Expert Tips for Scaling your Way to the Top

Getting on the corporate ladder comes easy for some, and harder for others. It all starts with that opportunity given to you by your first hiring manager. This in itself can take time, following painstaking years of education, a university degree and even months of unpaid work. Not to mention many failed interviews. When you do eventually arrive in the corporate environment, the skies’ the limit, however there are no guarantees that you’ll make it to the boardroom. Very few make it to the top, but that shouldn’t stop you from making it your career goal.

If your ambition is to become the next pioneering company leader, there are ways you can achieve this if you give careful consideration to both your personal and professional developmental path.

In this post, we’ll share 4 tips for fast-tracking your way up the corporate career ladder.

Develop a clear plan and set out your goals

Making a clear career development plan is the first step to achieving your objectives and getting promoted. A list of short and long-term goals and objectives, which you wish to accomplish in your present and future positions, typically makes up a professional development plan.

Your ability to recognise where you are now and where you want to be in the future thanks to a career development plan will motivate you to overcome any challenges in the way of accomplishing your objectives. Additionally, it aids in developing your job advancement and promotion strategy. For instance, you can come up with a plan to improve on-the-job training, knowledge and performance if you have a defined developmental plan with targets set in place.

Broaden your skillset

The corporate ladder’s range of senior positions calls for a diverse range of skillsets. And so it goes without saying, in order to reach one of these destination, you should spend the majority of your time inside and outside of work, learning new things. Fortunately, in the age of the internet, it’s not that difficult to do. Develop your professional knowledge and expertise by reading relevant books, reading industry white papers, visiting blogs, watching YouTube tutorials and spooning intel from popular podcasts.

In your current vocation you can apply for training programmes and qualifications. This of course means longer days, nights in front of the PC and often working weekends, but the good news is, many employers support extra-curricular activities if it means they gain a more knowledgeable team member, so ask your line manager before funding the programme yourself.

Network!

For a corporate job to be successful, networking is paramount. Bad news for the introverted, but if the boardroom is where you want to be, now is the time to begin working on those tools to help you speak out. Networking can assist you in forming partnerships with individuals who have the knowledge and experience required to scale the corporate ladder. Additionally, networking can help you make connections with co-workers who can bring in new business, ideas, contacts or themselves assist you to achieve a particular goal or complete a specific project.

For effective business networking, make sure to go to events, look for online and offline meetups of people with similar interests, be active on social media, and stay in touch with past co-workers and students.

Get to know your boss and the company

You must take the time to get to know your management and the business if you want to hold a higher position within the business. Those who hide go unnoticed and quickly become an expendable number on the pay-run. Sorry, but in the world of business, it’s true. To move up, make sure you are aware with the company’s values, culture, aims, and ambitions. Be known and actively participate in company events, ask questions about how the business operates, and offer assistance that can be helpful to the group. You can align your efforts to promote the company’s success by taking the time to get to know the business. Additionally, it makes you stand out, which increases your probability of promotion.