How do you get unstuck and up-level your career?

As a former recruiter and now executive coach, I have seen the arcs of thousands of careers, and coached many people through assessing?where they are?in their career,?what they?want to do?going forward, and?what they?need to do?to get what they want.

Sometimes, just a few simple adjustments are needed to jumpstart a career, and sometimes, you need a whole new action plan.

Why careers stall

There are multiple reasons why you can find yourself stuck in a job, or passed over for a promotion you thought you deserved. You can’t just “blindly work hard,” and assume that is enough.

Ask yourself these questions, and if you find yourself in any of these situations, try the action step suggested to get back on track.

Are you doing the wrong tasks?

I once worked with a client who was a beloved manager in his professional services firm, but who got passed up for a partner role. He needed to do more selling and more thought leadership. Yet, he was still very hands-on with his clients’ day-to-day needs.

What has worked to get you where you are today may not be the same skills to propel you to the next step up the ladder.

Are you supporting the wrong people?

You want to be collegial and collaborative with everyone. This isn’t about being unsupportive or ignoring anyone. However, you need to know who makes the career advancement decisions (about plum assignments, promotions, and raises), and make sure these people know your value. Your boss is hopefully part of this decision process, but they may not have enough influence or credibility.

Confirm who does make these decisions, and focus your relationship-building on these decision-makers who can move your career.

Are you serving the wrong goals?

Market conditions change, and business strategy changes accordingly. You might have thrived when your department was in heavy growth mode and still might be proposing new ideas, repeating what had benefited you before. But maybe your group is streamlining or in cost-cutting mode, and your creative ideas are irrelevant, or worse, threatening.

If you haven’t recently confirmed what is on your boss’ priority list, then you might be focusing on the wrong objectives.

Has your salary outpaced your value?

If you have been at your employer for a while, your salary might have silently crept up above market value due to standard annual raises. Is your functional experience, institutional knowledge, and industry expertise worth your salary? Or are you just more expensive than someone with less experience?

Take an audit of the value you bring to the company, and make sure you’re not an easy target for the next restructuring.

Has your value outpaced your company?

On the flip side, you might be a superstar performer but trapped in a company that can never accommodate your level. I once managed an individual contributor who was so talented she could have done my job (and in fact, she now has a bigger management job elsewhere). But she would never have gotten my job for reasons unrelated to her performance: the group was small and didn’t need another person at my level. The company tried to manufacture a meatier role for her but if she wanted that executive title (and she did want it and deserved it), she had to leave.

If you find yourself in this situation, it might be time start looking elsewhere.

Have you stopped growing?

Maybe you are not raising your hand for stretch assignments, or are not connected inside and outside your group to even hear about stretch assignments. Maybe you are not attending industry-related events or conferences. Or maybe you are not keeping yourself up-to-date on trends, technological advances, and thought leadership in your area.

Career advancement doesn’t just happen by clocking in time. You need to contribute value and increase your value over time by growing yourself and following emerging trends in your area.

Are you on auto pilot?

If this is the first time you’re even thinking about whether you’re doing the right tasks, supporting the right people and goals, and contributing enough value, then your career is on auto pilot. What you did before, even if it served you well, may not be relevant as market conditions change and companies respond accordingly.

You need to regularly look at your career and proactively manage your work habits, your focus, your network, your skills, and your expertise.

This is a short excerpt from the longform post, "Why Careers Stall And How You Can Advance Your Career" by Caroline Ceniza-Levine, recruiter, career coach and founder of the Dream Career Club. Read the full post for an exploration of common career mistakes, fears and limiting beliefs, as well as how to assess what might be wrong and where you want to go. The post also includes specific recommendations for how you can advance your career to the next level.