Promotions - When is it time to start looking sideways Vs upwards?

Promotion is the ultimate goal, right? I'd argue not necessarily. 

It's easy to fall into the default position of seeking promotion as often through pressure from external factors, it feels like the only pathway, when in fact, there are so many career altering moments that can change the course for the better that could be considered instead which yield better results for you personally. 

“My boss things I'm ready for promotion, so I should aim towards that.”

“I want to earn more money, so I must get promoted to do so”

“I’m great at what I do for a living, so this is the path I should stick to.”

“A vacancy for the next job level is available now so I need to act now in case this opportunity doesn't come again.”

Whilst these statements are true for many, none of them reflect on your personal job satisfaction which can often get left behind when we're looking upwards towards that promotion. 

This blog is here to help you decide if promotion is the key goal for you right now and what questions you should be asking yourself now to determine what the next step should look like. 

Let me start by sharing a little bit about my career story to date. 

It all starts with me dropping out of university after only one year of study. Some day I will likely write a blog dedicated to this alone, but the short version is that I'm not academic and struggled to focus when the return on investment of time and energy didn't give me immediate financial benefits, so I entered the working world with a fire in my belly determined to prove that I could succeed without a university degree.

No matter what job I had between the age of 19 to 34, promotion was the goal. During this window, I worked day and night to prove to myself and to others that the decision to leave university was the right choice and the only way to prove that was by achieving that next level. Once each job level was attained, I would immediately and relentlesy start looking upwards at what the next move might be, because that in my opinion was the measure of success… 

Once I became a Senior Manager through tons of hard work, long hours and dedication to the role, I made a very conscious decision to stop and smell the roses. It became more important for me to simply come to work, do my best in my role and take the pressure off myself around my promotion goals because for 15 years of my life that was the driving force behind everything I was aiming for which crept heavily into my personal life and had skewed the balance for a long time. 

Once I took that pressure off, after a year or two, I started to think about what the next move might look like, but because I had taken the focus off of financial rewards, job level and the benchmarks in the corporate world that determine “success”, I started to think about what role I was doing, whether I enjoyed that role and what else is out there that I can gain experience from. This was when I started to see an increase in job satisfaction, enhanced growth in my core skills and a better work/life balance. 

So with all of that considered, what should you be asking yourself when it comes to your next career move? 

If you're leaning towards promotion, truly consider the following points. 

What are your motivators for being promoted? For example, 

Is it more money? 

Is it corporate image? 

Is it a default path that's most visible?  

Truly check your reasoning why this feels like the right choice before you invest your time and energy into seeking that promotion. 

Do you feel satisfied in your career currently? 

If you are thrilled with your work/life balance and you enjoy the work that you're doing, is the financial reward, time and investment and change in responsibilities going to be worth the risk of changing that environment? If you are not currently enjoying your career, will promotion to the next level deepen those feelings and put you at risk of burnout or work related stress? 

Is it time for a career change Vs a promotion? 

If you're in doubt about the career pathway you're on, perhaps it's time to take the opportunity to stop and look around Vs upwards to check if there's anything you could be doing instead that results in true growth of experience Vs job title. 

Please let me be clear, for many, promotion is the right choice. This article is aimed at making sure that you are doing at the right time for yourself and with the right motivations in mind so that by the end of whatever step you decide to take, you come to the end of that road in a place where you're experiencing true job satisfaction and an effective work/life balance. 

If you'd like tailored support to help you discover what your path could look like, or if you've decided that now is the right time for promotion and you'd like some support to help get there, please get in touch so I can help.