How to climb up the career ladder

How to climb up the career ladder

If you are reading this article, you are likely looking for ways to improve your chances of a promotion at work, to climb the career ladder. While many people adopt a strategy of ‘job hopping’ to climb the career ladder, others will aim to make inroads within their organisation.

You might find climbing the career ladder to be frustrating, especially if you feel that you are frequently overlooked for promotion. It’s important not to lose motivation when attempting to climb the career ladder. Maybe there is a lack of opportunities within your company, or perhaps others have simply been better at highlighting their abilities to senior management.

When looking to climb the career ladder, attitude is key. If you consistently display a good attitude and a willingness to help colleagues, then it’s only a matter of time until senior colleagues consider you for more challenging roles. However, there are some other things you can do to speed up the process.

In this article, we will explore some of the best tips for climbing the career ladder.

View our full range of professional qualifications to help you upskill and land that promotion at work. 

Set your career goals

First off, you must do some soul-searching to figure out what your career goals are. This might sound basic, but maybe your lack of success is because of a lack of clarity over the sort of role you are looking to progress into.

If you work for a large organisation where there are many departments, it might be useful to think about which department you could see yourself working in. If your ambition is to manage a team, think about the size of the team and the sort of projects you would like to oversee.

Writing your career goals and breaking down the steps to get you to your end goal is a great way to gain a clear overview of your ambitions.

Communicate your ambition

Once you have a solid plan of where you want to go, it’s time to communicate your ambition to others. If you have regular appraisals with a manager, this is a good time to talk about your career aspirations. Your manager should listen to your ambitions and assist you in taking steps towards your goal. This could take the form of offering training or an opportunity to gain experience in another department if possible.

Once you have communicated your ambitions to your manager, update your LinkedIn profile and CV to state your career aspirations to potential employers.

Upskill yourself

Now you have a clear idea about what your career goals are and have communicated your goals to management you can go about equipping yourself with the skills you need to move your career forwards. Perhaps you dream of becoming a manager, but need to improve your budgeting and finance skills before you make the change. Maybe you want to enter a different field altogether, such as IT or Project Management.

Taking the time to upskill yourself can be highly beneficial for your career. Not only does it mean you have the chance to learn new skills, but it also signals to employers and senior colleagues that you have the drive and determination to dedicate yourself to learning these new skills.

Lord Taylor joins the drive to upskill the Nation.

Become an asset to the company

Another strategy for climbing the career ladder is to become an asset to your company. Being seen as an asset to the company should mean that management will come to you if there are any progression opportunities. However, it can take several years to create a great reputation and there are no shortcuts for becoming indispensable to your company.

When looking to become an asset to your company, aim to be reliable at all times, helpful to colleagues (both managers and those on lower pay grades). If you do your best to become indispensable to your company, your hard work and dedication will eventually pay off.

Network

Our final tip for climbing the career ladder is to network with relevant professionals. This could refer to either in-person networking or online networking on sites like LinkedIn. Networking is a great way to meet relevant hiring managers and make a good impression long before a new role comes up. While it's difficult to be confident enough to approach senior managers, break the ice by discussing a work-related project.

While it’s true that communication comes more naturally to some people than others, there are many things you can do to improve your networking skills. Read our latest LinkedIn tips guide, to discover how best to build your brand on LinkedIn.

Summary

In conclusion, there are plenty of tactics you can employ to climb the career ladder in your organisation. Use the tips in this article to prove your credentials to senior managers and show off your capabilities.

Interested in a training course? To get started or discuss your requirements in more detail, call our Course Consultants on +44 (0) 20 3198 7700 or fill out our contact form and someone will be in touch with you to go through your training options.