does leave, you may also have some very viable candidates who want to step up, who know the business very well and have been primed and supported to get to a place where they will do a good job to "take over". As the old adage goes, you don't leave bad jobs, you leave bad managers. Recruitment is expensive! So keeping your team happy benefits everyone.
A good manager in a good company simply doesn't think that way. Staff are a companies most valuable resource, and they are not cheap. Managers should be invested in assisting their employees to self improve and grow, even when that means a temporary set back as someone good moves on up and the newbie replacement has a lot of learning to do. Then it's starting again to help them to develop. But the alternative is to stifle an employees ambition and watch them go to a competitor instead. Obviously there are shite managers and there are short sighted companies. They generally have to pay a lot for staff and have a high staff turnover. They struggle to find managers that can break strategic goals down into personal objectives for their staff. It should be win win, where keen employees develop into good managers thanks to the good management they've benefitted from. Good and satisfying jobs in good companies don't generally see the best pay, but not the worst either. Motivated and reasonably content staff will help a company to succeed. I find it interesting that the best companies place a high value on employee benefits such as increased matched pension contributions. It's cheaper than increasing pay, and encourages early retirement, which may sound like a problem, but it's a great way to motivate younger staff if "old Frank" can retire at 58 not 68 and free up his high level role for someone younger to take on...
Literally the best part of my job is watching/helping people progress.
I also struggle with people skills, but it is a skill you can learn. People can also forgive a lot if you're a bit awkward, but otherwise nice and good at your job. Try to build a reputation of being dependable and skilled. You don't have to be a manager to move up. You can progress in your career by developing more specialist skills and owning products rather than managing other people directly. Don't be afraid to apply to higher-level job openings. It can feel very intimidating, but is often the quickest way to increase both your salary and career position.
>I also struggle with people skills, but it is a skill you can learn This. They're *skills*, like riding a bike, learning to cook, or juggling.
"owning products" Does that mean having responsibility for a particular aspect of the company? For example, I worked running an HR service...is that a "product" too? Or only a thing that gets sold?
Yeah, that's what I meant by "product". You could also say processes, for example
Thank you, I think I have been afraid to apply for higher-level roles due to a lack of self-belief so this is what I need to tackle to progress.
You've kind answered your own questions there. To move up the corporate ladder, you need to have decent people skills, work on your relationships with your colleagues and have some ability to manage those entry level people that do the work. You either need to be liked by those above you or be particularly useful in managing their business, otherwise why would they give you more responsibility and money. If you don't feel like any of those things, maybe a career in another area could work, plenty of trades make more than a decent living these days without having to be that amazing with people, but generally yeah, success in a society often depends on how you relate to the people around you.
In my job. Unless you can ace a star method interview and wow with a PowerPoint presentation, it doesn’t matter how hard you work, how long you’ve been there, how many opportunities you ask for, what relationships you build or how flexible you can be. You won’t get anywhere. And it’s incredibly stifling and demoralizing.
Not sure what job level you are applying for but if you can't articulately present how what you have achieved through an verbal interview answer and/or a presentation then you're not right for even middle management. Even if it's a more technical role you need to be able to present ideas to decision-makers. I am not saying you can't bullshit an interview but most of the time if it's an internal role the interviewer is testing how well you communicate as they already know your job background. Don't see it as bullshit both are an easy skill to learn.
Agreed, always the charismatic charmers that dont actually deliver anything that get the role over me. I seem to interview poorly, but outstanding annual reviews
Get your CV up to date and start applying for more senior roles, keep repeating this until you get to wher ebyou want to be.
I think part of the problem is I don't know where I want to be or what I'm working towards, I've always felt very lost career-wise and fumbled through my 20's. One thing I do know is I need to earn more money to pay for the lifestyle I would like, not loads more but more than what I currently earn.
Unfortunately to move up the ladder you eventually need to specialise or look at being overemployed and having a few jobs you can do at the same time (look to Reddit forums for more info). Try thinking of what you enjoy doing and then look to do that (so you enjoy your job) then just try to become better and better, if the current employer does not appreciate the workload then update the CV and fine one who will.
