Get your manager on board: Schedule a time with your manager. Prepare for an open and honest conversation focused around what you need to do to progress in your career in your company. Listen to the advice and take notes even if you do not agree with what is being said. This is all about gathering information.

Get a coach or mentor: To be successful you need to have people on your side. A mentor is someone who is successful in your field/ industry, effectively they can provide you with advice and support on how you can progress. A coach is someone who is there to focus your attentions on exactly what you need to do, including setting goals and actions for you to achieve.

Create your personalised action plan: Based on information you gather create your own action plan. This should detail all the things you are going to do in order to progress. Set yourself deadlines and track your progress. This is also a great document to present at your end of your appraisal to evidence everything you have been doing in your job role (and everything over and above your job role) to progress.

Assess your skills and experience: Take an independent assessment of all your experience and skills. Identify any gaps and work out how you can close the gaps. Add your actions to your action plan. You can also ask peers, managers, ex-managers, etc for their opinions on your skills and experience and can tell you some areas that you might want to work on.

Develop yourself personally and professionally: Become the best version of yourself. Do you need to be more confident, do you need to take some exams. Asking yourself and honest question, how can you develop yourself to become the best possible version of yourself?

Network: Meet more people in your company. Arrange 15 minute coffee dates with people in other departments. Find out what other people do in your company. Start a spreadsheet of all the people you would like to meet and then reach out to contact 1 – 5 people per week to arrange a catch up. Prepare your questions before meeting them. You can also network externally by attending events, meeting people via Shapr, contact people via LinkedIn.

Up your game: If you want to progress you have to up your game. Get in early, leave late. Do things that are above and beyond your job role. Be the go to person when people in your team have a question. Put 100% into your job and make it your top priority.

Never settle: If you do all the things on this list and you still feel like you are not progressing, then do not settle for less than you deserve. If you know you want to change careers then get in contact with me. If you love your job but you are not going to progress where you are, then sort out your CV and find a company who will value you and what you bring. You only get one life, so do not be willing to settle.

Industry knowledge: Read papers, journals, interviews, speak to industry experts. Meet people at events. Pick a specific top and be the expert in your department on that area. Share your knowledge with your team via an email training or host a lunch and learn where you present and deliver training on a specific topic.

Mirror successful people/ Find role models: Find successful people inside or outside of your workplace and start taking notes on the great things they do. For example, how do they behave in meetings, how do they present themselves, how do they speak to people, what makes them successful in your eyes and what actions can you add to your action plan?

What should you do next

If you would like to purchase a guide on Becoming Passionate About Your Career & Personal Development, click here.

If you would like to attend my free Masterclass on the 5 Steps You Need to take to Find Your Dream Career, sign up to attend here >>>. It lasts about 40 minutes and will cover the following:

• The 5 powerful steps you need to take in order to find your dream job this year.
• Get really clear about your career goals and move away from feeling stuck in a career rut.
• The key steps and actions you need to take to move from where you are right now to where you want to be in your future career.
• Start to feel super excited and motivated to make a change in your career in 2018 and making it happen!

Get your manager on board: Schedule a time with your manager. Prepare for an open and honest conversation focused around what you need to do to progress in your career in your company. Listen to the advice and take notes even if you do not agree with what is being said. This is all about gathering information.

Get a coach or mentor: To be successful you need to have people on your side. A mentor is someone who is successful in your field/ industry, effectively they can provide you with advice and support on how you can progress. A coach is someone who is there to focus your attentions on exactly what you need to do, including setting goals and actions for you to achieve.

Create your personalised action plan: Based on information you gather create your own action plan. This should detail all the things you are going to do in order to progress. Set yourself deadlines and track your progress. This is also a great document to present at your end of your appraisal to evidence everything you have been doing in your job role (and everything over and above your job role) to progress.

Assess your skills and experience: Take an independent assessment of all your experience and skills. Identify any gaps and work out how you can close the gaps. Add your actions to your action plan. You can also ask peers, managers, ex-managers, etc for their opinions on your skills and experience and can tell you some areas that you might want to work on.

Develop yourself personally and professionally: Become the best version of yourself. Do you need to be more confident, do you need to take some exams. Asking yourself and honest question, how can you develop yourself to become the best possible version of yourself?

Network: Meet more people in your company. Arrange 15 minute coffee dates with people in other departments. Find out what other people do in your company. Start a spreadsheet of all the people you would like to meet and then reach out to contact 1 – 5 people per week to arrange a catch up. Prepare your questions before meeting them. You can also network externally by attending events, meeting people via Shapr, contact people via LinkedIn.

Up your game: If you want to progress you have to up your game. Get in early, leave late. Do things that are above and beyond your job role. Be the go to person when people in your team have a question. Put 100% into your job and make it your top priority.

Never settle: If you do all the things on this list and you still feel like you are not progressing, then do not settle for less than you deserve. If you know you want to change careers then get in contact with me. If you love your job but you are not going to progress where you are, then sort out your CV and find a company who will value you and what you bring. You only get one life, so do not be willing to settle.

Industry knowledge: Read papers, journals, interviews, speak to industry experts. Meet people at events. Pick a specific top and be the expert in your department on that area. Share your knowledge with your team via an email training or host a lunch and learn where you present and deliver training on a specific topic.

Mirror successful people/ Find role models: Find successful people inside or outside of your workplace and start taking notes on the great things they do. For example, how do they behave in meetings, how do they present themselves, how do they speak to people, what makes them successful in your eyes and what actions can you add to your action plan?

What should you do next

If you would like to purchase a guide on Becoming Passionate About Your Career & Personal Development, click here.

If you would like to attend my free Masterclass on the 5 Steps You Need to take to Find Your Dream Career, sign up to attend here >>>. It lasts about 40 minutes and will cover the following:

• The 5 powerful steps you need to take in order to find your dream job this year.
• Get really clear about your career goals and move away from feeling stuck in a career rut.
• The key steps and actions you need to take to move from where you are right now to where you want to be in your future career.
• Start to feel super excited and motivated to make a change in your career in 2018 and making it happen!

Let's talk about your next move