3 Tips to Take Charge of Your Executive Advancement Strategy

These 3 tips provide a foundation for you to take charge of your own promotion strategy while helping others help you. If you are looking to advance within your company or search outside of it, developing a strategy now will position you better to create short-term and long-term career transition goals.

Ask a Network Connection for Advice

Sometimes, you need a bit of advice on one aspect of your career transition, and you might have a network connection that can mentor you through that question. Reach out with LinkedIn or email, and ask for a quick call or coffee within a specific time frame. This network connection probably won’t be the hiring leader, but he or she might be able to help you in other ways—connecting you with someone they know, pointing you to a web or printed industry resource, or suggesting a company they believe would be a good fit for your expertise and aspirations.

Keep a Written Account of Your Career Successes

Keep track of your own career successes, so that when you need to report on them in your annual reviews, you’ll be prepared to report on your accomplishments easily. Your manager probably won’t remember every detail of your major projects, but you can remind him or her when you write out your annual self-assessment and when you report on them formally in your annual review. In fact, by doing so, you’re helping your leadership evaluate you effectively. In the best scenario, your manager will use this material to help you create a career plan to help you rise to the next career level.

Let Executive Recruiters Connect You to Additional Companies

Executive recruiters are in the business of brokering successful executive placements for their clients–the businesses that pay them to source the right talent. As a byproduct of this process, they also broker executive career transitions for the candidates they are sourcing.  Contract executive recruiters who reach out to you likely have exclusivity on positions—ranging from director-level to CEO openings—that you would not otherwise learn about. On the other hand, if you’re not right for the role at that moment, then feel free to recommend one or two people in your network. Your executive recruiter will appreciate your willingness to help and come back to you when the right opening becomes available.

Conclusion: Nobody Will Advance Your Career for You, but You Always Can Ask for Help

There is nobody who is as invested in your career as you are, so you must take charge of your executive career transition and turn organic growth into planned executive success. Of course, you can ask for advice judiciously, from the right resources, and when you are confident that you can reciprocate. By planning now for a future career advancement, you’ll be ready when the right opportunity is presented.