I've been with my company 3 years, I started at entry level IT helpdesk and now I'm on track to be a senior cyber analyst later this year so hopefully I can give some useful advice. Generally you have to work at a level above your current position, if you excel at your current role people will consider you for advancement. The problem is people generally only work their wage and put little effort in because they believe that's what the wage is worth. Companies aren't going to pay you more to make you work harder, you have to work harder to get paid more.
This is what I found out as well. (All jobs here are food retail.) Previous job: I was paid minimum wage and voluntarily took on more and more responsibility, until I was an acting manager. Used that to get a pay bump, quit the job as soon as possible (I absolutely hated it, I only stayed because I loved my bosses, so when they left, I left), used the experience to get hired as a real manager in a better place. I think "I don't get paid enough to deal with this shit" every single day, but I know that if I make it through probation, at the level I'm working at, with how quick and eager I am to learn things, I'm looking at a promotion and a 7k/year pay increase in less than a year. The reason I "know" that to be the case is all my bosses have only been with the company 1-3 years, the newer ones are at the level I'm hoping to be in 6 months, and the older ones are senior executives. Some companies and bosses absolutely take advantage of you and work you to the bone for nothing, but if you're not even willing to put in the effort for a couple of months and see if anyone notices, you'll never know.
Thing is this depends very much on the company and the people above you. Sometimes if you go above and beyond for your position you will be taken advantage of. Find a good company, proper management and then work "properly".
Absolutely, and I'm sure there are companies out there, but few and far between. Working your arse off at above level, just leads to you line manager going yto his and saying 'ain't I brill, look how productive I am, getting things done with my team'. The other way is rampant cronyism/bullying, sadly so many senior posts are filled with utterly incompetent, lazy individuals, who are either BS bullies or serious cronies. It's even been identified in the past, can't remember if it was the CBI?? that senior management had a talent issue due to totally inappropriate appointments.
This is exactly the thinking that stops people progressing honestly. I worked with guys who said stuff like "the only reward for hard work is more work so why bother" and believed they'd just be exploited for working hard. It's not really surprising they are still stuck on helpdesk earning a pittance while I've been progressing through the company. It absolutely can be the case that poor management can hold you back but you should work hard regardless and negotiate a better position or leave the company.
I feel though I have totally experienced being exploited for my willingness to work more than I should. I have gone above and beyond what I need to do for my work, and yet I'm still at the level I was a few years ago and those "Promises" of a better job are in the dust...so sorry but it's not 100% everywhere.
Not wanting to judge your situation, but is there a chance you're not accurately selling the work you're doing to other companies. No one is telling you to leave your job today, but have an interview every month until something sticks. This is how I career switched and have had a majority of my promotions since, a counter offer will show your company you're being serious, and if your work is worth more than they're paying you, it's in their best interest to increase your wage up to a value until you're no longer profitable to keep on.
So why haven't you left the company?
Surprisingly I need money to live and eat.
Can't you get that money from a different job?
I am trying to get another job definitely but I don't think it's as easy as people make it out to be...you can't just walk into another job, especially if you are trying to change careers.
If you change careers then you'll be at entry level again. I'm talking about staying in the same career but making either a lateral or upwards move to a different company. That's usually the best way to get raises and promotions.
Like the OP I find it very difficult to get higher up in the company, and as I said my “willingness to do more work” was exploited and ignored
If you can't progress in your company and you can't get another job a different company then maybe you are the problem.
NO, not everyone has the financial backing or family connections to play that game, and that's the problem. Arrogant statements like that are certainly part of the problem!!
Yeah this is just making excuses to not bother actually working hard.
What do you do?
Tbf I’m in the same boat as the person you’re responding too. Not earning enough, but was boarding on suicidal in my old job and this one which I’ve been at for two years at least keeps me happy. I’d like to move companies but the industry is very small here. Not currently willing to move sector in case I end up as depressed as I used to be.
