How To Have A Career Conversation With Your Employer

By Thammaiah BN, Managing Director and Country Head of PERSOLKELLY India

Are you interested in exploring new opportunities in your company, but do not know how to start the conversation? Having an honest, open conversation with your employer about possible career advancement can be daunting. However, it's critical that your conversations are productive and lead to the best results.

Here are three quick tips on how to effectively initiate and conduct career conversations.

Mastering these tips will set you to have the most success in your pursuit of a role change and your professional development.

Research your options

Before you talk to your employer about whether you want to pursue a different role or a promotion within the company, it's important to research all the options available to you. This will help you create a clear plan and specific goals to discuss with management during these important conversations. Learning about all the options available will help you focus the conversation on what makes sense for both parties. Knowing what options are available will help employers see where they can best use their resources, and help you learn what opportunities are available and which ones are the best fit for you.

Prepare examples and facts

The next step is to prepare examples that show why you are a good fit for the new job or an internal promotion. This way, you can support any points or arguments with factual information and real-world examples that prove why you are qualified for the new job or opportunity. It is also beneficial to have facts ready about industry trends and news related to your current role at the company so that the employer can get an idea of how well-qualified you are for this potential change in duties. These facts should be relevant as they demonstrate why this change would be beneficial to both parties in the conversation. In addition, it will help build and boost your confidence.

Be confident and professional

When having these career conversations, it is important to remain confident and professional throughout each discussion. Being able to articulate yourself clearly when talking about possible changes in roles will make a big impression on employers and show them how serious and dedicated you are when it comes to making advancements in your career. Also, be mindful of your body language.

And if things don’t go as planned after having these conversations it’s still important to maintain a positive attitude so that employers know there are no hard feelings between either side; this will make future discussions more open and productive if need be. That said, it also builds confidence at work when having to speak with your managers or the higher-ups.

Conclusion

Career conversations should always be designed to produce results that are beneficial to both parties in terms of achieving goals while ensuring that all parties remain professional throughout the conversation.

Researching all available opportunities, preparing examples and facts, and maintaining a confident and professional demeanour during these conversations will ensure that each conversation goes smoothly and provides employees with the opportunity for career advancement within their existing organisation. At the same time, keep a positive outlook when things do not go according to plan and set your career goals.

Following these steps when starting career conversations will help employees stay organised throughout the process and ensure they get maximum success from each interaction, bringing them closer to their goal of obtaining new career opportunities within their current company!