Navigate a Clear Career Path by Asking Yourself These 5 Questions
By Pete Peterson, Director, Global Product Design at StubHub
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Who among us has a career path that’s been paved with gold? Have promotions and raises materialized for you out of thin air? Maybe someone handed you a detailed roadmap that guides you from your first job all the way to the c-suite? The more common experience may be a little like how I felt trying to navigate this subway map on a recent work trip to Shanghai:
In my experience, navigating a successful career path requires planning and intention — and is not something that simply materializes from hard work alone. While the planning can be a daunting and arduous exercise, it doesn’t have to be if you break it down to these five questions every professional should ask themselves to take charge of their careers.
1. What Is My Real POV?
Traditionally, we’re taught that if we work hard and do the best job we can, good things will happen. They most certainly will. But it’s important to ask yourself questions like what do I want to do and where do I want to go? What is your real POV? How do you see yourself as a professional and as a person? Where do you want to be in five years? Are you happy in the role you’re in now and how well you do feel you do your job?
People should think of their answers the same way someone in sales delivers a business pitch. What’s your elevator pitch about your talent, your accomplishments and where you want to see your career go? These aren’t simple answers.
I have found that some people think their boss should answer these questions for them. The fact is, you own every aspect of your career. Knowing where you want to be in 1–2 years is the best conversation starter you can have with your manager (and with anyone you meet outside of your company). This begins your journey in uncovering your real career goals and desires.
2. Am I Effectively Communicating with My Manager?
People seem to have the notion that a successful career is defined by climbing the ladder from rung to rung, promotion to promotion. A good manager should help you re-frame this mindset by asking what it is you really want to do. From my experience, this question is often met with silence. Just saying “I want to move ahead” signals to me that you don’t know what you want to do.
Instead, effective managers will center the conversation around your personal and professional growth — and dissuade you from taking the mindset of “I need that promotion. Help me figure out how to get it.”
Good things come to those who have a point of view and know what they want. It’s also important to have a manager who’s willing to ask you the right questions and steer you into areas that are highly interesting to you.
In the event you don’t have that kind of a manager, seek out a mentor or a more senior employee who has been at the company longer than you have who can help you with this direction and insight. Remember, most people are happy to help and have a chat. Those in senior positions have had these same conversations with managers and mentors throughout their careers. It’s what helped them get to where they are and it will help you as well.
3. How Do I Close the Gap Between “Now” and “Next”?
Now it’s time to see what the playing field looks like. You should talk to your manager about what the expectations are of the next role you might occupy in your journey. The manager, in turn, can create clarity and context for where you are now — and what you’ll need to learn to close the gap.
Here are three steps you can take to help close the gap:
- a) Start by clearly outlining the role you’re currently in and how you believe your performance ranks. Are you somewhere in the middle of the pack? Are you going above and beyond? Be honest with yourself here.
- b) Ask your manager to help you understand how you can improve your performance now so that you can start to work towards your next role.
- c) Talk about what experience and capabilities you need to attain to move to the next level. It helps to mutually acknowledge that while the role or path may not exist yet, figuring out how that role could arise in the near future and how to prepare for it is beneficial for both the employee and the manager.
4. Are My Needs and My Company’s Needs Aligned?
Simply being qualified and ready for what’s next is only half of the story. There has to be a company need as well. This is why it’s so important to prepare and be ready before the real opportunity arises (or as I like to put it, “have the boat built before the flood arrives”).
So how does someone get aligned with business needs? Having a conversation with a manager, mentor or even a good friend at the company can help provide this kind of clarity. Thinking about how you can help solve a problem for the business is a smart way to make sure your presence is essential.
Keep in mind: even if there isn’t a company need at this exact moment doesn’t mean that management can’t develop a plan or path to explore the things that are interesting to you.
5. Do People Know Who I Am?
If you’re great at your job but the right people in the organization don’t know about you, how will they think of you for new opportunities? Oftentimes being great at your job is only a slice of the pie. You need to tell your story to the right audience.
So how can you do this? Here are some ideas:
- a) Make sure your leaders know you. One tip: in my career, I always make sure I have a deck ready that describes what I do and what I’m responsible for in any given job.
- b) Seek out opportunities to speak at company events and meet more people in your work environment. Get inventive. At StubHub, we host “Brown Bag” lunch talks, where all employees are invited to a casual lunchtime presentation on a variety of topics, ranging from the latest marketing campaign to a new product release. We also regularly host other kinds of company-wide shares or talks with external speakers to provide outside-the-box perspectives on other industries and career opportunities.
- c) Be proud to speak, be proud to boast. You may say you’re an introvert or uncomfortable speaking in front of crowds. But remember that the majority of people feel this way. You are also brave, whether you know it or not. Give it a shot.
Come review time, you should go in there confident that the right people know the right things about your skills and your accomplishments. You should feel ready to talk about your larger career goals and desires. Equally as important: go into the review armed with the knowledge of where you can grow and improve.
Know that when a future business need arises that requires a certain skill set or prior professional experience, you will have the boat built before the flood arrives. Chances are you’ll stay afloat for years to come.
Learn more about the author of this post, Pete Peterson. Interested in working for a company that values your individual career path? Come join us.