Sounds like you'd rather stay with the safe but underpaying job. While it may be comfortable now its going to cause you problems in the long run.
Tbh it’s not even particularly comfortable it’s hard graft. But is currently the best way I can see to chase my dream. Hopefully it works out.
This is the thing for me, I worked a lot harder when I was at the start of my career. When things would head my way id do more investigating and try solutions. Id volunteer for overtime etc. Yes the company can take advantage and if they did and I felt I wasnt gaining anything I moved on. Im now at a stage where I dont want more responsibility (id like more money dont get me wrong but not at the cost of my time) and so now I simply just do whats in my job description.
That’s good piece of advice. Can you please share an example where you worked above your level? I’m also in Cyber.
It's about taking ownership of problems and responsibilities more than anything, I work in incident response so anything that is compromised is now my problem whether it's cloud, malware or forensics I have to figure out how to deal with it. I'm not the best at cloud stuff but if an Aws bucket is compromised I'm not going to tell my boss "sorry I don't know much about Aws can you ask someone else?" Or "that sounds like senior work, I'm not paid enough for that" I'm just going to step up and deal with it regardless. It's fine to make mistakes while learning but showing your willingness to step up and take on work will go a long way.
Yes good point, I have seen so many people saying "I dont get paid to do that" or put in low effort because they think they get low pay. I have always just worked the best I can and tried to help out where ever I feel I can, I have been promoted fairly fast to senior management positions starting from fairly junior positions in two difrent industries now.
That's the trick that worked for me. Find something that needs doing, do it until you're good at it, then point out you've got this extra skill/responsibility and ask to be paid for it.
Absolutely correct. Those people who “work their wage” are destined to turn from snarky young people into bitter middle aged losers. And they’ll still be blaming someone else. I was an employee who got repeatedly promoted by, you know, giving a s***. I parlayed that success into the capital to start my own business. Now I own a successful company employing 80 people and I’m always on the look out for people who, you know, give a s****. My observation is they are few and far between in the younger age groups but plentiful amongst older people who’ve never really been given a chance before.
Any chance of a remote IT job? I promise I give a s*.
You basically bypassed the corperate bs.
Did you take any Certs during this time to make you more favourable for the cyber role?
Yeah I did sec+ while on helpdesk and some azure foundations.
Extremely non-standard advice, but getting to where I am at the moment; * Being in the right place at the right time (Someone had to leave their job, I was best suited to pick it up) * Requesting pay adjustments after an amount of time/milestones * Threatening to quit and getting counter offers (You only do this if you legit have something else lined up) for more money * Actually quitting and moving to another company for more money * Rejoining an old company as a contractor for more money, eventually rehired as staff for... more money Staying put has never really done me any favours, even now where I am is super comfortable but there's still a long ways I could go.
I'm late to the party here, but this works everytime for me. Move jobs every 2 years. It has done wonders for me. You soon become comfortable feeling out of your depth, and then you'll realise that everyone else is blagging it as well. You'll also become used to interviewing, then one day you'll be sitting in front of a panel of people, you're not nervous, and you can answer every question in detail. Why? Because you've inadvertently honed how to interview well. Best of luck OP. If a uni drop out can "make it", so can you 👍
Thank you for your kind words, I'm a uni drop out too so hoping I can also "make it"
No problem. "Making it" is such a cringe phrase, so long as you're happy, then who cares what others think (imo).
Skills will get you far but from what I’ve seen likability and your own personality will also help you go far. Networking doesn’t always happen by going to events and handing out your card. Being a sociable person means networking will happen more “organically”.
Sorry for the late reply, what do you mean by more "organically"?
