Key Lessons for Accelerating Early Career Growth

I spent too many years thinking my boss was responsible for my career. Or the company. Or a magical fairy godmother. I thought it was everyone else’s job to advocate for me. To push me. To help me advance and grow. And I completely missed the fact that it was me. It was always ME. Our job is to be the biggest advocate for our careers. We are in the driver’s seat. And we can’t take a back seat and expect someone else to do the driving. Here are ten ways to start advocating for your career not tomorrow, TODAY: 1️⃣ Take a seat at front of the table, not at the back of the room. Be visible. Log onto that Zoom early, make sure people know you are there. Don’t shrink to the corner of the screen or room. 2️⃣ Raise your hand 🙋🏾♀️ Ask that question. Show you’re engaged and thoughtful and there to contribute. I always ask a question early on in the meeting to build my confidence to contribute more later. 3️⃣ Ask to be put on that assignment Make sure you are working on assignments that are priorities for the company. Especially in this market. 4️⃣ Coach your peers on their work You don’t have to have direct reports to have influence. Guide peers who ask for your help: position yourself for the next level by acting like you are at the next level. 5️⃣ Build a career development plan If your boss won’t help you do this, ask a colleague to be a sounding boarding or a friend outside of work. Understand what your goals are this year and what you want your next two roles to be. 6️⃣ Focus on one new skill you want to build What’s one new skill you want to learn that can help with your career growth? Pick it and commit to it. Block 30 minutes on your calendar daily to work on it. Make this time non negotiable. 7️⃣ Take credit for your work Even if they won’t let you in that meeting, share what you are working on with others. Whether that’s it in 1:1 conversations or in team meetings, make sure you let others know the impact you are making. 8️⃣ Get meaningful feedback If your boss keeps saying you’re killing it or avoids giving your feedback, ask others. Show up with what you think your strengths are and areas of opportunity to get their reactions. 9️⃣ Keep a track of your wins Start a Google doc or grab a notebook, and down all of your wins and the end of every month. This makes it easier to do your self evaluation during performance review time and update your resume. 🔟 Always have your resume ready Whether you are looking for internal or external, always have your resume ready. And make sure it’s not saved on your work lap, especially in this market where layoffs are happening every day. How do you advocate for yourself at work? #leadership #culture #inclusion #MitaMallick

If I had known these career lessons earlier, it would’ve saved me a lot of stress. After 12+ years of marketing experience in large enterprises, here’s some of my hard-won advice: ✅ Be visible. Opportunities don’t usually go to whoever works hardest; it’s whose hard work is most visible. So speak up, take up space! ✅ The “dream job” is a myth for most people. The phrase actually kinda drives me nuts. If your job checks your biggest 1-2 boxes, you’re doing well. That could be total comp or specific benefits like mat leave. Sometimes I would get frustrated if my job didn’t check every single box… but that’s not super realistic. ✅ You might move faster alone, but you go farther when you bring more people along. As you move up in your career, it’s not really about how much you can accomplish alone. ✅ Ask for the exact growth you want; don’t wait for your manager to give it to you (I spent too long thinking, “Surely I’ll get promoted for doing such a good job on this…” instead of asking for a promotion by a specific date). ✅ Always find the bigger initiatives that your work attaches to. Messaging pillars, events, corporate themes. If you can’t figure that out, you probably shouldn’t be doing that thing. ✅ Do a lot more competitive research on compensation. You can’t really do enough research on comp. And it’s not one-and-done. You have to keep this up for years. ✅ Our brains can’t go, go, go for days, nights, and weekends while maintaining peak creativity and efficiency. Touch grass; set the boundaries you need. ✅ In larger companies, there’s almost always a bunch of benefits you didn’t know about. Ask people who have been there a while how they use their benefits. ✅ Measure impact over output. Producing a ton of work isn’t a flex. Making a ton of impact is! What did I miss? What hard-won advice would you give to folks starting out in your industry? 👀

3 insights from $500K in raises my clients landed: 1) Consistency beats overwork every time. Many professionals think promotions are about doing more. But constant overwork creates burnout—not growth. The real key is finding what drives impact in your role: → 1 leadership skill to master → 1 key project to own → 1 strategic outcome to deliver When you focus on these for 12 months, results compound. Because promotions don’t happen from doing everything. They happen when you make a clear, visible impact. Stop spreading yourself thin. Commit to the actions that move the needle. 2) Clarity beats comparison. Too many professionals derail their growth by comparing themselves to peers. It creates second-guessing: → “Am I as good as they are?” → “Do I need to be doing what they’re doing?” The truth: executives aren’t promoted for imitating others. They succeed by owning their unique strengths: → Showing how they solve high-level problems. → Aligning their results with company goals. → Communicating their value clearly and confidently. When you focus on your own lane, you stand out. Not because you do everything better—but because you do it your way. That’s what leaders notice. 3) Strategy beats hard work. Working harder without a plan doesn’t lead to promotions. Doing your job well is important—but it’s not enough. Executives create opportunities through: → Building strong relationships with sponsors and advocates. → Establishing executive presence through strategic communication. → Connecting their results to company success. Waiting in line for recognition rarely works. Leaders notice those who create impact AND ensure others see it. That’s how you position yourself for the next step. Because if you don’t design your own career plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. *** 50,000+ professionals read my weekly playbooks to accelerate their path to VP Get instant access: https://lnkd.in/gkW-XAer