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Careers Advice: Tips for planners seeking promotion

Written by: Jason Moore
Published on: 17 Jun 2019

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The planning sector offers many routes for progression and the continued growth of the sector will afford many the opportunity to develop their careers. However, whilst the opportunities are there promotion can often be a difficult subject to broach. So here are some tips for making the climb.

An obvious starting point would be to set a reasonable goal to work towards and a timeframe within which to achieve this. It is never too early to plan for your long-term career and setting your stall out to become a director when you’re still learning the ropes is not over-ambitious, but something to keep you motivated and on track. It is much easier to break it down in manageable chunks and to plan a pathway for success.

Planning is a career that will develop not your only knowledge of the planning system but also develop a wide array of additional skills such as communication and business development. Enhancing your skills will aid any promotion aspirations and I would always encourage those seeking a promotion to broaden their skill-set as whilst it’s imperative you handle your current role, it is also crucial that you can demonstrate your additional capabilities.

Crucially, I would always recommend enlisting the help of your line manager. Being open about wanting a promotion can be viewed as a negative. But by enlisting the support of your line manager you can agree sensible targets and you will be able to monitor your progress.

We are all familiar with appraisals, but when it comes to seeking a promotion they are a fantastic opportunity for you to assess your progress and demonstrate your progress and suitability to take the next step. My advice is don’t fear the appraisal but use it as an opportunity to showcase your brilliance - and you’ll be updating your LinkedIn and toasting the new job title before you know it!

Jason Moore is principal consultant at recruitment consultancy the Blayze Group