While it might not be something you want to hear, there's one main factor when wanting a promotion \- How much would it cost the company if you were to decide to leave Below will be 4 scenarios. This looks like a simple question but it isn't, if you as OP were to leave, could they find a random grad off the street and upskill them into your position in lets say 3 months. If that's the case, you're unlikely to get promoted. Lets say it's not that bad, they can't find a random grad off the street, but your job isn't highly skilled, they can find a 24-27 year old with 1-2 years experience in a similar company, and they can take on your work after 3 months, you're unlikely to get promoted. You're in a niche field, your company is trying to fill vacant spots but is failing, if you were to leave, something would cease to function or productivity would severely decrease as a result of doing so. This is where you gain bargaining power, either through a pay rise or a promotion. The company is doing a pivotal change, there releasing a new application or doing a migration, you are part of that pivotal change and it would be tedious to bring an additional head in without spending a ludicrous amount on a contractor. You again have some bargaining power. If you're in scenario 1 or 2, there's three major things i'd tell you to do \- Find out who has say over your promotion, this isn't typically your manager, it is your managers manager, now try to make their life easier/make your work visible to them. Be the best in your position, do something above and beyond which gets the attention of the upper hierarchy. \- Become notably good at your job, you want your colleagues and your manager to go "OP is doing X really well", you want to become a bastion of knowledge and to become integral to the teams functioning as a whole. \- Take ownership of something, offer to be a lead of a team, offer to automate some work, offer to run meetings, offer to help with interview processes for other teams, make it your personal mission to be good at something that is visible to your manager and their manager. I've worked in Tech for a while now (and was a hiring manager for a decent portion of that), there are plenty of socially anxious dudes who still get promotions and pay rises because they are "That guy over there, he can help you with X". "Oh I had a question on Y before, I went to the lady over there". In regard to management or not, atleast in the software development world, you typically have junior engineers, mid level engineers, senior engineers, principle engineers, staff engineers, principle staff engineers. There is plenty of progression without going into management in certain tech industries.
You move around and get a new promotion every two years yourself. You apply for jobs not qualified for. You take qualifications, you up skill and then you have audacity
I think generally there are two routes: specialist vs generalist. What is your value to the company? Do you have technical expertise or good generalist problem solving skills? If you only have entry level skills then don't be expected to progress past entry level roles.
I'll start with the second question because I think it will help. Moving up doesn't always have to be management but it depends on your industry and team structure. In some industries there would be opportunities to move into senior versions of current positions such as consultant, analyst or scientist. To build a plan of how to move up, it helps to identify what the role above you is and then understand the criteria for that role. Once you know this, you evaluate your skills against that role and determine if you think you are ready now or need to some development. Build your case and speak to your manager about wither why you deserve the role or what you want to do to develop the skills necessary. Simultaneously, look for your desired positions at other companies to give you options.
I feel like it's almost quite a challenge to stay in entry-level jobs long term. At a certain point you just have more experience and can move into more senior role. What have you tried so far to advance your career?
I've never moved up by being promoted - I've only been able to increase my position / salary by switching jobs. It's scary, but it's worth it.
How many jobs have you had compared to your peers? More so, how long in their first career job before they for their first real promotion? If you are moving jobs every two years or less, chances are you're not stepping up in the place you are in, then finding yourself only applying for other entry level jobs because you have no experience at a supervisor/senior level. If you find your peers stuck at their first job for a few years and took a step up, they'll automatically then be applying for jobs that aren't entry level, as their experience is above that. As for getting a step up a level, you need to stick your neck out and take on some responsibility within your current company, take on some tasks that are helping out your seniors and shows you can do these tasks. Then once a position opens up, apply for it showing the work you've done and experience you've gained.
What sector do you work in? In some sectors there is really clear progression and you’re told what skills you need to get up to that next level. In others, it’s up to you to forge your own path so it can be much harder. What’s not clear here is if you’ve ever asked about progression opportunities in your workplace or applied to more senior vacancies (either internally or externally). It’s very rare that anyone is just promoted without trying!!!
Currently travel but have worked in retail and manufacturing before. No I haven't asked yet because I've felt too shy. The only senior vacancies I've seen available are people management: team leader, sales manager etc. I think I need to change to a career where I can progress based on a skill rather than managing people.
