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Plot your path to advancement
You've just completed a long job search and are about to accept a great new job. Now may not seem like the time to ask about your future advancement opportunities with the company, but it's exactly the right time to ask, say career development experts.
Opportunities for advancement should be among the criteria for assessing whether you want a job, along with job description and responsibilities, salary, benefits, company culture, location and work environment.
"You should be asking yourself: 'Is this where I want to grow for a while? What kind of team will I be working with? Do I see myself staying with this organization for a period of time, and, if so, what are my opportunities?' You need to know this kind of information before you accept an offer," said Lanie Damon, an Atlanta career consultant.
But how do you ask without seeming too ambitious or aggressive, or giving the impression that you believe you're entitled to know what a company could do for you before you've proved yourself?
You time it right. "You don't want to talk about this topic until late in the interview process (second or third interview), after you know that they are clearly interested in you as a candidate," said Emory Mulling, chairman of The Mulling Corp., a consulting firm specializing in executive coaching, outplacement and retained searches for the middle market.
You should have convinced them already that you are interested in the company and can do the job. "You don't want to come across as not being so much interested in this job as the next one," Mulling said.
Once all questions about the current position and your skills and qualifications have been answered, you might say something like, " 'I'm certainly interested in long-term employment with this company. I'm interested in what you see as an appropriate career path for this position,' " Mulling said. "You don't ask about the timing of promotions, because they can't answer that. It will depend on how good you are and how hard you're willing to work."
Companies no longer expect employees to stay for life, so you should be thinking three to five years (maybe two promotions) out -- not 10 to 20 years -- when you pose the question, Mulling added.
Another question to ask in the interview process is "Why is this position available?"
"If it's not a newly created position, then someone was terminated, resigned or promoted out of it. If the person was promoted, then ask [about] her new position. It's also appropriate to ask if you could talk with your predecessor, and, if the company is surprised by the request or not willing to let you do that, it sends a negative message," Mulling said.
"You have every right to ask questions that will affect your future, especially if advancement is important to you, because at the end of the day, it's your career," said Gloria Wright, management consultant and owner of gloria wright and associates. (Wright uses lower-case letters for both her own name and that of her business.)
In government and other types of jobs there are clearly defined paths and levels of employment, but things aren't always so clear-cut in the corporate world.
"You can ask the hiring manager, your future boss or the HR manager specific questions about the next steps for you to work toward if you took this position," Wright said. "General questions about the corporate culture are also helpful, such as 'What criteria are considered for advancement in your company? Who would be doing my evaluations? How would I be told about advancement objectives? Is there a fast-track or leadership program for executives? Does it involve moving? Does the company value extra training and education to make people more effective on the job? Do they pay for it?'
"The impression you want to leave is that you're a professional who is interested in advancing in your career and that you want to know how to help yourself."
" 'How does the company show an interest in developing its people?' is an open-ended question that may lead to a discussion of mentoring or leadership programs, training opportunities or tuition reimbursement," Damon said.
These opportunities can be a great benefit during the prospective job and your whole career. By knowing about these possibilities ahead of time, you may choose to take one project over another, acquire certain skills over others or get a certification that would lead to advancement in the area you want, she added.
Be sensitive to timing and personality when asking questions about advancement. You'll get better answers after you've established some level of trust and a common interest of working together.
"If someone tells you that they don't know the answer to an [advancement] question, ask when you can follow up, since it's important to you," Wright said. "If the interviewer gets defensive or acts like it is none of your business to be asking these kinds of questions, take that as a warning sign. Interviewing should be a two-way street, with both you and the company looking for a good match."
Asking direct questions to management during the interview process is one way to get information, but you may want to go through back channels to get a fuller picture.
"Your recruiter may be the one to ask questions about advancement and career paths, especially if he has a long-standing relationship with the company," Damon said.
Use your business, church and community networks to find people who are employed at or recently retired from the company, and talk to them about promotion policies and how people with skills and backgrounds similar to yours have fared. "If possible, ask a close acquaintance who knows the person to call for you and ask the questions," Mulling said.
"Use your professional organizations to help you find employee contacts," Damon said. "And don't overlook alumni associations. They have databases, and the people who sign up on them are usually receptive to giving information."
Tell people specifically what you mean by advancement, so they'll know how to help. Beyond money and promotion, you might be interested in working on new and exciting projects or having access to people who can teach you new things.
If you're interested in changing careers or fields, one strategy is to take a lateral move into a company with a strong reputation in the field that interests you, Mulling said. If you're an accountant, for example, who wants to get into auditing, you may be more interested in your prospective company's auditing department and the backgrounds of people working in it. That's the path you want to learn about.
"Most people don't do a good job of career planning," Mulling said. "They just wait for opportunities to present themselves, rather than being proactive. If you're thinking about your career three to five years out, you'll make better decisions."
