Success in W2 Life Part 1

How to Improve Your Corporate Career

Are you still in the same pay grade year after year?

Do you want that promotion but stuck in a rut?

Do you work hard and long but keep getting passed up for others?

If you feel over-worked and under-paid at your corporate W2, then this is the post you don’t want to skip.

Having been in the corporate world for nearly 20 years, I have seen more than my fair share of very capable, highly technical, and experienced people who are in the same mid-level position year after year.

Often you meet them and the first impression is “whoa, this person is super over-qualified for that role”. But after interacting with them or managing them you see all the reasons they are stuck at lower-middle levels.

It rarely is due to not working hard. Often the lower-middle level old-timers are some of the most diligent and hard working people around. They often turn out the work of 2-3 of their peers.

And it isn’t lack of ‘company spirit’ as they are some of the quickest to tow the company lines and get behind initiatives.

So what could be holding them back and leaving them under-paid and under-appreciated?

As someone who is currently the youngest person at my level at my company, I’ll give my advice on how to reinvigorate your corporate career - and to do so with working no more (and often less) hours than your peers.

Now my career is in a relatively technical, and very white-collar industry (insurance) and some of the anecdotes may not be directly applicable to your actual job, but the general themes are (in my opinion) universal. I have guided friends and family in various occupations towards promotions.

So how do you break out of the rut and start your career moving?