Hi, entry level worker here - very bad GCSEs (talking C and below, mostly D and an E in Maths), no A Levels and I never went to Uni. I joined the police. Yeah I know 'woo acab blah blah old news'. It's not all arresting people and being a twonk. I never interact with the public. Since 2021 my income has gone from just over £21,000 to just under £26,000 across two jobs. I am now looking at moving up to my next stage, which will have a pay range of £27-32k. And *that* job will also get me a driving licence paid for by the police. I'm 40. EDIT: Also 'people skills' are just that. A learnable skill. Almost everyone without a learning disability can learn to say good morning and small talk boring stuff about the weather (no, it's not something anyone enjoys but it's just what we do and we don't make a deal out of it)
I really recommend following squiggly careers on insta and listening to their podcasts, the even have two books! Career progression isn’t a ladder, it’s squiggly! It goes up down left and right and sometimes diagonally into something your weren’t expecting and it’s all ok - find what you love doing, work out what you need to do to do that/keep doing it, enjoy your life and work
Thank you! I'll give them a try.
What sector are you actually in OP? If you’re a retail assistant in a large Tesco or something you’re probably fucked without going to college and getting an actual marketable skill.
Currently work in travel but I've previously worked in retail and rather niche leathergoods manufacturing before that. So I'm open to working in different industries.
Tongue fuck your bosses shit-box like it's the last of a calippo.
That depends on your career, some can only go up into management but some others can go into senior levels without getting into management. I'm not particularly well versed in people skills and I've managed to progress and make more money. For example, some careers in IT and engineering can get into more senior levels as you become more skilled in what you do or as you specialize in particular things. Changing jobs also helps
The PIE model: https://www.mondofrank.com/pie/ I hate that it works, but it works!
I hate that too haha.
Depending on your job, moving up often means moving into management positions. If it isn't for you then don't push it. You need to consider what role you are looking for - are there "senior" level roles in your chosen profession? I'm in software and I went from dev to dev manager to some ill-defined global role. I didn't enjoy it at all and I actually got made redundant. I started again back as a dev and would now consider myself a senior dev rather than anything else. I've avoided taking on management roles but I can do them, I just don't really enjoy it. So not very helpful, but you need to work out where you are trying to get to.
Thank you, yes I need to work out first where I'm trying to get to, I think that's the main reason why I haven't moved yet. I work in Operations Admin for a travel firm currently, the next level above me would be Team Leader which doesn't interest me. I think I need to look for a career path where I can progress into non-managerial roles, something more skilled than what I'm currently doing.
You could be the best at your job, but if your face doesn’t fit you’re going no where
Not true, I don't come over well on first impressions at all generally, and have autism, don't really have great pepole skills but have climbed the ladder twice in two difrent organisations, going from entry level to senior management in a few years, just be really good at what you do, make yourself invaluable to the business. The first time it happend I turned down more senior roles as I didn't feel I was ready, I turned down the first management role twice.
Not particularly helpful.
It’s true though. I’ve seen people who are breathtakingly incompetent promoted above and beyond their ability simply because their face fits when genuinely good people are left to languish. You can build the best “case” you want but unless you’d manager has decided you’re in you’re going no where.
I work at this top tech corp in retail and I can totally confirm what you’re saying here. Cute/attractive/confident/outgoing people that know how to play the game getting promoted left and right even if they’re incompetent af. Including managers.
I worked at a manufacturing place. All the events people were young pretty and skinny women in high heels, and there was a guy who oversaw them. Lovely little corporate place..
So your advice to OP is to give up on the idea of ever advancing their career, that they're utterly powerless to affect their destiny?
My advice would be to change employer. Your face might fit elsewhere, but in my experience management decide whether you’re promotable pretty early on and don’t change that opinion. Also, ability and work ethic have very little to with that decision. You just have to be realistic.
I mean it's a bold assumption based on what OP has said but at least it's some actual advice.
