If your career looks anything like mine, you’ve spent more than your fair share of time watching other people around you get promoted while you stay put. It can feel sometimes like you’re stuck in career quicksand. And, If you’re like me, I’m willing to bet that you occasionally (often?) look around the table during company meetings and scratch your head at some of the people that seem to be rising up the corporate ladder ahead of you.
Related:7 Reasons Why You Lost That Promotion
It hurts, I know. For smart, ambitious managers and aspiring executives, there is very little that's more painful than watching your peers jump ahead of you – especially when you’re sure they’re less talented than you are. To make matters worse, major promotions seem to be increasingly scarce these days as our organizational structures get flatter and flatter, which means you have fewer opportunities than ever to make big advances in your career.
As managers, we too often fool ourselves into thinking the company will eventually recognize and reward our hard work and reliability, and as a result we adopt overly passive career strategies. We mistakenly assume that people are paying attention to our dependable work and value it enough to promote us.
Unfortunately, that’s not the reality of the environment we work in. To actually get ahead in a company these days you need to actively differentiate yourself from your peers. You have to find creative ways to separate yourself from the pack that go well beyond the fundamentals of working hard and being reliable - you have to outplay them to win.
Here are three of the most effective strategies for differentiating yourself at work. They aren’t predicated on intelligence or talent or hard work to be successful either. You don’t need a special degree to learn these tactics. You can implement them tomorrow. They worked for me, and I think they can work for you, too.
1. Separate From The Herd
It’s very comforting and often therapeutic to gripe and gossip with peers at work. I see people do it all the time. We are naturally drawn to this behavior especially in times of change and uncertainty. You should never do it. We also tend to network exclusively with people at our own level or below in the company because it’s comfortable and easy. It’s a waste of time.
To actually get ahead in a company, you need to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Gravitating to the herd has the opposite effect. Next time when you feel tempted to gossip or gripe with your fellow peers, don’t do it. Instead, make a list of key influencers over your career success and focus your networking efforts on them.
2. Find Bigger Problems To Solve
When it comes to career advancement, small wins and reliable performance do not put a winning score on the board. Managers who play a game based on reliability tend to become known only for their mistakes. Mistakes, unlike small wins, reverberate across the company – they get noticed. So, when mistakes inevitably happen, the reliable manager hasn’t put up enough points to make up for them.
It pays to pursue a big win strategy, even at the expense of making more small mistakes. Big wins are memorable, they build attention outside your department, and they’re like bait for promotions. Find a process to improve or a special project to take on even if it falls outside your core objectives. These are the things people will notice and promote you for.
3. Embrace The Changes Everyone Else Hates
Because human beings are naturally opposed to change, the greatest moments for career advancement very often come in times of uncertainty and disruption. During these periods, like in an acquisition or management shake-up, the opportunities for promotion are at their greatest and your competition are at their worst. While your peers are rebelling to change and worrying what the future may hold, you need to be executing your advancement strategy. Being positive and strategic when everyone around you is negative and defensive will elevate you above your competition.
Promotions are scarce. It can take years for the right opportunity to present itself. You need differentiate yourself from your competition to maximize your chances for success when they finally come around. Add these three strategies into your game plan and watch your career take off.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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