3 Steps To Start Advocating for Yourself and Take Control of Your Career
If you are working your ass off waiting for your company or your manager to promote you into a new role, you're waiting for nothing.
Harsh. But true. We are told that if we work tirelessly, we will get rewarded. We are told that if we take initiative in the workplace, we will be valued. And we are told that hard work unlocks doors for our career.
And here’s the deal - Yes, we need to work hard AND we need to advocate for ourselves in the workplace. We need to learn how to communicate our worth. We need to learn how to communicate the amount of work we are achieving. And we need to learn how to communicate what we need out of our careers.
Most people (even your boss – especially your boss) are mainly concerned with their own personal and professional livelihoods. They are not waking up in the morning jazzed to get you that promotion (no matter what they may say to your face) and they are not thinking about your career progression throughout the day. The only person looking out for you, is YOU. The reality is that your employer likely doesn't know how to support you, unless you communicate exactly how you need to be supported.
As always, I’m here to help you communicate more effectively in the workplace and this applies to helping you advocate for your career goals.
In the last year, I’ve realized that we are all a little afraid to speak up and advocate for our own advancement in the workplace. I’ve had people ask,
“With all the lay offs happening, should I/ how do I continue to push for my promo?”
“My boss just left, and now I’ve been quiet-promoted to his exec position with the pay for the recognition. What do I do?”
“How do I ask to take on more projects for professional development?”
“How do you talk to your boss about asking for permission to apply for a new job within the company when I’m only 3 months into my role?”
What is so bad about asking for more? Why are we so accustomed to taking what is given to us and feeling like that should be enough? We are not ungrateful for wanting more. In fact, if we want MORE out of our careers, it is only going to benefit the organization we work for (and potentially will work for).
We deserve to unapologetically ask for that promotion and we deserve to explore new teams, new projects, and new opportunities (both internally and externally).
Here’s how to take control of your career and start advocating for our own advancement -
Don’t be timid
This is the #1 mistake I see people make when it comes to advocating for themselves. They feel like they need to ‘earn the right’. The length of time in your role does NOT negate you from exploring other opportunities to explore your career. It’s scary – and it takes practice – but the sooner you can shed the layer of being timid, the quicker you will be able to advocate for yourself.
2. Identity what you want to explore
It is your responsibility to identify what you want out of your career. What skill sets do you want to acquire? What experiences do you want to obtain? Which teams/projects interest you the most? Make sure that you can identify – so you can later communicate – exactly what you want to explore out of your career. Hell, we are in the workforce for a long time so we might as well make it fun and explore throughout our time until retirement.
3. Make the ask - don’t wait for someone to make it for you
Waiting for someone else to recognize your potential and your value in a losing game. If you keep waiting, you’ll wait forever. Give yourself the responsibility to make the ask. You are in control of your career. People will not know how to support you if you do not ask. Make the ask!
Communicating effectively means we are always finding our own voice, our own communication style and how we can best advocate for ourselves in a professional setting. It’s not easy, we don’t have many productive examples to learn from, but with a little help from Career Civility, it is possible.
And if there’s one thing I can leave you with, it is this: Your employer and the company you work for will always consider you (a human being) a means to an end and a line item in a budget. You owe it yourself to make yourself MORE than a replaceable line item. You deserve to bring your humanity back into the workplace and the first step to doing that is advocating for yourself. Go get what you deserve.