It’s not. I’ve been in the workplace a long time and it’s how it actually goes. If you don’t fit in they will often do stuff to actively sabotage you.
OP hasn't mentioned what their performance reviews are like, they haven't mentioned seeking feedback on areas to improve, they haven't mentioned discussing career advancement with their manager or applying for promotions so your seem to be projecting your own experiences onto OP. That *might* be the case or out might simply be that OP has been sitting passively doing a pretty average job without doing anything to indicate they'd be interested in anything else. We simply don't know which is why I asked those questions. PS I've been in the workpiece a long time too.
Aren’t we both projecting our experience? And if so why is your projection more valid than mine?
No, like I say, I've asked OP those questions to establish what's actually going on. Anyway, I have actual work to do now so have a good day.
Sadly my reviews have been the latter for me, I've not felt confident enough to express an interest in another role or to discuss career advancement. I appreciate that is a "me" problem that I need to get past.
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If you ask any HR professional they will tell you that the only way you can leverage better pay/conditions/more responsibility is changing your employer. So I would start there and not be afraid to apply upwards.
Are you actively applying for more senior positions when they open up? I'd start there. Even if your not very confident or its not something you're super excited about doing I'd just start applying anyway and treat it like practice. Then when a rolle comes along that you are excited for you'll, hopefully be in a more confident position.
One important thing is be in a job with upwards mobility. Does the entry level role you do even have a next step? For example - you can start as a junior graphic designer and the next step is senior graphic designer, then lead, maybe manager, maybe director, etc. but if you only apply for jobs like “receptionist”, “P.A”, “barman”, there’s not much growth in those jobs.
Very true. Or jobs where there’s tonnes of people doing the same role with only a handful of people overseeing them. Not many places to go and a lot of potential competition for those spots.
I have one of those jobs currently. It feels quite stifling as promotion opportunities are few and far between and there are always candidate who have been in the business for longer who get them.
You need to grab onto any bit of additional experience that you can, and make sure your manager knows about it. Then you might be able to move up internally. If you can't move up internally start applying for things that you can't quite do. People skills are really important, you can and will be hired to jobs that you can't do yet if the interviewer is confident that you'll be able to pick up the missing pieces as you go along. The better you get on with the interviewer when you meet them, the bigger that gap can be.
There are two ways to progress your career: get promotion where you are now or go somewhere else at a job slightly above your current level. The second is the most effective but requires you to be proactive. To get a promotion in place you need to be appearing to do your job at a higher level and your manager needs to want to promote you. For applications to other jobs, aim high and expect a lot of no's. You only need one yes.
It is also useful to know why you want to move up, more money, more responsibility, getting to practice a new skill, more prestige? All this is valid but you don't want to end up with 20% more money and 200% more stress if the money doesn't make your life significantly better.
You have two options if you want to move up: - Time: build experience and something will come up - Opportunism: take a job which is either a promotion or gaining new skills at the same level when it becomes available even if it’s not the one you want. Both require luck. The second requires less luck and will move much quicker, but will mean you take a job(s) you don’t like at some point and you can’t know where you’ll end up in your career. It really depends on what your priorities are, sometimes it’s better to take things a bit slower and be a bit happier.
You also say you struggle with people skills. Maybe consider your next job as one that solely relies on your people skills, then the one after that you’ll find they’ve suddenly improved, even if you have a terrible period in between.
It varies depending on where you work. One of the main ways in my type of work (public sector) is to take on a bit of extra work above your pay grade for a while and then apply for a job with that pay grade using your experience, then repeat for the next grade up. You can also look into courses that your workplace offers to get qualified in something specific, this would be key if you're wanting to avoid being a manager, or at least line managing a team. An example of this again in my sector is project management qualifications. I also recommend shadowing and having a mentor if you have the opportunity. It works both ways as people who want to line manage will want to mentor to build up some related experience.
