Let’s admit it – most of us are on cruise control! Then suddenly we realize our career may be in jeopardy. All of a sudden we’re scrambling to do something fast!
The Solution: Pay attention to these four situations that can put you in the “hot seat” and your career in a potential down spiral.
1. New Boss: Don’t Rest On Your Laurels.
Realize that the person has to size up quickly each of her direct reports and make decisions about her team. Start managing up. Be prepared when she schedules a meeting to “get to know you and what you do better”. You need to make a good first impression.
Develop a short presentation focusing on your accomplishments -the problems encountered and how you handled them. Ask about her priorities for the department. Now start making the connection between the priorities and how you can meet them.
2. A Big Mistake: What Do I Do Now?
The good news is that mistakes, even big ones, don’t have to be a career setback or leave a permanent mark on your career brand. The key is to recover quickly and put in place actions that will correct the situation. Here’s what one senior leader said during a leadership retreat:
“Who among us doesn’t make mistakes? I love employees who fess up, treat the mistake as a learning moment and move on. I don’t want them to stop experimenting or holding back because of fear of making another misstep. Therefore, I have to accept a mistake now and then so that they will keep learning and getting better.”
3. A Big Promotion: Are You Over Your Head?
Did you know that nearly half of all new leaders fail in the first 18 months? Many of them were surprised to discover that what got them there wasn’t enough to keep them there. I’ve seen many careers get derailed because the person was promoted into a position that required additional and different skill sets. You can’t rely solely on you high performing technical experience. You also need to develop your leadership skills.
4. Feeling Stuck: You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling
You start out excited with where you are and what you’re doing. Then after a couple of years you’re unchallenged, unenthusiastic and just got passed over for a promotion.
If you career stalls, don’t wait for the career fairy to appear and make everything better. It’s up to you. What career options can you start exploring for challenge, variety, or greater personal satisfaction? What internal training or external seminars will enhance your marketability? Who can mentor you to get your career moving?
Career Success Tip:
To avoid getting blindsided, every year and perhaps even twice a year, conduct a career assessment no matter how confident you are that things are going well. Too many people try to manage their careers without having a sense of how they are seen by others – particularly by those who have influence – your boss, your peers, upper management and even your customers. Also see Challenges You May Face In Your Career and My Boss is a Control Freak.
Do you want to develop Career Smarts?
- For more resources, see the Library topic Career Management.
- Start with the Career Success System.
- Sign up for Career Power: 101 success tips.
- Fast track your career. Be part of a Success Team.
- Need a speaker? Get the Edge Keynotes-webinars-workshops.
- Find career and leadership boosters in the Smart Moves Blog.
- Copyright © 2012 Marcia Zidle career and leadership coach.
Great advice! Some additional tips on this topic:
1. New Boss: Don’t Rest On Your Laurels. I recently got a new boss 3 months ago. The good part was that she was a fellow co-worker so I pretty much knew what to expect. The bad part was that she was wasn’t new so…she pretty much knew what to expect from each of us. She immediately sought me out and asked for my support, consultation, and confidence. She knew immediately who she could rely upon and who she couldn’t. Tip: You CAN’T pull the wool over a former coworker’s eyes who has now been promoted as your new supervisor—they already know you!
2. A Big Mistake: What Do I Do Now? I make it a habit to “report myself” and to “own” my mistakes. Your supervisor will have greater respect for your honesty, they know that you won’t try to hide anything from them, and they will have the utmost confidence in you whenever you do mistakenly do something wrong that it was unintentional, and that you will own up to it, correct it, and learned and grown from it and immediately move on.
3. A Big Promotion: Are You Over Your Head? Know when to say “when.” All that glitters is NOT gold. I recently passed up the promotion that my coworker is now filling. It was about a 10K per annum pay raise, but the headaches, experience level, and overall knowledgebase for that position was not yet within my grasp. Instead of placing myself into a potentially embarrassing position of inadequate leadership, I declined applying, despite the vote of confidence from all around me, including our outgoing supervisor whom was retiring, and I opted to pass, learn, grow, and be groomed over time for the position whenever it becomes available once again. I have great peace of mind with my choice, and she is doing a great job, which I don’t feel that I would have been able to say about myself at this point in the same position.
4. Feeling Stuck: You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling: In my opinion, the very best place to start looking for job satisfaction is …at your job. Much like a real life relationship, revisit what it was that drew you to that job or organization in the first place. Remember the newness, the freshness, the liveliness if just starting out there as a new employee. The same way that individuals must sometimes renew their personal relationships…find a way to “renew” things at work. Rearrange your office or cubicle. Bring in ne pictures, paintings, or decorations. Switch work spaces with someone in the same department (if it is not too much of an IT hassle). Go meet and converse with employees from other department or within your office complex that you don’t regularly get to talk to. Go for a walk after eating lunch whenever possible. Simply try to bring in a fresh perspective instead of “dragging” yourself in everyday. Change is as mental as it is physical!