Levelling up in your career is a really exciting time and it is a really good sign that you have identified that either you are ready or that you have outgrown your current role.

This level of self awareness is incredibly valuable.

Digging into why you want the next step can be a good starting point. Is it because you are bored or frustrated within your existing role or has an opportunity come up which has made you think ‘I could do that’?

If you are in a situation where you know you are ready but there isn’t an obvious next step within your organisation, start thinking about what your ideal role might look like.

It could be that there are some things that you are already very proficient in and some areas you may need a bit more experience or knowledge in. Now is the time to start filling in those gaps.

There could already be an opportunity to work in areas that interest you, that will give you these skills within your team. Look at identifying what they are and seeking out opportunities to start learning these areas.

Is there someone within your organisation or sector who is doing the role that you aspire to? Seek out those people and start a dialogue with them to see how they got there. They will all have had different career paths and opportunities, so their experience will be very helpful for you to identify what you need to do.

A lot of career trajectory is luck. The skills and experience are of course pivotal in creating the next step but sometimes being in the right place is where you need to be and having conversations with people already doing those jobs can be a great starting point. Tap into your network and be visible across your sector. This can mean going to events and joining networking groups to understand how others made their career moves.

Remember, you will never be 100% ready or qualified for that next step! Pull together all your knowledge, resources, network contacts and your success stories and go for it.

If you are thinking about the next step, ask yourself these 5 key questions:

1. What do you love about your current role and what are you really good at? Keep coming back to your own success stories to build your internal confidence in going for the next step.

2. Have you identified the job that you want to go for? If so start preparing your updated CV and covering letter (some roles may not ask for this but covering letters can be really useful for you to articulate why you want that role, which will be very helpful when you get to interview.)

3. If you are thinking of a more long term plan, what can you do now to get you to the next step? Is it: Qualifications? Networking? Knowledge of a different area of the business? Start making these small steps to add to your existing skill set.

4. Find your sponsors and champions and keep in touch with them. What do they see in you that you maybe don’t see in yourself? This can be a great lens to boost your confidence and find out ways to fill in your skills gap.

5. Be as ready as you can be. Then go for it. Remember that rejection is a learning point. If it didn’t work out this time, there will be other opportunities. Making the first step towards your next step is part of the process!

I am ready for the next step in my career

I don’t have a five year plan - Do I need one?