A career plateau is an overwhelming obstacle in the maze of a person’s career journey that might make them feel discouraged and stuck. But don’t worry! Let’s show the world how to break through the plateau and move forward in your career.
What Is Career Plateau?
What did people know about career plateau? This is the situation when someone has reached the highest point in their career and they think that there is no need to make any progress anymore. This can affect your motivation, job satisfaction, and well-being badly. Also, take note of the signs that might happen in your life.
Acknowledge The Signs Of Career Plateau
These common signs might happen to someone who already lost the spark of their passion.
Take note of these signs:
- Lack of motivation at work
- Feeling burnout
- Consistently at the same level
- Lack of opportunities to fly higher
Even if an employee is going through this kind of situation, don’t worry. Because there is always a way to overcome it and get back on track.
Steps To Avoid Career Plateau:
Explore a series of ways and strategies to help an employee conquer the plateau and ascend to new heights.
1. Self-Reflection
Image via Walden Behavioral Care
The first step in overcoming your career plateau stage is self-reflection. Analyze your current situation as well as recognize the early signs. For example, maybe it can be some feelings of boredom, frustration, or unhappiness while at work. It can also be because your performance or salary has not increased much in a while.
Your career prospects may also be limited by factors like competition, market trends, or changes in the organization. It may look simple but it can cause a career plateau.
How to improve it? Enhance your clarity and understanding of your career goals, flaws, and potential by assessing your current situation.
2. Upskilling
Image via HR Daily Advisor
Then, the second step is to upskill yourself and seek for professional development. This technique will help in finding chances for cross-training, discovering relevant skill and knowledge spaces, pursuing additional education, certifications, or training programs, and diversifying your skill set.
Your value, competence, and confidence in your career can all be improved with skill development and professional growth. Additionally, they may assist in staying with current new technologies, trends, and practices. They may also create fresh opportunities for an employee to progress professionally.
3. Seek Mentorship
Images via HRM Asia & GoBusiness Singapore
Seeking mentorship from people who can help improve your job quality, knowledge, and skills is the third step to avoiding a career plateau. Try asking for feedback from them to discover your areas of weakness for development, acknowledge your accomplishments, and set realistic goals.
Through mentoring, an employee can get knowledge from someone who is more experienced, knowledgeable, or insightful in their profession and who can also provide them with support, encouragement, and advice. Try to ask your management, friends, colleagues, or mentors in the workplace for feedback and mentorship.
4. Explore New Opportunities & Challenges
Image via BusinessBecause
Last but not least, trying to explore fresh opportunities also helps them grow, improve, or change their work path. The benefits of this step are to keep your eyes open in learning about new people, networks, or cultures as well as develop new interests, passions, or talents.
Try to look into new possibilities both inside and outside of your current company, such as taking on additional positions, responsibilities, or projects, volunteering for a charity, joining professional organizations, beginning a side hustle, or seeking a career switch. This will help in motivating yourself to achieve career growth.
The path, as well as the objective, are both essential in the effort to break through a career plateau. All of these steps may turn into opportunities for advancement by using these techniques and keeping a growth mindset. Let your career rise rather than be defined by a plateau.
