Reaching your dream position in any company, or simply advancing your career, requires you to be professional as you will climbing the corporate ladder. This article will discuss what is meant by a “corporate ladder”, and why it is vitally important to your career as you make your way to the top.
Read more about climbing the ladder in this article from Travis Perkins.
What Is A Corporate Ladder?
The term corporate ladder is simply referencing the hierarchy of any company that you happen to be in and how you can advance from say an entry-level position, which is typically at the bottom of the proverbial ladder, making your way up to the top which is where the executive positions are. When you are climbing the corporate ladder, your simply advancing from the bottom of any company through the process of getting promotions. It becomes more difficult to do so, especially with so many people entering into entry-level positions and there are fewer top positions in upper management available.
How To Climb The Corporate Ladder At Your Place Of Employment?
The main objective of climbing this proverbial ladder is to get more money for the work that you are doing, improve your job title, and enter into more fulfilling positions. When people decide to do this, there are certain steps that they need to take:
Create A Blueprint For Success
A blueprint like this is going to help you focus on getting to the highest potential point of your career. If you already have your eyes set on a particular position, you need to know how you are going to get there. You need to make adjustments as you move forward. This is how you can create your very own corporate blueprint to move forward in your career:
1. First Identify Career Goals And Be Specific
The big picture of where you want to go as part of your career path is what this blueprint details. You need to envision what your career will look like when you arrive and what that dream job will actually feel like. If you already know what you want to do, that can be helpful, but perhaps you only have a slight idea of what you want to do, the type of work that you love, or the kind of title that you would like to have access to.
2. Identify Milestones That You Will Need To Achieve
After determining what your dream job is, you need to consider larger accomplishments that can help you achieve this position. You need to know what steps will be taken, and write these down, so that you can move forward toward this position. You should also include any other personal milestones that you would like to achieve as you move forward in the company.
3. Always Identify The Smaller Steps Along The Way
Larger goals should always be that identified at first, but then you need to break those down into short-term goals that are easier to achieve. These will help you form a very clear path, from the start of your journey, to achieving your position, and you may also have nonsequential or flexible steps that you can also take.
4. Create Performance Goals Directly With Your Manager For The Year
After creating your career path plan of action, discuss your performance goals with your immediate supervisor so that you can develop a direct and strategic path toward advancement. If you understand what your manager will expect of you, you can always perform above and beyond what they would have expectations for or required. Once you understand this information, and they see that you are performing well, they may consider you for certain positions and even help you due to the work ethic that you are showing and the characteristics that you possess and use as a baseline.
5. Always Prioritize Personal Professional Development
Once you have done the hard work, which is creating a clear and defined blueprint, and you are receiving input from your direct supervisor, you need to start participating in as many opportunities that will lead to career development. On-the-job training, acquiring additional online education, taking formal classes, or participating in seminars are great ideas. By seeking out these specific types of tools to help you grow professionally and personally toward your dream job, you will be that much closer to the career that you actually want.
