How to maximise your career development

Are you feeling somewhat stale and unfulfilled in your current job? Perhaps you’ve plateaued in terms of seniority and you’re scratching your head as to when you may even be considered for a promotion. Or, maybe you’re still in the early stages of your career but you’re keen to climb the ladder as quickly as possible. 

Either way, don’t just hope for the best when it comes to career development. Instead, take action to maximise your chances of success – whether that be getting a promotion within your current organisation, or elevating your career with an exciting job opportunity elsewhere. 

At Hays, we frequently work with professionals who have advanced their careers quickly. Our recruitment consultants offer career guidance for adults who wish to progress in their careers. 

At a glance: how to climb the career ladder quickly

1. Continuous learning can aid career progression

2. Take initiative and contribute new ideas

3. Collaboration is key for career development

4. Make the most of networking opportunities

5. Balance your hard and soft skill 

1. Continuous learning can aid career progression

The world of work is ever evolving. From the rapid rise of AI to the continual development of new systems and best practices, it’s imperative that your base of knowledge is keeping up with the changing times. To keep your career moving, learning should be an ongoing endeavour throughout your professional life.
 

Arm yourself with the tools for success

Upskilling can provide you with the tools you need to progress your career, as it can improve your productivity and expand your competencies. For example, a junior R&D Engineer who helps to build and test prototypes can master project management tools if they wish to go down the technical project management route in future. Or, a graphic designer who primarily creates static illustrations can upskill in animation software. Whatever your industry, learning how to use a new tool can put you in good stead for an uplift in responsibilities in your current role or open doors for opportunities elsewhere.
 

Stay up to date with trending topics

No matter your experience level or area of expertise, there are a plethora of learning resources for you to choose from that can help you stay up to date with the topics that are shaping your industry. If you’re in HR, for example, you may consider checking out our range of free diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) courses on our Thrive portal. Or, if you’re an accounting professional, it could be beneficial for you to learn more about emerging issues surrounding sustainability reporting, as the debate around how to address climate change becomes more salient. And, almost any professional can benefit from brushing up on their AI literacy given the rapid technological advancements in this area over recent years.

Consider what accreditations could help your career prospects

Accreditations may help bolster your career prospects. For example, employers in the financial services industry may favour applicants who possess the relevant APA, QFA, or CFA designation. Or an offensive security engineer position may require applicants to have an OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional) or a GPEN (GIAC Penetration Tester) certification. It may be worth taking the time to gain accreditations, especially if they are a must-have to be considered for the role at all.

The possibilities are endless, so take some time to consider what areas would be most relevant to include on your CV or make you stand out during an interview.

2. Take initiative and contribute new ideas

“There’s one quality that often impresses hiring managers: initiative.”

Contributing fresh ideas can put you in good stead in terms of career development, as hiring managers often look for employees who can add value beyond their standard duties.
 

Don’t shy away from speaking up

Speaking up in the workplace – without having to be nudged to do so – is a great way of demonstrating initiative. Being vocal with your ideas can have an impact on the whole team’s way of thinking and approach to working, which may bolster your chances of being considered for an uplift in responsibilities. What’s more, workers who habitually speak up tend to develop a certain confidence, which comes across during job interviews.

Add value to your organisation

Consider how you can better your chances of a promotion by exceeding basic expectations. First, think about what is expected of you as the norm, then come up with ideas about how you can go above and beyond to add additional value. Accountants, for example, prepare standard financial statements and carry out financial reporting, but some go the extra mile by taking the initiative to contribute commercially beneficial insights and ideas – these employees are adding extra value to their organisation and will likely get noticed.

Side projects

As well as going beyond baseline expectations in the workplace, any relevant projects that you take part in outside of the office can also support your career development. They can help to showcase your hard skills, soft skills, and your passion for your industry. One example of this is designers who help out local charities with pro bono design work in their free time, which they can then include in their portfolio to impress prospective employers. What’s more, some side projects that you may not initially deem relevant could, in fact, be worthy of mentioning on your CV. Teaching a yoga class every week, for example, demonstrates leadership skills, while managing a small side-business can teach sales, marketing and operations skills.

