Developing your career within a company takes a great deal of attention from you and your manager. With a strategy and some investment from you and your manager, an administrative assistant can become a manager; a marketing assistant can become a staff trainer; a financial analyst can become a human resources administrator, and a sales representative can become a sales manager.

Be Clear About Your Goal

First it takes being clear about your goal. To get clear, you need to explore your options and make a choice. Learn about how other departments function. Interview your co-workers, supervisor, manager, and friends about their backgrounds and responsibilities. Ask your manager for extra projects or transfer horizontally to another area to broaden your experiences.

Once you determine your direction, assess the transferability of your current skills and abilities. Determine what skills you need to develop and how you will develop them. Some common methods are using internal training opportunities; volunteering for committees or projects (internally and externally); and enrolling in classes or workshops offered through universities and other educational and training organizations.

Using a Mentor

One of the key resources to have in this process is a Mentor. A Mentor is a person who has a rich appreciation for you, your abilities, and your potential. Mentors are generally older and more experienced in your chosen field than you. They can be a manager in your company (from any department), an influential teacher or coach, an older relative, or a friend.
If you do not already have a mentor, survey your personal and professional community for a likely candidate and ask him or her for permission to develop a mentoring relationship. Most people are pleased to help and honored to be asked. Although this can feel vulnerable, the rewards are well worth the risk.

Develop A Portfolio

Another key resource to develop is your portfolio. Portfolios are not just for artists and writers anymore. A portfolio is a documentation of projects, certifications and trainings, formal and informal acknowledgments, and other supporting information to your resume. You can also include charts and graphs that track the progress and success of projects or initiatives you managed or supported, pictures of events you coordinated, and summaries of reports you created.
Think of your portfolio as your show and tell in your performance review or job interview. Several of our clients have been able to negotiate higher annual salary increases as a result of keeping detailed records and progress reports on projects. Remember that your manager may not always know or remember what you did for the past year.

Accountability

Regardless of your skills and profession, it is also vitally important that you develop a structure for accountability. Use a friend, a mentor, or a career consultant to support you in your process. Your spouse or life-partner can be one of your supporters, but probably should not be your primary support. Although they are well intended, our partners are often not our best coaches.

Since the traditional career ladders are shorter inside small and medium size companies, it may also be necessary to move to another company in order to advance your career. This is not, however, a license to skip from company to company. Employers and employees want and deserve loyalty. There is a balance between serving a company and advancing a career.

If you are working for a small company with a handful of employees, apply the above strategy in a broader context. Consider your entire industry or community “your company.” It will take more effort and time to conduct the research and meet the “right” people, but it is not impossible.

Career Development is a life-long process and deserves your attention and patience. Horizontal, diagonal, and backward steps are part of the process and need to be taken with some humor and grace. What is truly for you will never pass you by.