Reviewing Your Career Progress

For many working people, this is the time of year they get their annual review. If you receive an annual review, it is a great time to look at your career development.  If your company provides input into your developmental needs start with them.  Ask your supervisor to provide you a list of areas they want you to improve in. When your supervisor starts covering these areas, ask him/her to provide you with as much input as they can.  Tell them you have a strong desire to improve and move up in your career.  Ask them if they can recommend someone who could act as a mentor for you.  Mentors should be someone who can help hold you accountable to make the improvements you need to make.

Change takes time and effort!  Put together an action plan and review it with  your supervisor.  This will help show the supervisor that you are serious about taking the actions needed to improve yourself.  These actions should be done, regardless of whether you will receive a promotion or not.  In today's world, just keeping your job could depend on your willingness to improve and add value to your organization and company.

Your next step should include a trip to the book store or library. Review books that cover the areas you need to develop.  Read books and take action steps to implement the suggested changes. Google search the topics you need to develop and look for on-line training and suggestions.  Find a career coach who can also help you in these areas.

If you are fortunate enough to secure a mentor or a career coach, meet with them monthly. Discuss your developmental needs and how they would suggest you address them.  If you do not have a mentor or career coach, put a 2 hour meeting on your calendar each month.  During that time, pull out your review and any recommendations your supervisor made and evaluate your own progress. Set up quarterly meetings with your supervisor to review your progress and to get additional recommendations.  Taking your supervisor on as a "informal mentor" will help them to see that your efforts to improve are serious.   Most people like to help others and their efforts should not only be followed but you should thank them for them.

Too many people I have worked with never look at their review and recommendations until a few weeks before their next review.  They spend most of the time prior to their next review "kicking themselves" for not working on the items their supervisor identified.  They even express shock when you discover that their supervisor gives them a poor review.  Not working to improve may result your losing your job.

Take responsibility for your development, whether it is at work or your personal life.  Change will not "magically" happen.  It requires hard work and someone to hold us accountable for making the change.