0Finding You.
We are at the edge of a major reshuffle in the way businesses will be run. Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning will directly impact a large chunk of jobs done by people. Amidst this melodrama, career growth or career progression is an interesting challenge that professionals today are dealing with. Jeevan, a commerce graduate, was fascinated to see his friends and acquaintances working in multinational set-ups. He was awestruck by the kind of experience they shared, the cuisine they got to relish, the lavish parties they were entertained at and the opportunities they got to interact with westerners. Jeevan, an ambitious you man, hence took a plunge for his first career break with a leading business process outsourcing firm. He accepted the clauses of working in night shifts and was desperate to be part of the happening crowd. Fast forward five years, Jeevan and thousands of young, ambitious professionals are entangled in a web, from where they are unable to free themselves. At work they don't seem to get growth opportunities, barring a meagre salary hike now and then. Age is catching up and so are financial commitments, and they still seem to be struggling to move up the ladder. The organisation has made it very clear that opportunities are not frequent and whenever they happen in the form of an IJP - Internal Job Posting, only the best of the best get the opportunity. More often than not, when it comes to leadership roles, organisations find it easier to hire a ready-made talent from the market rather than giving the opportunity to an internal talent and grooming them. Hence for Jeevan, it is either stay or quit and even if he moves to a different organisation, he gets placed in a similar position, and the cycle continues. So, what do people like Jeevan need to do to avoid falling into the trap? How do they beat the competition, differentiate themselves from the rest and come out as successful professionals?
1. As you cover a distance of 12 - 18 months in a particular role in your organisation, make your aspirations very clear to your manager
2. Ask your manager to suggest what steps you need to take to help you move to your next best role
3. Identify people who are already in that role you are aspiring for and find ways to connect with them frequently. Seek insights on what methods they applied to achieve what they wanted
4. Focus on your strengths. Realistic aspirations are the key to professional success. Aspire for roles where you can apply your strengths. Your strengths must be known to people, and colleagues must endorse your strengths. It must be so evident that people can bet their money when it comes to your competencies
5. Engage with your HR Business partner at least once a month. Spend at least half an hour with her and understand what shape the organisation is taking, know what kind of opportunities are coming up and check if any particular skills sets are in demand
6. Every 12 months, choose two competencies which you want to develop. This must be over and above your objectives and targets. Make a development plan to develop those competencies. Find someone who can coach you on that competency
7. In your current role demonstrate excellence, work towards being the best team member your manager could have so that his confidence in you will impact his decisions to recommend a promotion
8. Explore support functions like HR, ADMIN, Supply Chain, Finance where you could diversify. It is not engraved on a stone that you have to grow within your line of operations.
9. Look for opportunities when you can take up a small task from your manager. Be it a scheduling task, compiling data for a presentation or volunteering to coordinate an upcoming team meeting, in all these situations remember to bring your strength forward. This where most people stumble, in the excitement to volunteer they pick up responsibilities which will stretch them meaninglessly and does not come close to demonstrating their strengths.
10. Be a spokesperson for the organisation. During breaks, meets and informal gatherings speak good and positive about the organisation and the function you are in. Let people know you as a proponent of the organisation's culture rather than a critique
Follow these practices, and I can assure you, you will stand apart from the crowd, be an example to many and come out in flying colours.