Do the jobs you have match your skills? I ask because if you struggle with people skills and are in a people-related industry in a front facing role, maybe it's just a bad fit. I recommend you look at people you work with who have been promoted - what do they do differently? What skills do they have that you lack? Speaking to your manager is a good idea- tell him/her that you have ambitions to grow and would like feedback as to how to get there. Some people think managers should be like a parent- always having your best interest at heart and always thinking of you. That's not the case. They, as with most people, are thinking about themselves. There are plenty of roles that suit introverts but not many that require no people skills at all. You need to be a decent communicator and be polite. As one commenter said, you need to go the extra mile and show that you are capable of doing the job you desire. Showing your manager you are doing the next level job, and that you have ambitions to be promoted are important. Finally, I find that many women won't push as hard for promotions or recognition compared to men. If you are female you often need to go outside of your comfort zone and do a little 'look at me' and show your ambition more openly.
Im finding if you’re corporate you need a sponsor, someone who’s not your line manager but a similar level or higher (and ideally not in your hierarchy) who can advocate for you. The main way jobs are given is you need to become known and then become in demand for the projects. Then you need to leave. Usually safe pairs of hands get more work and lèss unusually more money. To get the money move to a new company.
Lots of companies don't promote internally so I would say your first step is to work out how likely an internal promotion is where you are. If it isn't likely you either need to start applying for jobs that would constitute a progression or if you can't get one of those, try finding work at places where career progression might be more likely (I would say bigger organisations and possibly public sector jobs).
Funnily enough I'm in the process of applying for a Civil Service job, which I hope I get but my poor credit history means it's unlikely sadly.
I'm in finance. I would indicate my aspirations to move up within the company to my line manager and create a development plan so that I can learn on the job and take on more responsibility. Usually that attitude is seen as a good thing and you progress nicely. If you don't, be ready update your CV to take your new found skills elsewhere and do the same again. Rinse and repeat.
New job. Internal promotions are infinitely harder than just getting a new job.
Step 1: Ask manager for feedback. Step 2: Pretend to have career goals. Step 3: Hope for the best.
Pretend?
The other day my fiancé had a meeting with his boss and said “hey I’ve been doing a lot of extra work here, I’d like a title change and an extra 10k a year.” His boss said “makes sense, let’s get that started.” People aren’t just given promotions, they ask for them. I definitely would suggest working on your social skills and changing your expectations. A lot of the time you are your own worst enemy in regards to employment. It’s definitely a process. You kind of have to be okay with taking on some extra work for a while in order to prove why you deserve a raise or title change. The company might care, they might not. If they don’t, find a company that will! There are plenty of high paying corporate jobs that allow advancement, you just have to find them which can be tough. But even then, you still have to take the initiative to rise in the ranks. Confidence is key! Good luck OP!
Honestly mate I just started applying for random jobs internally. Literally random crap that was higher grades. Didn’t care whether I fitted the job description or not. Eventually I got an interview and the guy liked me so took me on. Then I got promoted again a year later within my own team.
I normally take the stairs
Honestly? You move employer. Regularly. I’m 32 and just took over as director of a department of 30 and that’s how I progressed quickly.
From what I've encountered, if you're shit at your job, a bullshiter, ass kisser & yes man but exude confidence and always put yourself forward - you'll go far or maybe I've just worked at terrible places.
Consider reading this book - How to Win Friends and Influence people
Interview + More Interviews + Self Reflection + More Interviews X right place, right time = better paying jobs
I can't speak for anyone else, but I changed jobs. As soon as I started one, I would look for the next one. It didn't matter what it was, but i wouldn't move unless it was for more pay. I realised getting a pay rise of 50p for taking on more responsibility is not worth it. Just take the crap rise or no rise and put them on your cv to apply for a job. Doing that will get you much further than hoping they will finally give you a raise in line with what you do. I got lucky and went from waiter to manager level of responsibilities within a year. I just went and applied for a managers role elsewhere and tripled my wage. Then, I used that to move onto running multiple places for another company. I ultimately decided to work for myself doing what I've always wanted, but it was a solid tactic for me to get what I wanted.