Are you ready to move on to the next level? Do you know why they did not consider you for that last promotion? Have you given in to disappointments and frustrations about upward mobility in your career? Do you truly understand what the power of networking is all about?

It’s time to look in the mirror and take a reality check to determine how others may be viewing you, and learn what may be holding you back from career advancement.

Once you do this, you then need to decide what (if anything) you need to focus on to move your career to the NEXT LEVEL.

There are many reasons you may not be advancing in your career. Some things you may be capable of changing, and some things may be out of your control.

Take a look at all of these road blocks to career advancements and decide for yourself what you need to work on. Remember, you are the only person who has the power to make positive changes in your life.

Here are the Top 25 Reasons why people lack career advancements:

1. Not enough experience / lacking diversity
2. Bad attitude on the job. Managers dislike you
3. They know you are looking for another job
4. You gossip / talk too much
5. Lack of education or unrelated degree
6. You are a minority / you are not like “them”
7. Gender differences
8. You plan on having a family (or you already have children)
9. You won’t put in the overtime they desire
10. You don’t socialize / hang out with key members after hours
11. They don’t trust you or your intentions
12. You intimidate others- maybe even your supervisor
13. They know you won’t stay for too long
14. You lack the image they are seeking (body size, ethnicity, etc.)
15. You are not willing to relocate if needed
16. They show favoritism to relatives or friends
17. You lack the social status they desire
18. Poor work performance / not completing tasks in a timely manner
19. You have poor management skills
20. You have bad written/verbal communication skills
21. Your appearance (heavy make up, dress inappropriately, etc.)
22. You are above the current salary range
23. Age discrimination
24. They want to fire you!
25. You didn’t network with the right people
For those of you who are not self-employed, take a step back and be willing to evaluate yourself in terms of your job performance, project management skills, etc., and decide to work on the areas you can improve. You never want to be passed up for a job opportunity because you were too arrogant to improve in some areas.

As we all know, sometimes you can do just about everything right and still be “held back” for reasons out of your control (e.g., appearance, gender, age). This is why the power of networking is so critical for us all.

Some people have a bad concept of what networking is all about. It does not mean that you give someone an opportunity (or a lead) that they are not qualified to handle, it simply means that you help each other by “exposing” those opportunities and sharing your resources to service each other, make referrals or introductions so that everyone may benefit and have the opportunity to explore those options.

Networking also involves developing relationships and associating yourself with people in key positions who can help you achieve your career goals. The concept of networking does not imply that you should ever place yourself in a position in which you are uncomfortable, forced to do things against your will, or involve yourself in any illegal activities.

You must be careful when deciding how, when, where and who you will network with, especially when it comes to developing business relationships with executives, hiring managers, peers, etc. Not all networking contacts are great contacts!

In conclusion, do you want to take your career to the next level? Aside from making self-improvements, we must also begin by networking, being considerate of each other, and developing targeted relationships with those who can help us. When we look out for one another, we look out for ourselves as well.

Unlocking Greatness…

Every business experiences slower periods. For some, they sell more during the Christmas season while others move at a snail pace. Some sell more during the summer and others less. The key is being aware of your seasons and alternatives available to solve the challenge and change the results.

All businesses need down time, breathing room to re-evaluate where weâ??re going, and where weâ??ve been. Whatâ??s working and whatâ??s not? What changes need to occur and where we want to go in the future?

Have you planned your breathing room time into your calendar year?

As a coach and independent professional, I know by personal experience and through the feedback of my clients, that during the slow times, stress, fears, and challenges on how to pay the bills increases. Sometimes, stress increases without any money factors because weâ??re not used to having additional time on our hands, so our brain manifests things to fill the void. So, what are the alternatives? Good question. Letâ??s explore the possibilities…

You can use the “save for a rainy day” philosophy by moving a certain percentage from a regular account to a money market or savings account for those rainy time periods.

You can plan out, on a paper calendar your seasonal periods. Look at your Income Statement for the past few years and you will see a pattern appearing. If that history isnâ??t available, ask others in your field area. As a coach, Iâ??m in the personal development field. I would contact others in this field, like speakers, trainers, who have experience and history and interview them on the question.

After you review your historical financial information, keep in mind that future economic conditions will influence your seasonal plans. This requires a strategy on who and what you are going to use for economic indicator flags. This may require a financial planner, economist, or other professional on your support team. Reading the paper or watching the news is all well and good, however, it can also add to confusion. Too many cooks in the kitchen syndrome. Choose one or two cooks and ask the others to leave the kitchen.

Remember, there are different seasons all over the world. When its summer in the United States, there is a different season in Australia and Japan. If your marketing vicinity is global, you need to plan your seasons very carefully. Each requires different marketing strategies and procedures. When marketing in the U.S. reduces, marketing in other countries will most likely increase. Especially if you are in the bathing suit business.

If your business is strictly local, you can create additional products or services that will only be available during that season. This can maintain momentum. You can use the “limited availability” technique for these products.

You can use this time for vacation, organize, plan, create new products, and use your rainy day funds for support.

As well as, establish new joint ventures, expand personnel, test new product ideas, clean up backlogs in filing or emails, send out thank you gifts, upgrade your computer, or learn new software.

Keep in mind that leaving some of these to-dos might be detrimental to your revenue generation thinking. Allowing a build up of the items that support your success, as mentioned in the above two paragraphs, can create a desire to create your own self-fulfilling prophecy. You will intentionally create a slow period when a natural occurrence wouldnâ??t regularly happen. An indicator can be if sales donâ??t return after the slow cycle. Pay particular attention if it occurs.

Choose to do some planning today on your seasons for the money results you want tomorrow. Identify when and where your business and industry seasons are, explore all possible solutions, and work through a plan to fill the void. The results will almost be a given.