3. Collaboration is key for career development

Collaboration and teamwork capabilities are among the most frequently asked questions in interviews. Sure, you’re probably already collaborating quite extensively with colleagues within your direct team, but the opportunity to develop your career surpasses your day-to-day interactions.
 

Strengthen collaboration within your team

Effective collaboration within your team means more than just working together on a project. To highlight areas for improvement, ask yourself the following questions: How regularly do you update your colleagues on your progress? How well do you document issues? Is everyone aligned to a set of common goals? Once you have identified gaps in your team’s collaboration efforts, consider possible solutions and voice these to your coworkers.

Cross-functional collaboration can support career growth

To maximise collaboration in the workplace, you should be seeking out colleagues across different functions and seniorities. Working with different business areas to enhance your knowledge of your organisation as a whole. Moreover, it can also be an excellent example to give when asked a question about teamwork during an interview. However, it’s important to consider that employees across different functions may have a different knowledge-base and expertise, so you should find a way to express yourself in ways that can be understood by everyone – limit the use of jargon or acronyms that may not be understood by other departments, for example.
 

Collaborate with colleagues at different levels of seniority

Getting your name known among key decision makers can strengthen your internal promotion prospects, but collaborating with more senior colleagues can come with its challenges. It often requires empathy and tact, as people at different levels of seniority may have different concerns – senior leaders might want to just be kept up to date with the broader picture, whereas more junior professionals may need to be informed of more minute details, for example.

As 56% of professionals in Ireland now working a remote or hybrid working pattern, there can be additional hurdles to overcome when it comes to collaboration. For example, you’re potentially losing that in-person camaraderie and the ability to communicate without a prescheduled meeting, so effective collaborators are in high-demand.

4. Make the most of networking opportunities

“The truth is that many people are willing to offer their advice – they, too, were once in your position.”

Though cliché, there’s certainly great truth behind the adage: ‘it’s not just what you know, but who you know.’ Networking with likeminded professionals in your field can be a great way to open doors for current and future job opportunities. When competing with numerous applications, knowing someone at the organisation who may be able to recommend you can significantly improve your chance of success.
 

Networking events are a chance to gain industry knowledge

No mater your area of expertise, networking events can provide you with valuable market insights and information about the latest developments within your industry. These insights can be a great tool to utilise when encouraging meaningful conversations within your organisation, or to mention in an interview to showcase your passion and involvement within your field.

When deciding whether a networking opportunity is worth investing your time into, you should be asking yourself:

• Will this help me gain market insights and knowledge of my industry that will be beneficial for my career development?
• Could this potentially open doors to new career pathways?
• Will there be an opportunity for me to build professional relationships that may lead to mentorship?

5. Balance your hard and soft skills

With nearly three-quarters (71%) of employers in Ireland believing an employee’s willingness to learn is more important than their existing skillset, there’s great opportunity for enthusiastic professionals to be hired based on their potential. However, soft skills alone will likely not be enough to advance your career quickly. Instead, having a balance of hard and soft skills can maximise your chances of career development.

Ensure you don’t have any hard skills gaps

Hard skills are usually gained through hands-on experience and learning – the hard skills that would be the most useful for your career development would largely depend on the industry you’re working in. If you’re unsure what hard skills employers in your industry are looking for, then scanning through job adverts for relevant roles can give you a good idea about what is commonly required. From there, you can look to plug any hard skills gaps by upskilling.
 

Soft skills can give you the edge over other applicants

Strong communication remains the top soft skill that employers say is most needed for their organisation, cited by over half (58%) of employers. The ability to coordinate well with others is also high on the agenda, with 43% of employers seeing its value. Be sure to include transferrable skills such as these on you CV – it could give you the edge over other jobseekers.

Clearly, there’s a lot besides experience alone that can drive your career development: continuous learning, taking initiative, collaborating effectively, attending networking events and promoting your soft skills can all go a long way to helping you climb the career ladder.