There are some very common misunderstandings about how people achieve career growth. These myths could make it harder to achieve your career goals. If these sound familiar, you may want to consider a new perspective.
Myth: Career growth is just about time. People with the most years of experience will always get promoted.
Truth: Experience is important. Most often, people can expect to spend at least a few years in a role before they are ready to move to the next stage of their career. However, experience is not the only important factor. When employers are considering who is ready to grow in their career, they are looking at a combination of experience, work performance, initiative, and skills. If an employee has many years of experience but hasn’t performed well in their job or stayed up-to-date on their skills, they probably will not be the first choice for a promotion. Instead, employees who dedicate themselves to working hard, taking the initiative to solve problems, and learning new skills are going to have the best chance of getting promoted.
Myth: My supervisor is responsible for making sure I grow in my career.
Truth: It is true that supervisors can be extremely helpful as mentors and coaches to help their team members grow. However, nobody else is going to be as invested in your career goals as you are. It is important to take responsibility for your own career growth. If you have a supervisor who is very supportive and engaged in your growth, make sure to have conversations about your goals and get your supervisor’s help and guidance to develop your skills. If your supervisor is not as engaged, make your own plans to develop your skills and seek out mentors from other work areas or from your personal life.
Myth: Career growth is only for those with college degrees or other advanced credentials.
Truth: There are many jobs where a college degree is not required. Also, many employers will consider experience in place of a degree. For jobs with the state of North Carolina, one year of experience is considered equivalent to one year of higher education. For example, a job that requires a bachelor’s degree (generally takes four years of full-time study) would be open to candidates with a high school diploma plus four years of relevant work experience. Other employers might expect one to two times as many years of experience.
If you are interested in pursuing more education, however, that can be a great way to open up new career opportunities. NC State can possibly help with benefits like the Tuition Waiver for courses at UNC System institutions.
Myth: Career growth is too much trouble. Why would I want a job with more worries and stress?
Truth: It is true that moving up in your career often means greater levels of responsibility and that can bring some added stress. However, every job has its own sources of stress. You might consider that the stresses are just different, not necessarily greater in one type of job than another. Plus, there are many benefits of growing in your career, including the satisfaction of learning new things and accomplishing goals, as well as the increased salary and recognition from new roles. It is important for you to consider all these factors and to make your own decisions about what kinds of roles would be the best fit for you.