How to Take Back Control of Your Career?
Have you ever felt like you're simply being pushed into the background at your workplace? As if your boss has sidelined you while exploring every other opportunity – just not considering you? This feeling may be familiar to many of us: you have ambitions, you know you're ready for the next step – yet you don't get the opportunity.
This career stagnation can happen at any level, in any industry.
If you're in similar shoes – feeling like you're not being taken seriously, your career is stagnating, you're not getting new challenges – it's important to know: the direction of your career is more in your hands than you might think.
The following steps, backed by scientific research and HR professional recommendations, can help you regain control:
1. Clarify Your Professional Goals
Be honest with yourself: is your current position truly aligned with your long-term career goals? One fundamental tool in career planning is SMART goal setting, where your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Create a self-reflection analysis: what skills do you possess, what values guide your work, and what are the work environments where you can flourish? Such self-assessment is a cornerstone of competency-based career planning (see: Career Construction Theory, Savickas, 2005).
2. Initiate Open Dialogue
Don't wait for others to recognize that you're ready for the next step. Schedule a meeting with your manager and openly share your development needs. Reference specific achievements that demonstrate your added value.
Goal-oriented discussions where you jointly define development milestones align with modern performance evaluation systems (e.g., Management by Objectives, MBO). Don't be afraid to ask for feedback: this not only motivates but also signals your commitment to your manager.
3. Showcase Your Capabilities
If they don't see you, make yourself visible. Look for opportunities to take on new projects – even outside your own department. Cross-functional collaboration not only helps you acquire new skills but provides strategic insight into the company's overall operations.
Take on tasks in initiatives that support the company's main business objectives – this way, not only will your performance be measurable, but you'll also position yourself as a potential leader or key person.
4. Develop In-Demand Skills
Lifelong learning is not just a trend but an expectation. Don't let yourself become uncompetitive: developing skills such as digital literacy, data analysis, agile project management, or people management can give you a significant advantage.
Participate in professional training, courses, whether online (e.g., Coursera, EdX) or with company support. Learning agility is among the most sought-after soft skills (LinkedIn Skills Report, 2023).
5. Build Relationships Strategically
Internal networking is at least as important as external networking. Get to know how other departments operate and build relationships where others also notice you. Increasing professional visibility and finding an internal "sponsor" or mentor helps advance your career in the long term.
Workplace social support has been proven to increase psychological safety, which is one of the most important predictors of career satisfaction (Luthans & Youssef, 2007).
6. Think with a Strategic Mindset
Don't just react to current problems – have a long-term strategy. Prepare in advance for the possibility of career change, keep your resume current, maintain an active LinkedIn presence, and continuously monitor industry trends.
Keep in mind: careers are not linear. Sometimes stagnation is also a natural phase – but the possibility of changing direction is always there. The most important thing is not to passively wait for others to decide for you, but to actively shape your own path.
The lack of workplace recognition can be frustrating and demotivating. But if you don't take action, you only reinforce the feeling that you have no influence over your own fate. Recognize your values, stand up for yourself – and move on if necessary. Your career is in your hands.
Stay goal-oriented, develop yourself, and seek those fields where you are truly valued.
