3 Things You Can Do Today To Keep Your Career On Track

Many people assume that their careers in business are on a sort of autopilot. Once you get this position, you put in your time and then another opportunity opens up. Gradually, you work your way up and end in a corner office with everyone wishing you “Good Morning” when you walk in the door.

Anybody who actually has one of those offices can tell you that it wasn’t handed to them. They had to fight for every raise and perk. They spend their days figuring out ways to stay ahead of the others who have their eyes on their position.

This doesn’t mean that they hate what they do or dislike what they’ve achieved. It is just a reality that hard work isn’t only for the employees down in the mail room. You get ahead in business the same way you do in all other aspects of life. You have to work at it and make sure that you don’t let opportunities slip by.

So how can this be accomplished? There are really three critical factors that can help you get ahead of your fellow employees.

• One of the most important factors lies is the concept of out-hustling your co-workers. You need to do a better job than they do. You need to make sure you show up on time, dress appropriately, be pleasant to everyone, and are ready to tackle the day’s workload without complaint. This puts you ahead of about ninety percent of the other people who are in line for some sort of promotion.

• The next thing you need to do is out-network everybody. You need to sharpen your social media skills and use them to expand your contact list of other people in business. It is far easier to rise by jumping over to some other company that is hiring rather than sticking with your current employer.

Having a wide network of contacts means that you will find out who is hiring before anybody else does. Even if you don’t want to leave, this gives you ammunition to use when negotiating with your current boss. Knowing that someone else values you highly may cause him to reassess things and offer you some kind of incentive to stay on.

• The final critical factor is that you need to out-credential everybody. Many large companies have very generous policies regarding payment for their employees continuing education. Let your company pay for you to finish your degree or to go on to your MBA. Many upper management positions come with educational strings attached to them. If you don’t have a degree, you aren’t up for consideration, no matter how perfect a fit you are for the job.

All of these really boil down to having superior will power and a commitment to keep doing whatever it takes to rise above your peers. Every business goes through boom and bust cycles. You want to make sure that you are not one of the floaters who gets made redundant when times are lean. You also want to be ready for the next step up when things are wild and rapid expansion is all the company can think about. That next management position can be yours if you are willing to do the necessary grunt work in advance.

The way to succeed in business is well summarised by a quote most frequently attributed to Thomas Edison: “The reason most people do not recognise an opportunity when they meet it is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like Hard Work.”