When it comes to managing your career, you need to be in the driver’s seat.
No one knows better than you, your long-term aspirations, motivations, strengths and growth opportunities (once you have done some self-reflection on this).
When you start your career, it is easy to go with the flow. See what happens with your first role, the next role.
Then years go by and you realise you have not fully taken charge of your career path.
So, here are my 3 tips to put you firmly in the driving seat for your career journey.
1) Be clear on expectations
As you start your first role in Marketing (or any other discipline), your line manager will tell you what is required for your role (specific knowledge, experience, capabilities and behaviours).
As you progress through your professional journey, what you need to deliver and how you deliver it will evolve with each role, with the how becoming increasingly more important as you move up in seniority.
Your line manager has a key role to play in your professional development and career progression but the person ultimately in charge is YOU.
So, take a proactive stance with your line manager and be clear on what is expected of you for each role you take on:
• Know what success looks like in the role (for your line manager and the broader organisation)
• Have a SMART development plan to acquire the required knowledge, experience, capabilities and behaviours to perform in the role
• Seek regular feedback on your performance across the year and identify further development & growth opportunities for you to work on
2) Understand the bigger picture
Career progression within an organisation can be very exciting but also frustrating if you don’t know how to move from one role to the next or what role options are ahead of you.
Take the time to understand how your organisation manages career progression, within Marketing, as well as other functions, as you might consider moving across teams to acquire different skills and experience at some point in your career.
Get clarity on:
• The desired capabilities for each role within your function (for example, does your company have a Capabilities Framework for Marketing?)
• How internal role opportunities are communicated and managed by your organisation (also understand the annual Talent discussion process)
• How Marketing roles are evolving externally and what companies are looking for
Bear in mind that companies regularly evolve their team structures, driven by business needs, so this might create / remove specific roles you are considering within your organisation.
So, keep an eye on the broader needs of your employer and anticipate where roles of interest might come up in the future.
3) Keep a positive perspective
Sometimes, you will be ready for your next Marketing role, but the position is not available within your organisation (someone is already in that role or the role doesn’t exist within the current team structure).
Other times, you think you are ready for your next Marketing role, but your line manager thinks you are not.
Both scenarios might cause you frustration and disappointment, leading you to consider leaving your organisation.
Seeking to fulfil your career aspirations externally is for sure an option and experiencing different companies and industries has many benefits.
If you like your current organisation and want to grow within it, keep a positive attitude and discuss with your line manager your options.
• How can you plug your development gaps to move to your next desired role?
• How can you continue growing in your existing role until your next position is available?
• What are the role options in other functions of interest while you wait for your desired Marketing position to come up internally?
No matter the road you decide to take (internal or external), know that you have many options to move along your professional journey.
Have positive, solutions driven conversations with your line manager, peers and mentors to progress towards your desired long-term career goal.
In summary
Like life in general, your professional journey might move quicker or slower than you expect.
There will be a lot of elements out of your control but also many within yours.
By proactively putting yourself in the driver’s seat when managing your career, you can steer your professional path towards your desired destination.
Take charge of your professional growth and development and learn from diverse sources.