80+ Tips To Get Your Career Back On Track
Aspire, achieve, succeed: Career Development EssentialsDo you feel like your career is stuck in a rut? Lately, it seems like so many folks are forced to navigate the layoff landscape or have a daily wrestle with financial uncertainty, thanks to the lack of wage increases. Or maybe your struggle lies more feeling like you’re not living up to your potential or burnout? Maybe when someone asks “what’s your dream job?” you have to hold yourself back from saying “I don’t dream of work.” Maybe you’re just feeling a little stuck.
It’s not uncommon to face roadblocks on a professional journey, regardless of where you might be on that journey — some people are trying to climb the corporate ladder while others are looking for a start — but that doesn’t mean it has to be a daunting task. Having been laid off somewhat recently myself, I decided to do some light reading that might help my job search (or, at least, my outlook on my job search). I’d had “Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers” by Dr. Lois P Frankel on my shelf for a while and decided to give the pages a turn.
While some of the information felt a bit dated, I still found the book to be incredibly useful and worth my time, and I have thus included several points form the book in my list below. From honing your mental health resilience to networking, here is a curated list of over 80 tips to empower you to take control and succeed with confidence and grace.
Manage your anxiety and have coping strategies in place for any stressful situations that may arise.
You are entitled to have your needs met.
Think about where you want to be, and what types of things you want others to say about you. What steps do you need to take to get there?
Don’t let the negativity of others spill into you — maintain your internal balance and light.
Empower yourself and fight against your own negative self-talk. Actively reshape the way you speak to and of yourself.
Find a mentor.
Write the “rules” of the “game”. Meaning, if professionalism is a game, there are rules, including the unspoken ones, and those are the ones to make note of and pay attention to if you want to be a fast-tracker.
(i.e. “Don’t suggest X to boss”, “Everyone works X hours of overtime each week”, and so on)
Rules likely change for women and people of color, from company to company, and from boss to boss.
Define your scope of authority. What sort of things are you permitted to do without consulting anyone?
Take initiative.
Be resourceful and do things before/without having to be asked to do them.
Use social media to market yourself. LinkedIn, for example, is becoming more and more valuable for networking and finding professional connections.
Ask for situation-specific sponsorship and advocacy.
Don’t automatically assume someone will stick their neck out to have your back, ask people to recommend you to clients, vouch for you to a boss, or to stand up for you in the event someone else questions your skills or abilities.
Spend 5% of your day (72 minutes) building relationships.
This might seem like a waste of time, especially to a fellow introvert, but networking and building real, organic relationships is going to help you in so many aspects of life outside of career development.
Define what your work hours are and stick to it - don’t overwork yourself.
Start the day by setting goals for the day, week, and so on.
Set delegation boundaries and stop doing the work of others.
Stop the whole “If I don’t do it, no one else will” mentality — worry about you!
Take a 5 minute break every 60-90 minutes.
You actually do need to; it’s really good for your brain and body.
Take this time to rest your eyes from any screens if you’re often on the phone/computer for work.
Use your lunch break effectively.
Run an errand to get home earlier, be active and take a brisk mental health walk, catch up on a show, or socialize.
Trust your instincts, but…
Don’t be afraid to get multiple second opinions (especially for something really majorly important!).
Learn how to decode body language. Adjust yours accordingly.
Prepare requests in advance, but chose the time to ask carefully.
“If you ask for what you deserve in an appropriate way, and you’re suddenly not liked because of it, someone is just yanking your chain and hoping you’ll acquiesce.”
This is a quote taken directly from the book, because I feel like we so often don’t realize that workplace hostility shouldn’t be so normalized, and we (workers) shouldn’t be silenced into not asking for the things we need and deserve.
If your boss is a jerk, look for another job.
Give your opinion, especially when people ask for it.
Ask for feedback and actually follow it.
Ongoing feedback should be both negative and positive (1:7 ratio).
Ask for introductions and referrals.
Ask for help.
Don’t multitask too often.
Disengage workplace gossip; literally walk away if you have to.
Look for opportunities to build someone up, rather than tear them down.
Compliment folks publicly, but correct them privately.
Use your words rather than react.
There’s no shame in crying — cry if you need to, but try to do so privately as to not potentially embarrass yourself or make other uncomfortable. It’s okay to need to step away to collect yourself.
You don’t actually need to be liked by everyone, but you do need to be liked by some people.
Sometimes it feels like we have to be liked by everyone. Some of us want to be liked by everyone, so much so that we think we need to be liked by everyone, but we don’t. We just need to be liked by some people.
Ask questions.
Listen carefully and answer simply.
Fully grasp what the other person is saying and take a moment to pause before answering. When you do answer, do so in a straightforward or plain manner.
We all make mistakes — acknowledge yours.
Put a positive spin on negatives.
(i.e., “It’s true I don’t have all the qualifications listed, but I’m a valuable candidate thanks to my in-depth experience.”)
Don’t entirely withhold personal information, but be selective about what you do share and with whom.
Completely avoiding personal questions will be a bit of a red flag and strange to others, but they also don’t need to know the intimate details of your life.
Make sure you’re being paid a fair wage for your job. Research comparative wages often.
Be careful about workplace relationships — every relationship is different, but sometimes dating your coworker is a terrible idea.
Don’t volunteer to organize the company potluck lunch, don’t feed others at work.
