Creating data points to optimise career progression
Suit: You outside the organisation
How are data points relevant when it comes to your professional development? The first step in overcoming barriers to your career progression, whether they are internal or external, is to identify them. Conducting an audit of your role, the opportunities available within your company or the market as a whole will allow you to take stock of the obstacles in the way of your career progression. It will also highlight the amount of effort you’ll have to put in to overcome them, and whether or not that effort is worth it.
Barriers to career enhancement include:
Barriers to your progression could be anything internal (such as your skill set) or external (such as the current market). For example, you may feel you’ve reached a glass ceiling in your job and have to leave to gain more experience. The industry could also be saturated and opportunities could be quite difficult to find in your particular field.
Gathering data for career progression
Start by gathering data: have informal conversations, talk to managers or colleagues you trust, reach out to recruiters, ask questions about the state of the market and search for role descriptions or vacancies that are similar to yours to establish up-to-date expectations or salary ranges.
Some of the barriers to your career development will be easy to overcome, others won’t (have a look at our coaching cards for some more info). Ask yourself how important they are, and whether it’s worth putting the effort in. Remember there are no wrong answers here. It’s all about you and your goals. For example, a dream job may require a woman to work as part of a fairly male-dominated team. Whilst some will be happy to take on the challenge, others will prefer to look for a role in a more inclusive environment.
Make sure you have a comprehensive view of where you want to go and what’s blocking your way, so you can prepare for the journey, or even change your destination should the journey turn out to be too arduous. And if you need help in figuring it out, make sure you book a call with us or visit our career pathway & development services page for free resources.
Career Coaching Cards: Explained
This is a new series of blog posts, that explain our Career Coaching cards in more depth.
This is a new series of blog posts that explain our Career Coaching cards in more depth.
Our deck of cards features 52 questions, each designed to help guide better career conversations and connect more deeply with the individuals you’re having these conversations with.
We have released a blog for each of the coaching cards, which goes into more detail about the question on the card, the reason behind the question and what you are looking to get out of it during your career conversation.
Book Coach on Demand now
Our Coach on Demand service supports your employees with easily accessible, flexible and virtual coaching sessions, providing employees with a safe space to explore the challenges they are experiencing as part of their career development.
Your colleagues are just a few clicks away from accessing an experienced, professional coach from the comfort of their home at a time that suits them.
Fill out the enquiry form on our Coach on Demand page and a member of our team will be in touch within 24 hours.