
How should people turn jobs into careers? If you are currently employed, what are you doing to make sure that you have a 'bigger job' next year (either more money, more responsibility, different responsibility or whatever else your goals are).
In general, I am really interested in what other Jobcasers have to say about this - so I don't want to bias with my thoughts up front. But I will say that the first step is identifying what it is you want. If you don't articulate the goal to yourself then how will you get it?? This is a time in labor markets where you need to be your own Agent and take charge of your own career. Don't wait for someone in a corner office to chart your career path for you - you need to do it yourself.
That said - what do you think? How do you think about getting ahead - and what does that even mean for you anyways? #promotion #achievement #raise #ambition #success

Networking and looking for mentoring opportunities has helped me get ahead in the past. I’ve worked for companies where one has to apply for advanced job openings so building a good reputation and bonding with the right people is key to being selected from an application pool. Who you know and who know’s you is important.

That’s a real tough one to answer. I’ve been at companies where I worked hard, volunteered for extra job assignments, and always went out of my way to learn new skills with no career progress. In my opinion, there’s too much emphasis on personalities and being that “likable” employee with little to no consideration on skill, passion, and aggressive spirit to grow professionally. The old fashion corporate career path had less bias and more opportunities for the ambitious workers. But I’m all ears if someone can show or point me to a scientific strategy to succeed in today's workplace. Thanks

Thanks for this Fred. I can be pretty bad about really setting goals for myself. I'll try to work on that so I can continue to grow myself in all areas!
I don’t think knowing where you are going should be pre-requisite for advancing, the world is changing so fast, that it’s hard to predict the future. From my experience there are several keys for advancement: