Career Mistakes and How to Overcome Them

PAGE INDEX:
First Year on the Job             
Six Career Mistakes
Other Career Mistakes
10 Career Change Mistakes to Avoid
How to Overcome Career Mistakes
Strategies to Move Up the Corporate Ladder
Five Key Actions for Career Success
How to Move Up the Corporate Ladder
Top 10 Steps to Catapult Your Career Up the Corporate Ladder
 

First Year on the Job Mistakes -  top

The First Year is Different
It is a transition stage; you are not a college student anymore but not yet a professional
The first year is a “breaking in” stage
Have appropriate expectations
Know how to establish yourself and learn the way things are done
Earn credibility and respect
Very important time for your career ladder
Does it Really Matter?
Yes!! The way you enter an organization will have a major impact on your success
Success depends on impressions you make
Research suggests how you approach your first year will have major impact on your salary, advancement, and ability to move within the organization
Your challenge is to use strategies to establish yourself as a bright, capable and valuable.
It can take years to recover from a bad start
Success Strategies
1. Slow Down-Thoughts are you must make a “Big Splash” to impress your company. If you do this before you have earned acceptance and truly understand the company, chances are you will embarrass yourself. What makes the most positive impression is not showing how much you know, but rather demonstrating the maturity to know how much you don’t know!
2. Learn the Culture-Every company has its own personality and culture and set of rules, often unspoken. Pay attention to the way things are done. Learn what the norms are and how other behave. For example, one new hire was quick to criticize a project only to find out that it was started by one of his senior managers! Remember you can’t change the culture until you are accepted into it.
3. Manage a Good Impression-You are in a fish bowl your first year. Many will be assessing your ability to succeed. Build a good professional record. You want your co-workers to notice your professional maturity, not your college ways. They want to see a readiness to change and an attitude that is realistic about your role.
4. Learn the Art of Being New-Requires a new way of thinking. Accept your role as a newcomer. You must learn the tasks of the organization as well as the “rites of passage.”
5. Manage Your Expectations-Major frustration of new graduates is their expectations are not met. Keep them realistic and expect to be surprised. The image the recruiter painted is probably not quite realistic and it is doubtful you will receive the same attention you did when you were being recruited. Real world is different than college. The job probably won’t be as glamorous as you thought. People skills and teamwork are crucial. Many college grads say the challenges are different than they expected. More pressure, hrs. and types of tasks different.
6. Become a Savvy Subordinate-The single most important person is your new boss. Be sure what you do supports your boss. Learn what your boss wants and expects and bring solutions not problems. You can’t be a good leader until you have been a good follower. A bad boss is not a legitimate excuse for a poor performance. It is your responsibility to make the first year transition a success.
College is a Different World
You have 17 years in education-hard to let go
May be surprised to learn that many of the skills you acquired in college are rarely the ones needed in the workplace
If you have the same expectations of your supervisor as you did your college professor you will be greatly disappointed
Learn the culture of work and don’t embarrass yourself by taking classroom behavior into the workplace
Examples-you are taught to argue your point with a college professor-try that with your supervisor. No syllabus to follow. At work A’s only are accepted. College was an individual effort and work is a team effort.
Let go of those old college ways.
12 Steps to First Year Success
Adopt the right attitudes
Adjust your expectations
Master-breaking-in skills
Manage the impression you make
Build effective relationships
Become a good follower
Understand your organization’s culture
Develop organizational savvy
Understand your new role
Develop work-savvy
Master the tasks of your job
Acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities you need
 

The Following Six Career Mistakes are Common Reasons for Slow or No Advancement. Are You Committing Any of Them? -  top

Neglecting to "Manage Up"
A healthy relationship with your boss truly matters, regardless of your personal opinion of him or her. Every employee has a responsibility to support management. If you cannot do so, find another job. There are terrible bosses that ask you to do things that go against your value system. But is your boss truly in this category? Talking about your boss behind his or her back is sometimes very tempting. However, it shows poor judgment. Managers appreciate proactive, loyal employees who are committed to the company's objectives. Take the time to know what is important to your boss. Allow him or her to explain things you don't fully understand. Above all, remember this: A bosses' job is not easy. Do your part to make it as smooth as possible.
Keeping Company With the Wrong People
You might consider it unfair that judgments are made about you depending on the people you associate with. Nevertheless, it's human nature, and you can count on being evaluated in this manner. After all, people with high standards usually seek each other out. Similarly, those with negative outlooks are comfortable commiserating with fellow pessimists. Choosing to be around dynamic and energetic coworkers carries a double reward. You will be viewed as a positive person who deserves quality friends. Furthermore, their energy will no doubt be contagious, and challenge you to be your best. Friends who are not held in esteem within your company may be holding you back.
Being "Me-focused" Instead of "Company-Focused"
Employees who constantly "look out for number one" are quite annoying to both management and peers. Do you complain about your low salary? Do you consider promotions owed to you, rather than something that must be earned? Do you use your maximum sick time, viewing it as extra vacation time? Your focus should be on finding ways to help your company instead of benefiting or promoting yourself. Don't be overly preoccupied with whether or not you are getting everything you deserve. It shows you have a very narrow focus. You are much more likely to realize career advancement and personal satisfaction with a big picture mindset.
Displaying Unreliable Behavior
Dependability is a fundamental foundation of career success. It's dangerous to overlook this basic characteristic. You can be the hardest worker in the company, but if people cannot rely on your promises, you won't be respected. Reliability is a cornerstone of not only career success but also your reputation in general. Punctuality and regular attendance are key indicators of a responsible employee. Following through on promises is also of paramount importance. If you commit to something, make sure it happens. Your trustworthiness will never be questioned if people are able to fully rely on your word.
Refusing to Admit Mistakes
It is refreshing when employees admit their errors, and view them as opportunities to learn. After all, how much imagination does it take to make excuses? A much more admirable approach would be to own up to the fact the mistake was yours. Then, go a step further to explain your plan for both correcting and avoiding it in the future. Employees who accept responsibility demonstrate professional maturity and confidence. Your credibility will be higher if you are honest about your errors and strive to correct them.
Becoming Complacent
Nothing is more impressive than an employee who goes the extra mile. Big picture thinkers move ahead quickly by looking beyond the current task at hand. They don't wait for others to identify and pursue areas needing improvement. Enthusiastic employees who are not afraid to take risks find themselves noticed and rewarded. Those that simply serve their time won't get very far in a quality organization. Complacency is also evident by those who neglect to keep their skills up to date. If you are serious about moving ahead, take as many professional courses as you can. Keep your skills razor-sharp. The more talents you bring to the table, the more invaluable you become to your company.

Other Career Mistakes-  top
Feeling indispensable
We’d all like to think that no one else can do the job as well as us, but no matter how skilled you are, no company wants to feel its fortunes ride on a single person.

Contrary to what you might think, becoming too indispensable in a position may actually limit your ability to be promoted. Who else can do the job, after all? To advance your career, you need to identify and mentor your own successor. If you’re in a managerial position, look for high achievers in your department who have expressed interest in what you do. Find out what their aspirations are, and if they’d like to move up, give them increasing responsibilities. Take the time to teach them what you know. Your manager will likely be more willing to promote you if she feels you have a second-in-command who can take your place.
Taking the wrong job
Accepting a position without considering your overall career path can delay your goals. Too often, people are so eager to get a “foot in the door” that they take any job available, particularly if they’ve been unemployed for some time. In the short term, you’ll have a paycheck, but it’s important to make your goals clear when you’re hired so you’re not pigeonholed into a certain area.

If fiscally possible, it makes more sense to wait for the right position to come along. However, you could also take a position as a stepping-stone to another. For example, if you accept a job as part of a team that’s focused on upgrading a company’s software and hardware when what you really want to do is work in the Web technology division, you’ll need to make it clear to the hiring manager that you’d like to end up in another group in your department.
Staying in a job you dislike
You’ve likely been around people who are unhappy at work—they’re often negative and have few positive things to say about the company and the position. If you’re miserable where you are, it soon shows up in your attitude and your work. It’s better to find a new job you’ll enjoy than to potentially receive bad evaluations and few recommendations for future positions.

If you’re just uninspired or somewhat dissatisfied, however, take the time to look at the source of your unhappiness. Is it the job, the people you work with or the career path? Determine what the problem is, and work to address it. If you just need a few new projects to challenge you, ask your boss if you can expand your responsibilities. Managers rarely deny requests for more work. If you need a complete change, take the time to investigate your alternatives so you can make an informed choice.
Resenting your boss
More than any other factor, how well you work with your manager impacts your ability to be effective in your job—and how much satisfaction you derive from it. Throughout your career you may find yourself working for people whose decisions may be inconsistent and whose demands sometimes seem unreasonable. It’s difficult to change what’s not in your control, but you can take steps to modify your actions.

What do you contribute to your relationship with your boss and what can you change? For example, if communication seems to be an issue, ask your boss how he prefers to interact. One manager may prefer e-mail updates and another informal drop-ins. Some bosses prefer weekly project reports, and others only need one every other week. If your attempts to improve the relationship are unsuccessful and you still think the situation is intolerable, speak to a superior or your human resources department.
Displaying irresponsible behavior
Dependability is a foundation of career success and your reputation in general. You may be the hardest worker in the company, but if other people believe that they can’t rely on you, your opportunities for advancement are limited.

Punctuality and regular attendance are indicators of a responsible employee, as is following through on your promises. If you commit to something—such as giving your word that you’d have a project done by a certain date—make sure you do it.
Job-Hopping
While there is some merit to gaining experience at a variety of companies, if you’ve had several jobs in as many years, employers might question your loyalty.

Some managers might see a job-hopper as someone who is more concerned with her own career goals than the company’s objectives. Others might be worried about hiring and training a person who could potentially leave after a year or two.
___________________________________________________________________

By Scott Reeves
Forbes Mag.
Not knowing what is expected of you
No one wants a drone or a yes-man, but if you don't understand the corporate culture and if you don't know what's expected of you, you're gone.
Feeling that money is everything
Don't create the impression that you're working just for a paycheck. That's the hallmark of a clock-puncher and will kill all chances for advancement.
Gossiping at the water cooler
Don't chatter endlessly about who's in and who's out. To do so reflects badly on you and takes time away from turning the wheels. Your boss will notice if you spend more time yapping than working.
Missing deadlines
Missing deadlines will back up the whole show and make your boss look bad. A bad hair day is no excuse for missing a deadline. Work late to get the job done if you have to.
Not adhering to cubicle etiquette
Privacy's nonexistent in a cubicle, so don't have phone conversations that you don't want others to hear. Personal decorative touches should be tasteful.
Sending personal e-mails are death
Here's a basic truth many employees miss: The company e-mail system is for company business. Don't use it to gossip, and don't write anything that you don't want read by the boss, because many systems save deleted messages to a master file.
Being isolated in the office leaves you vulnerable
You don't have to constantly hang out with co-workers after hours, but don't isolate yourself with standoffish behavior. You don't want to be seen as someone who thinks you're too good for the proletariat. Extend the simple courtesies to your co-workers: good morning, good night, please, thanks. Your mother was right: Manners count.
Climbing ego mountain
No one likes an egomaniac, and for good reason: They're boring, obnoxious, trivial people. Listen to what your co-workers tell you. Ask questions. Learn from the experienced hands. Improve your skills and boost your productivity.
Taking credit for others' work
It's a familiar tale: The office go-getter takes credit for other people's work. Such people overlook a basic point: It's dishonest. If you do this, word will eventually reach the boss, and your standing will crumble instantly.
Becoming involved in office romance invites catastrophe
We all work long hours, and sometimes work becomes our social life, leading to romantic entanglements. This is fine if you get married and live happily ever after. What are the chances of that? Think: What will you do if the relationship ends badly? Never become involved with your boss. Your accomplishments and promotions will become suspect, and one of you will have to move to another department, and perhaps another job, when the romance becomes known. Helpful hint: Look outside the office for the partner you dream of.

10 Career Change Mistakes to Avoid-  top

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Are you considering changing your career? Are you bored, fed-up, lost, or otherwise unhappy in your current career? Are you facing a crossroads at which you need to decide between staying in your current field and moving to a new one? Do you have skills that you are not using in your current career? Have you been promoted to a point where you are no longer doing what you love?

Changing careers is one of the biggest decision job-seekers face, and with many possible outcomes and consequences. Before you make that jump to a new career field, consider these common career change mistakes so that you can avoid them as you make the transition from one career to your next.

1.  Making a career change without a plan. Probably the biggest mistake you can make is attempting to change careers without a plan. A successful career change can often take months to accomplish when you have a strategy, so without one, you could end up adrift for an even longer period. Having a detailed action plan (including items such as strategies, finances, research, and education/training) is essential to your success. Without a plan, you might take the first job offer that comes along, whether it is a good fit for you or not. Read: The 10-Step Plan to Career Change.

2.  Changing careers because you hate your job. Don’t make the mistake of confusing hating your current job with hating your current career. Take the time to analyze whether it’s just the job/employer/boss that you hate, or whether it’s the career/skills/work that you dislike. The same goes with if you are feeling bored or lost with your job; review whether it’s the job/employer or the career. Whatever you determine, it’s best not to leave your job -- if possible -- until you have a plan for finding a new job/career.

3.  Making a career change solely based on money/benefits. Certain career fields are very alluring because of the salary and other benefits they offer, but be very careful of switching careers because of all the dollar signs. Keep repeating to yourself, “money won’t buy me happiness.” Remember that you may make more money, but if you hate your new career, you’ll probably be spending that money on stress- and health-related expenses. A career that’s hot today could be gone tomorrow, so dig deeper.

4.  Changing careers because of outside pressure. Don’t let your parents, significant others, or anyone else influence your career choice. They don’t have to live that career every day; you do. If you love what you do and earn a reasonable living, why is it anyone’s business but yours? If you switch careers because of outside pressure to have a “better career,” and then hate your new career, you’ll end up resenting the person(s) who pressured you to make the switch.

5.  Making a career change without refreshing your network and finding a new mentor. Don’t ever attempt a career change alone. As soon as you have identified the career field you want to switch into, begin developing new network contacts. Conduct informational interviews. Join industry associations. People in your network can provide inside information about job-openings and can even champion you to hiring managers. Networking is essential for all job-seekers, but even more so for career-changers. And use a current or new mentor as a sounding board to help guide you in the transition. Learn more about networking and the value of a mentor.

6.  Changing careers without examining all the possibilities. Don’t jump career fields without first conducting thorough research into all the possibilities, including career fields you may never have considered. By conducting research into careers you have never considered or been exposed to, you may find the career of your dreams. Talk to people in your network, read career and job profiles, meet with a career management professional. The more information you have about various career choices, the more successful you’ll be in making a career change. Use these research resources.

7.  Making a career change without assessment of likes/dislikes and without self-reflection. Self-assessment (of your skills, values, and interests) is a critical component to career-change success. Make a list of the skills you love doing (in your job, in your hobbies, in all aspects of your life) and the skills you never want to do again. Next, consider taking one or more assessment tests, especially those with a career component. Preparing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) Analysis is also a useful activity. All these activities are designed so that you better understand yourself -- your product -- so that you can find the best career for you and then sell yourself to employers in that new career. Learn more about assessing your likes and dislikes, as well as preparing a personal SWOT Analysis.

8.  Changing careers based on the success of others. It’s human nature to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. Just because your best friend or neighbor is successful in a certain career does not mean that you will be -- or that you will be happy doing it -- so certainly consider the career field, but make sure you do the research before jumping into it. Finally, just to add yet another cliche, too many job-seekers switch careers on the assumption that the grass is always greener -- and often times find out that is not the case.

9.  Making a career change without necessary experience/education. As a career-changer, you must find a way to bridge the (experience, skills, and education) gap between your old career and your new one. While transferable skills (skills that are applicable in multiple career fields, such as communications skills) are an important part of career change, it is often necessary to gain additional training and experience before you can find a good job in a new career field. Research whether you need additional training, education, or certifications. And try to find time to volunteer, temp, intern, or consult in your new career field -- what some experts refer to as developing a parallel career -- before quitting your current job and searching for a full-time position in your new career field.

10. Changing careers without updating job-search skills/techniques. If it’s been a while since you were last on the job market, take the time to polish your job-search skills, techniques, and tools. Review your resume-writing techniques, master networking, and polish your interviewing skills. What’s the sense of doing all this research and preparation in attempting to change careers if you are not current with your job-search skills? Use the resources in our Career Toolkit to examine and polish all aspects of your job-hunting techniques and tools.

How to Overcome Career Mistakes-  top

By Elaine Varelas, 7/2/2007

Many events that would have traditionally knocked a career off track are less likely to do so today. Mergers and acquisitions, layoffs, or a bad boss used to mean the end to a successful career. Today these are everyday occurrences. Since they are so much more common, people have learned to rebound and continue their careers with other organizations. These events are obstacles, but they have evolved into minor blips on the career radar screen.

In today's workplace, it is the personal gaffes-and the mishandling of them afterward-that have become more difficult to bounce back from. Unethical behavior, incessant gossip, not keeping your word, controversial blogging, and intolerant speech are the things that can tarnish a career.

If you make one of these personal missteps, what can you do? Is your career over, or your job with the company? Is there some way to salvage your job and all the accomplishments you made before the mistake? How can HR managers help employees who may have committed one of these personal errors? Can developmental opportunities help other employees learn to avoid the collision course?

Here are some steps to follow to help get your career back on track:
Admit your mistake - Recognize what you did and come clean immediately. Denying it in the hope that it will go away rarely works. A contrite acknowledgement is often welcome, and the forgiveness process can begin.

Take the Band-Aid approach - As much as it might be painful to rip off a Band-aid quickly, it is torture to do it slowly. The same thing goes for admitting a mistake. Tell the whole truth right from the beginning to avoid dragging it out and having it uncovered bit by bit.
Apologize - Sometimes we underestimate the importance of saying we're sorry, but it is a very important step in the forgiveness process. Apologies should be personal-not a blanket statement made in front of a group. Rather, they should be made one-on-one to everyone who is involved. Apologies mean taking responsibility, not deflecting it, as in, "I'm sorry for what I did," not, "I apologize, but.." Depending on the severity of the offense, this can be enough to make it go away.
Don't force people to let it go - Of course, the apology may not be enough. It may only be a step in the process. You made the mistake, so you don't get to decide when it's over. Other people do.
Take your lumps - In the time immediately following your mistake, you may get passed over for big projects or may not be recognized for the work you do. Don't complain. You have to be okay with being snubbed until it blows over.
Be a star - Now is the time to be the ultimate team player. Have a positive attitude, keep the company's goals in mind, work hard, and look out for your colleagues. Do your job as if you're on camera, because you are being watched.
Tap your allies - Approach colleagues in the organization who will go to bat for you, or who can speak to your strong points. If you can garner support from fellow employees, it will reflect positively on you with company leadership. You may want to approach colleagues with something like, "I know I don't deserve your help, but will you support me through this?" Hopefully, you have already built these relationships. It is important to ask for support and not bargain or trade. These allies can also warn you if things start to look grim for your future with the organization.
Learn From Career Mistakes
It’s a myth that successful people never make career blunders. As most CEOs will tell you, it’s tough to get to the top without hitting some speed bumps along the way. Instead of letting blunders slow them down, high achievers analyze their setbacks and learn how to avoid them in the future.
But you don’t have to make every blunder in the book to learn from mistakes. You can also gain insight from other people’s missteps. The following are common mistakes people make at some point in their careers—and ways to avoid them.
Know when to say when - How long do you have to wait it out? It's difficult to determine since career missteps can run the range from stealing someone's lunch from the company refrigerator to insulting all of the women in a department. At some point, you may realize that you've done everything right to help you recover from your gaffe, but you will forever have a target on your back. How do you know, and how can HR managers let employees know? It may be time to ask the tough question of your boss, "Is it time for me to go?" If you can't get a straight answer from management, enlist the help of an ally to give you the truth, and be prepared for an answer you may not want to hear. If they tell you that you can't rebound, have these allies lined up to serve as references when you begin a job search.

Are we moving toward being a society of forgiveness? Celebrity blunders are more publicized and celebrated than ever before, but this isn't always the case in the workplace. If you commit an offense on the job, eat crow, apologize and wait, but know when to call it quits. You may have made a mistake, but you can't let your career crumble because of it. It may just be time to move on and rebuild your career elsewhere.

Elaine Varelas is Managing Partner of Business Development at Keystone Partners, a career management firm headquartered in Boston, and has over 20 years of career development and HR experience. She also serves on the board of directors for Career Partners International, the world's largest career management partnership. E-mail her at evarelas@keystonepartners.com.

Strategies to Move Up the Corporate Ladder-  top

-Build up co-workers (work with your co-workers in a team environment)
-Support your superiors
-Learn how to do it all (be the answer-not the "I don't know person")
-Don't be a know-it-all (no one likes a person who has an answer to everything)
-Go up one rung at a time (take it slow so you can manage each step)
-Be the squeaky wheel  (offer to learn and to help)
-Be the calm in the center of the storm (handle the stress productively)
-Aim for the right target (know where you want to work and what you like)
-Define your management philosophy (understand what vision and mission means and develop your own)
-Support your company culture (know what the culture is and support it)

Five Key Actions for Career Success -  top

It is important that you take some dedicated time to focus on your own career and ensure that you are moving effectively forward to achieve your own professional objectives. The following five actions comprise some of the most powerful techniques to take control of your career and position yourself (and your organization) for a successful future.

1.  Build on your strengths
Determine key areas of strength, such as financial acumen, negotiating skills or powerful communication skills. Utilize these strengths to propel your career forward. For example, if you are a powerful negotiator, review the strategic objectives of the organization and create a plan to enable you to leverage your negotiating strength to resolve specific roadblocks hampering the achievement of one or more strategic objectives. Document your success and look for additional strengths to leverage to move the organization forward.
2.  Know Your Stakeholders
Stakeholders are everybody involved with you or your career, and those who can influence your career indirectly. Stakeholder groups can be as diverse as: bosses, mentors, customers, peers, or other employees. Know which stakeholders are important and support them to achieve objectives or move agendas forward. It is helpful to think of stakeholders in terms of a hierarchy or, graphically, as a pyramid with the most influential at the peak and others following in descending order. However, it is important to keep in mind that stakeholder influence is a dynamic relationship, manage your relationships with all stakeholder groups.
3.  Be a Role Model
Deliberately create the reputation you want others to experience. Every action or failure to take action will have an impact on your career and your HR team’s ability to achieve objectives. Many hold the HR leadership to a different and tougher standard of behavior; additionally some have a preconceived notion of the value of the HR leader. Regardless of the case in your organization, create a clear picture of how you want to be perceived and then take measured and focused steps to deliver the appropriate level of performance.
4.  Recognize Your Shortcomings and Proactively Address Them
Assess if your current behavior still supports your career objectives. Often as leaders move up the ladder, they continue to display the behaviors that got them there, without recognizing that they must expand and replace their behavioral skill sets each time they are promoted. Enlist the assistance of a coach or mentor to evaluate whether your current behaviors and performance have kept pace with your career progression. If you are ‘stuck’ likely you are still displaying the behaviors of a previous level.
5.  Damage Control
No one is immune from crises. Crises can be in due to inadvertent transgressions, natural calamities, malicious intent, a private remark taken out of context, etc. The most critical period to reputation damage control happens in the first few days. It is the tendency to go quiet. This is a mistake because critics will quickly use the time to give their worst-case scenario and put out a negative spin. You should quickly gather all the facts and begin to plan recovery. Being defensive is rarely effective. Often the best way to diffuse a crisis is with a timely and sincere apology.

How to Move Up the Corporate Ladder-  top
1. Serious
Be serious at work and be serious with your work. What does this mean? Being serious with your work does not mean that you cannot have fun at work. Neither does it mean you cannot enjoy your work. It just means that you need to focus on your work.

Be focused and never let anything detract you from what needs to be done on time with speed and consistency. No bosses like people who are not mindful of their job. When you are serious at work you minimize silly mistakes. Bosses and colleagues can feel your commitment. This career promotion advice does not stop you from having fun at work. Being serious at work means being focused and yet still be able to enjoy your work.

2. Hardworking
This is one career promotion advice that many career newbie's find difficult to take. After all, they feel shouldn't there be some form of short cuts? Being hardworking probably sounds laborious to many. And many would expect that a career promotion advice would talk more about working smart than working hard. Well, not this career promotion advice.

You see, no matter how much you work smart and no matter how many tricks you know to work smart, you still need to work. You still need to be hardworking in order for the results to show. Any short cut that does not require being hardworking will not bear fruits!

3. Indispensable
Isn't it true that no one is indispensable in this world? Well, it is true. But you should strive to make yourself indispensable in the unit you work in. To gain promotion and to shine at work, make "being indispensable" part of your career goals.

Strive to be a key competitive advantage to your bosses and your unit. When you do that you are making yourself indispensable. Being indispensable means taking initiatives, do what needs to be done on time. And take the initiative to do what is beyond the call of duty. When you take this career promotion advice to heart you increase your chances to gain promotion.

4. Nice
The advice of being hardworking in order to shine to gain that promotion is toughest to swallow for some. This career promotion advice then should be the easiest to accept - being nice at work. Being nice at work is to be a delight and pleasing to work with. It means to be polite and being able to handle your frustration and anger. It also means being able to lower your stress levels.

You would probably ask, why would being nice increase your chances to gain promotion? The answer is simple, when you are nice polite, pleasing and able handle your emotions well; you demonstrate professional decorum. One who does that is more professional and shines at work more than one who does not.

5. Enthusiasm
If you want to gain promotion be enthusiastic at work. Put passion behind every task that is given to you to complete. Let that enthusiasm rub off on your colleagues. This career promotion advice works because when you put enthusiasm into every task, work becomes easier and lighter. You complete it with more accuracy and speed.

Enthusiasm does not just fuel you alone. That feeling of passion is also easily transferred to fellow teammates. It then fuels them to work harder for that common goal. When you work that way you naturally shine at work.

Top 10 Steps to Catapult Your Career Up the Corporate Ladder- top
By Jill Frank

1. Reassess your career. Is your career path well aligned with your priorities and interest? Do you posses, or can you acquire, the experience and education to be successful? If not, consider a lateral move and work your way up from there.
2. Clearly define your career goals. Only when you know exactly where it is you want to go, will you be able to map out your plan to get there.
3. Create a development plan. Determine the steps you need to take for your next promotion. Include resources and due dates. Schedule these activities in your planner and follow through.
4. Communicate your career goals with management. If you work in an organization that promotes employee development, communicate your goals with your manager and ask for his or her support. If you are concerned about resistance, find a mentor within the organization that you can trust.
5. Volunteer to spearhead a new project. This shows initiative, puts you in a visible position, and builds new skills. It also gives you the opportunity to showcase your leadership skills.
6. Stay current in your field. Read industry publications and reports. Be aware of changing trends and position yourself accordingly.
7. Take classes or obtain a certification. Use your industry knowledge to your advantage. Take a course in an up and coming area or a specialty that will benefit your organization and give you an edge over the competition.
8. Assume a leadership role. Offer to mentor a junior associate in your organization, apply for a position on a local board, or chair a committee for a nonprofit organization.
9. Network, Network, Network. Within your organization and within the community. Increasing your visibility and gaining contacts are vital to your success when climbing the corporate ladder. No one ever got to the top alone.
10. Excel in your current position. Exceptional performance speaks for itself. You won’t get ahead with mediocre performance, regardless of how many other steps you implement.