Career Development: What Can You Do to Advocate for Your Own Progress?

Ideally, career development is a collaborative process. And, of course, company leadership and management have crucial roles to play.

In a workplace committed to developing its employees, leadership will invest time, energy, and tangible resources into training employees and developing their careers. 

Managers and supervisors will look for ways to build on strengths, shore up weaknesses, and help their team members develop the skills and knowledge they need to progress. This part of the process includes setting SMART goals for development and regularly monitoring progress.

But if you’re counting on your company to do all the work, you’re hurting your chances of career progression. 

There are two reasons for that.

For one, not every company is committed to career development in a way that connects with employees. One survey shows that 59% of employees think their company rarely or never shows interest in helping them grow their career.

Maybe they don’t know the value of a solid career development plan. Or maybe they have a development system in place, but expect employees to know instinctively how to use it without any guidance.

And two, even in a company that’s serious about career development, your managers and leaders might question your desire for career development if you’re not taking an active role in making it happen. They have finite resources, and they need to allocate them where they’ll be most effective.

Need help expressing your career goals? Check out How to Become a Better Communicator

So, what can you do to play your role effectively in the collaborative process of developing your career? These three tactics will mark you as serious about your own progress.

Make it a regular part of your meetings with your manager or supervisor.

If you have weekly meetings, and you only bring up career development when it’s time for goal-setting at your annual performance review, you’re missing roughly four dozen chances to identify opportunities and work out plans to make the most of them.

Of course, you have to discuss where things are now: progress on your current tasks, what’s coming up next, any immediate challenges you’re facing in getting things done. But don’t miss out on any chances to discuss an even bigger role in your team or company. How completing those tasks, planning for future projects, and overcoming challenges is helping you get better at what you do now.

This shows long-term thinking and an understanding of the bigger picture – both crucial to your progress – and allows your manager or supervisor to build on that understanding with observations or suggestions you might not have thought about.

Ask for specific feedback, and then act on it.

Initiative is a great asset when it comes to career development – but an accurate assessment of your strengths and weaknesses is even more important. You can’t get where you want to go without knowing what you need to get there.

So when you get feedback, whether it feels good or stings, dig into specifics. Find out what went right – or wrong. Get specifics on what you did well, or what you should do next time to get better results. Ask clarifying questions – open-ended questions, not “yes” or “no” questions – and repeat the answers back in your own words to show that you understand.

Then prove you’ve understood it by acting on it. Management and leadership will want to see that you’re capable of actually making needed changes, not just paying lip service to them.

Ask for work that will challenge you in specific ways and provide specific value to your team or company.

Specificity is vital here. This shows that you’ve thought about your request and tailored it according to both your needs and the needs of your organization.

Which request sounds more committed to that concept?

“I’d like to do some marketing writing. It sounds interesting and it would be another tool in my skillset.”

“Would you let me take a run at the monthly marketing newsletter? That’s an area I’d like to explore, and that way I could pitch in for those times when you get swamped.”

The second option shows that you aren’t just committed to your own development; you also want to develop in ways that don’t just benefit you.

More responsibility and an expanded skillset might not translate into promotions right away. But they put you in a better position to advocate for advancement – and to succeed when you get there.