Tips for Discussing Career Aspirations

It’s the career conversations you wish you’d had that can change the course of your life. So how can you have them? When people contact me for career coaching, there’s usually a belief that their current workplace doesn’t support them, that there’s no room for growth, that opportunities are limited, that their needs can’t be met, and that they aren’t valued. Sometimes it’s true. But most people have never had the conversation to find out. Only the most proactive employees ask for the conversation. So sometimes I orchestrate it. In a strengths-based leadership program and in the MBA career class I’m teaching, I implemented a “Career Conversation” assignment into the requirements. It’s my attempt to move up the conversation about “my needs, my value, my career opportunities here” from the point of leaving to the present. See, when people leave an organization it’s always, “My needs weren’t met, I didn’t feel valued, I don’t see opportunities there…” But what if we had that conversation proactively? What if managers invited it? Here’s an agenda of discussion items for your “Career Conversation:” ✔️My strengths and how I am using them and how I can use them more ✔️What’s draining me and options to shift things ✔️Contributions I’d love to make ✔️How I’d like to grow and where I’d like to go next ✔️Training or education available to help me reach my goals ✔️Realistic timelines for reaching these goals ✔️Opportunities to increase compensation I’ve seen some incredible things happen in these conversations. There are almost always more opportunities than you can see. ⭐️If you are someone pondering a job change, what would it take to have this internal conversation first? What do you have to lose? You can still leave, but at least you’ll know. ⭐️ If you are a manager, how could you proactively invite this conversation to retain your employees and help them grow before you have to have the conversation as they give their notice? Even if you know you’re job searching, consider that making a move internally might be more possible than you think. You won’t know until you’ve truly had the conversation.

I used to lie when asked how a role fit into my career plans in interviews. Because when pivoting into a new field, it makes sense you wouldn't know 🤷🏾♀️ But I've since figured out how to answer that question in a way that doesn't taint your interview but is still honest about where you are currently -- ❶ Lead with what you expect to learn in the role and how that may become an opportunity to grow with the company. Any role you take should also be an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and challenges in your area of knowledge. A healthy work environment will surely support this. ❷ Highlight how your team, colleagues and manager may offer insight Connect your potential direction to establishing a relationship and learning from your future colleagues or manager. Cite experiences in their career that you think would help guide you. ❸ Talk about the potential for exploration within the company Talk about opportunities for you to contribute or collab with other teams and how that may shape your future direction. It's okay to not have all the answers. Instead, show that you are self-aware and open to growth. What interview question used to stop you in your tracks? How did you overcome it? #careerpivot #marketing #personalbranding

𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗨𝗖𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦: Employees often assume (wrongly) that their hard work and results will be enough when managers make decisions about their future growth and promotion opportunities. Make no mistake, performance is critical for advancing your career, but it is far from the only reason employees get promoted. The unfortunate truth is judgments that leaders make about your performance are clouded by human bias and the complexity of being able to clearly delineate individual performance, when most work is done in teams. Unfortunately, this can leave employees feeling overlooked when leaders make decisions about advancement and promotions. This is why it is important to be a self-advocate about the value you bring and how you are contributing to the companies’ success. 𝗞𝗲𝘆𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 Visibility matters, when you have occasion to mention accomplishments to your leaders, do so. Help your leaders understand how your accomplishments contributed to your team’s overall success. Clearly let your leaders know that you enjoyed being involved and you are excited about your contribution. When you receive compliments from clients or customers, request that they send a note to your manager and their manager. It is okay for you to be an advocate for yourself! 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗣𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 If you and your manager do not have ongoing conversations about your career development, it is your responsibility to initiate these conversations. Take the responsibility to ask your manager if you can set up quarterly meetings that focus on your performance and ongoing development. Put together a set of draft development goals for your manager to review and give feedback. Show up prepared to engage with them about your performance, future development, and career aspirations.   Do you agree? Share your COMMENTS below. ⤵️ Subscribe to my ↗️ 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 ↗️, LinkedIn newsletter to join 37,453 others who receive biweekly practical tips for Self-Leadership and Leading Others: https://lnkd.in/dYRwgY96 ✅

A recent conversation with a mentee trying to navigate the next steps in their career reminded me of an essential rule I always emphasize: You own your career, therefore you have to be in the driver's seat. They recently received some feedback from their manager that was confusing as it didn’t align with previous feedback. The conversation on next steps was very vague. Reality check: waiting for clear guidance or validation from others can leave you stuck in neutral. Instead, you must proactively manage your own career path. Here are a few things I suggested: 1. Do a Self-Assessment You need to understand your strengths, weaknesses, passions, and career aspirations. Identify what excites you and where you see yourself in the future. Remember they can all change due to new experiences and gaining new skillsets. 2. Seek Constructive Feedback While feedback from leadership is valuable, it’s important to triangulate. Reach out to mentors, peers, and others in your function that you admire for their insights. Feedback is just one piece of the puzzle. Use it as a tool for improvement, not as a definitive roadmap. You never know when you might run into an unconscious bias. 3. Continuous Learning and Development I’m ever curious and always looking for learning opportunities. Look for opportunities to learn from other functions. The business world is continusly changing, and staying on top of the game, requires investing time to learn. Stay informed about your current industry trends but also look for best practices in others. 4. Advocate for Yourself People can’t read your mind, so they don’t know what your career goals and aspirations are. Don’t be afraid to articulate them to your leadership. Express your interest in new projects, responsibilities, or roles that align with your goals. 5. Adaptability and Resilience Career paths are rarely linear. My own has been a lattice. Be adaptable. Embrace challenges and view setbacks as learning experiences. Being in the driver's seat of your career means taking an intentional role in your professional development. While others can give you guidance, the ultimate responsibility for your career lies with you. What else would you tell him?