Successful people think long-term about their career.
Do you?
So you’ve been in the working world for a few years, and after some initial success, you’re finding that your career trajectory has slowed down – you haven’t had a big promotion, raise, or even a call from a recruiter in a while, and you don’t know why.
Well, assuming that you have some decent basic skills, aren’t living in an economically depressed area, and aren’t Lindsay Lohan, the answer probably lies somewhere in the following 5 areas:
1. You’ve done too much job-jumping
If you’ve had more than 3 or 4 full-time jobs in the past 2 years, and aren’t able to adequately explain why none of them ‘took’, you may be looking like a bad risk to a potential employer, or a risky proposition to your current one.
How to combat this? If you’re applying to jobs, offer brief explanations in your covering email (“The company went out of business” or “Seasonal contract position”) that make it clear that you didn’t just change your mind and leave previous jobs. If you’re hoping to advance in your current position, you might just have to wait a few months until your manager is confident you’re going to stick around – it wouldn’t hurt to make it clear you’re thinking long-term by saying things like “I’m setting up the system so that when we do this next year we’ll be ahead of the game!”
2. You’re invisible online
If you haven’t had a call from a recruiter in a while, it’s probably because you’re invisible from a Google perspective. These days, 99% of recruiters start their search online, and most of them start from LinkedIn and work outward. If you haven’t got a profile on LinkedIn, recruiters won’t find you, and if your only online presence is a LinkedIn profile that hasn’t been updated since 2009, you aren’t going to make a recruiter’s top 10 list.
3. You’re invisible at work
When was the last time you put your hand up and asked for an extra project or to lead a new initiative? It’s hard for managers to notice you as a rising star if you’ve just been keeping your head down and getting your basic work done. No new initiatives on the horizon? Invent one! Offer to become the environmental coordinator, organize a charity event, or write a guest blog for your company’s website and then take it to your manager. Even if your offers aren’t accepted right away, you’ll get noticed as an enthusiastic go-getter who really wants to do more.
4. You haven’t kept in touch with former colleagues
Recruiters know that the best candidates come through referrals, so a referred candidate always takes priority over someone who just submits an application. By the same token, the best opportunities tend to turn up because someone you know thinks you’re ‘perfect’ for the position. It’s hard for people to recommend you if you haven’t spoken to them since the last day you worked with them, 3 years ago.
No, you can’t be best friends with everyone you ever worked with, but if you make an effort to keep in touch with, say, 3 people from every job you’ve ever had, you’ll increase your career prospects exponentially.
5. You’re not in the right job
It sounds like a cliche, but it’s true: In order to have a really successful career, you have to genuinely love – or at least like, most days! – what you do. When you enjoy what you do, you don’t mind coming in early and staying late, going the extra mile, and thinking about your future. When you don’t…well, let’s just say that managers aren’t in a hurry to promote employees who they know aren’t fully engaged in their work.
If you’re finding it harder and harder to come in early, stay late, or make that extra effort, it may be time to consider making a move. The first step? Make a list of the elements you think go into the ‘ideal job’ (everything from ‘great co-workers’ to ‘managing a team’ to ‘a shorter commute’ to ‘opportunities to be creative’, if these things are important to you). The more you know about what your ideal job looks like, the easier it will be to either transition your current role or look for a great new one!