Okay, I admit this one felt weird at first, but I thought about it more. If there is a company potluck, definitely do your part and bring a dish! But don’t spearhead the idea of being responsible to feed your coworkers, as this sometimes leads to strange dependencies, expectations, or otherwise.
If you’re able and willing, take the leftovers to a homeless shelter so they aren’t wasted.
Read the room, out loud when necessary.
Sometimes just stating out loud what you’re observing in the room can be helpful.
(i.e., “I can sense we have some strong feelings about this proposal, should we take a breather and come back to this in 10?”)
Have a good handshake.
Don’t be floppy or lazy, don’t death-grip the other person. Practice a normal, strong, business-y handshake.
Help people, but don’t let yourself get used.
Offer to teach someone how to do the task, offer help on an occasion or two when asked, but don’t let anyone become dependent on you to get their work finished.
Manage your expectations.
Don’t expect constant rainbows and sunshine, but don’t expect things to always take a negative turn. Be optimistically realistic.
Don’t get caught up in the details.
Read literally: Don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s just a waste of time.
Read books and career magazines — dedicate time, every single day, even if it’s just a few minutes, to learn.
Don’t miss meetings, but don’t cancel personal plans for work.
Meetings are important and you should attend all of them, but your personal life is also important and shouldn’t take a back seat to a job. Canceling plans with loved ones for work always ends in regret, just save yourself the pain.
Always have a plan B.
Don’t let people waste your time.
Plan a path for yourself and don’t let others derail you from it — don’t abandon your goals at the behest of someone else.
Network!
Look for the right people.
Be proactive to build and maintain these relationships.
Create a database with notes to help you keep track of your networking contacts if needed.
Prepare and practice your elevator pitch
No job is small; do yours with pride.
Showcase your achievements.
Some people frame achievements, share them on social media for bragging rights, or collect them in a special scrapbook. Do whatever works for you, but recognize your own accomplishments!
Accept compliments.
Not the creepy ones, and not the back-handed ones. But genuine ones, you have to get comfortable accepting.
“Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game” — Babe Ruth
A little cheesy, sure, but it’s true. If you’re too afraid of failing to try something, you’ll never be able to succeed.
Side note, I thought this quote came from A Cinderella Story (2004) starring Hilary Duff and Jennifer Coolidge, and was shocked upon learning nearly 20 years later that it in fact did not.
Don’t let others take credit for your ideas! Speak up. Try saying something like “thank you for building on my original suggestion.”
Don’t be invisible — be the “early and often” one.
Step outside your comfort zone; that’s where all the cool, exciting stuff is.
A short and simple statement is the most confident.
What’s the main topic?
What are the main points I want them to consider?
Don’t over-explain yourself.
Stop apologizing for everything! Don’t apologize unless you’ve made a mistake big enough to be worth apologizing for.
Apologize one and only once, then move on to solving the problem.
Don’t be overly modest — don’t hide your skills or accomplishments. It’s okay to be proud of yourself.
Answer questions directly, but pause and reflect before answering right away.
Learn about finances.
Aside from your career trajectory, debt and financial problems can lead to high stress and poor mental health. Alleviate some of this stress by learning about budgeting, saving, investing, and managing debt.
Learn valuable skills and knowledge that are essential for various roles and industries, opening up many new career opportunities.
Become comfortable with silence – it speaks volumes.
Become a good public speaker – write a speech, rehearse it, record yourself delivering it, and refine/improve it with reframing.
Data, feelings, actions, and ideas are the communication methods most preferred by other people.
Data: Using statistical information and factual evidence to support arguments and convey information, promoting logical understanding and credibility in communication.
Feelings: Expressing emotions and empathizing with others' emotional experiences, fostering connections and understanding on a personal level in communication
Actions: Demonstrating behaviors and tangible results to convey messages and intentions, emphasizing the importance of practical demonstration and follow-through in communication
Ideas: Presenting concepts, theories, and innovative thoughts to stimulate creativity and provoke critical thinking, encouraging exploration and dialogue in communication.
Be decisive.
Showing confidence in your decisions and actions is a great leadership sign.
Be mindful of your body language.
Strike a balance between warmth and assertiveness by moderating your smiles and maintaining strong eye contact.
Have good hygiene.
Take up space.
Control your reactions.
Take any time needed to cool down before revisiting something.
Put yourself first.
Spend 30 minutes a day to focus on nurturing and recharging yourself.
Avoid blame shifting: Don’t point the finger, but don’t be a scapegoat.
Take ownership of your actions and decisions while refraining from unfairly attributing blame to others or accepting unwarranted blame yourself.
Try to be one of the first three speakers, but definitely don’t be the last to speak.
This shows you are engaged in the discussion.
If it takes more than two emails to resolve the issue, try moving to a face-to-face (in-person or online, thanks to services like zoom) discussion for efficiency.
You don’t always have to respond.
There are plenty of instances where silence or non-engagement may be more appropriate than a response.
Don’t substitute tears for anger.
Make a personal development plan.
Foster continuous growth and improvement by setting clear goals and strategies for enhancing your professional skills and capabilities.
Navigating the terrain of career development can be difficult, and it’s essential to equip yourself with a toolkit. From developing communication skills, to prioritizing self-care, each tidbit shared here is meant to help guide you towards success and career fulfillment, granting you extra clarity, confidence, and grace. The road may be winding, but with determination and resilience, you're bound to reach the pinnacle.
As always, thanks for reading.
