Ignite Your Confidence with Karen Laos

5 Ways to Advance Your Career

Episode Notes

There are strategic things we can do to advance - the key is to be intentional and make a plan! See below for 5 ways to do it!

  1. Build a strategic skillset: Identify skills that are both in high demand in your industry and align with your career goals. Focus on developing technical expertise alongside transferable skills like leadership, communication, and problem-solving that will remain valuable as you progress. Create a deliberate learning plan with regular milestones.
  2. Cultivate meaningful relationships: Develop genuine connections with mentors, peers, and industry contacts who can provide guidance, opportunities, and advocacy. Schedule regular coffee chats, contribute to professional communities, and find ways to provide value to others in your network before asking for help.
  3. Seek visibility for your work: Volunteer for high-impact projects, share your accomplishments appropriately, and look for opportunities to present your work to decision-makers. Document your achievements and quantifiable results to build a compelling case for advancement when opportunities arise.
  4. Request and apply feedback effectively: Actively seek constructive criticism from supervisors, colleagues, and direct reports. Demonstrate your growth mindset by implementing feedback visibly and following up with those who provided it. This shows maturity and dedication to continuous improvement.
  5. Take calculated career risks: Step outside your comfort zone by pursuing stretch assignments, lateral moves to develop new skills, or roles in emerging areas of your organization or industry. These strategic pivots often accelerate growth more than staying in a safe but stagnant position.

 

Some resources for you:

Want to see how you score as a confident communicator? 

Take The Confidence Cocktail Assessment: https://karenlaos.com/confidence-cocktail-fb/

 

Project more confidence and credibility with my free tips: 9 Words to Avoid & What to Say Instead: https://karenlaos.lpages.co/words-to-avoid/

 

My book “Trust Your Own Voice”: https://karenlaos.com/book/

 

Episodes also available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEwQoTGdJX5eME0ccBKiKng/videos