Five Panda pointers: How to take on extra responsibility in your job

Oct 23, 2018 2:51:41 PM

Career progression in ecommerce is extremely important! When it comes to new opportunities, professionals will always look for the role where they can demonstrate their growth so far. Furthermore, they also want a role that allows them to continue to develop in their careers – even at a senior level.

However, career progression doesn’t always mean finding a new job straight away. It’s about developing your skills and getting comfortable with new tasks that you will encounter further up the career ladder. In our latest ‘Panda Pointers’ post, we will share five tips that will help you take on that extra responsibility like a pro!

1) Determining what you can realistically fit in

It’s great that you want to accept more responsibility in your role…but you must be fair to yourself. Look at your current day to day tasks and determine what you can realistically take on without overworking yourself. Only take on the responsibilities that will really help you progress (more about that in panda pointer 2!)

You could also dedicate a day of the week where you get to the office a bit early, or stay a bit later, which gives you the chance to really ace these extra responsibilities. We’re not saying to work hours and hours of overtime, but if you’re serious about achieving your goals it’s a small sacrifice to make once a week.

Extra tip: Is there anything that can be handed over to a team member, so you can focus on the quality of the extra tasks. This also gives you the chance to monitor and mentor someone else’s progress on a task that is new to them – perfect team management practice!

2) What areas do you want to focus on?

You know the direction you want your career to go in – what needs to be prioritised to get you there?

For example, you might want to manage an entire digital marketing strategy in the future but need some more insight into PPC. Knowing where the gaps are will help you draw up a plan of what you need to flag as something you want to learn about and how you’re going to achieve it!

3) What areas are you thriving in?

You know the areas you want to improve on, but you need to highlight the areas you excel at too! When asking for extra responsibility, you need to show why you’re at a point you can do so. You don’t want to ask for more responsibility when there is potentially day to day tasks that aren’t up to scratch yet.

So, show them what you are already great at so that extra responsibility may stem from this. For example, you could lead the training on this area moving forward or go on additional courses to really master the skill. The possibilities are endless!

4) Being transparent as to why you want extra work

Be honest with management as to why you’re asking for this. Obviously, be clear that you are not asking for a promotion in any capacity – but that progression is something you’re passionate about within the business.

Simply offer your help to the management and their daily tasks and say you want to ‘prove and improve’…prove you’re an asset to the team while improving your skills.

5) Search for responsibility with a proactive approach

If you feel like there aren’t many opportunities to accept extra progression, then it’s time to search for it yourself!

Speak with your colleagues and ask them if there is anything you can offer to a particular task or project. Ask a more junior member of the team if there are any areas they want to learn more about and offer to act as their mentor. There are so many ways you can take on extra responsibility without asking your management team - this shows initiative on your end and demonstrates your drive to do good things for your colleagues and company.

What do you think?

Share your thoughts on this post - whether you agree, disagree or have your own insight to share, we want to hear from you!

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