How to talk to your manager about where you want to take your career

Entry-level jobs are important. They are a great way to get your foot in the door at an organisation when starting your career.

They are also responsible for a lot of tasks that are critical to the day-to-day operations of a communications team. These tasks seem minor, from media monitoring to managing social media channels, but without them, an organisation would be lost. 

As great as they are, you probably don’t want to stay in an entry-level role forever. Here are my tips for talking to your manager about where you want to take your career and how you can get there.

Patience is a virtue

While it can seem like all your problems will be solved by a promotion, if you’re not ready, it can be a tricky experience. Generally, I’d expect to be in an entry-level role for at least three years at the start of your career. 

While there are exceptions to every rule and situations where it would make sense to progress sooner, also be mindful that it can be frustrating for managers if you’re too focused on moving up before you’re ready. 

Be clear

Think about what you want before talking to your manager about getting a more senior role. For example, don’t say that you want to be a manager; speak to them about how you like working directly with people and are keen to become a manager so you can support people as part of your job. 

Rather than asking for more responsibility, you could discuss how you would like to own projects fully and have the opportunity to develop project management skills. 

Take responsibility for gaining experience

Once you have figured out what you want, it’s time to take responsibility for getting the experience you need. 

I suggest having a chat with your manager as an initial step. In your next 1:1, let them know that you are keen to progress to a more senior role in the future and want to focus on developing the skills you need to get there. 

I suggest adding an agenda item for your regular catch-ups where you revisit this. Don’t expect your manager to drive this; take ownership of bringing it up and engaging them in the conversation. 

Keep track

It’s essential to keep track of the new skills you are developing so you can talk to your manager about them and be ready to refer to them if you get a job interview. 

I’d suggest setting up a document where you take note of examples of how you are using these skills and save it on your desktop so you can refer to it easily.