In a recent conversation with a former colleague who achieved the milestone of being promoted to Chief Finance Officer. This was a huge career milestone for him. While talking to him and reflecting on this milestone, he shared his journey and how he positioned himself for the promotion.
His journey, which I will highlight below, is marked by key elements that can serve as a guide for those aspiring to progress in their careers.
1. Networking: Building Bridges and Seizing Opportunities
“One of the people I met during a Tech networking event had an opening at his company and asked me to apply. I interviewed there, and it was a great company, and I was offered the job.
While working with you, I realised this job was the opposite of my last job. It was fast-paced, and we had to work hard and be creative to hit milestones. I was learning a lot. In addition to my career, I taught people how to use the self-service platforms we built and consulted internally on other projects.
My boss quit suddenly, and I was asked to take his position in the interim. I did, and after taking a crash course on corporate accounting and doing two jobs for a month, I was asked to take the position permanently. I’m now doing a lot better. Things have stabilised and stabilised on severstabilizeds to improve our workflow, which is a lot of fun.
2. Soft Skills
While continuous learning is required for career advancement, Soft skills are key! Soft skills enable me to put myself in a position to take advantage of opportunities I would not be able to otherwise. I got the position because the company was in a tough spot and needed the expertise then and there. I got a promotion after an unexpected departure because the company required someone now. I developed a relationship with upper management by offering to volunteer to do internal consulting and knowledge sharing for other product groups.
I realized I did not get a significant raise or promoted to a previous job because much of my work was not visible; I was working in shadows and automating the boring parts of my career. I wasn’t going to make that same mistake again.
I learned to speak clearly and confidently by pacing around my room at home, practising presentations, mock conversations, and even joke delivery. None of this comes naturally to me, so I had to learn somehow.
3. Deliver As Much Visible Value As You Can.
This had the knock-on effect of giving me confidence when I realized that Perealizede was listening to me. I pushed to make my work visible to upper management realized possible. Where that wasn’t possible, I started going out of my way to do more public stuff: teaching, mentoring, organizing interorganizingdge-sharing communities, etc. Helping others is one of the best things you can do for yourself organisation
You never know when an opportunity will come your way. If you care about advancing your career, you should be prepared to seize it. Network, practice your soft skills, and deliver as much visible value as possible.