Career stagnation is a malady that affects core employees on a regular basis.

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	One way to prevent career stagnation is to talk with people who are already in the job roles you desire, and ask for suggestions on how to proceed to their level.

Current organizational structures usually show that alongside a greater body of employees with very high and specialized skills pertaining to end level functions is a smaller core of employees with greater managerial and coordinating abilities. Those in the core are perceived as being more trustable and loyal to the organization and may have higher retention in an organization despite perhaps their lower levels of skills or productivity. Core employees are basically viewed as mercenaries hired at a cost to deal with specific needs and functions. In turn, employees who carry in their portfolio a greater range of skills also view every assignment or job as a temporary affair that should be discarded as soon as better prospects appear elsewhere.

Core employees often reach career stagnation. Employees caught in career stagnation often try to create the illusion of being satisfied with things as they are, although simultaneously they may find themselves frustrated by a lack of career prospects.

By definition, a career plateau is a point in a career where the possibility of vertical promotion within the official hierarchy becomes very low or absent altogether. If the affected employee is a core employee who, despite fewer skills pertaining to end-functions, enjoys a position due to organization perceptions of trust and loyalty, he or she also realizes that a similar position would be hard to attain outside the organization of the current employer. Perceptions of having failed to actualize one's self and having failed in one's career are quick to follow.

Stagnating employees often refuse to budge and often allow themselves to be overtaken by frustration. The immediate absence of opportunities for vertical advancement also prevents others from instilling encouragement.

If you are stuck on a career plateau, move immediately to free yourself of career barriers. Possible strategies for breaking free of stagnation include the following.

• Create your own personal mission statement and decide where you would like to be.
• Start taking responsibility for your own direction and growth, and avoid placing your hopes in an organization-provided solution.
• Constantly work to broaden your skill set; seek to enhance rather than advance.
• Talk with people who are already in the job roles you desire, and ask for suggestions on how to proceed to their level.
• Set realistic, short-term goals that will move you toward your ultimate goal.

At the same time, practice the following strategies in your present job.

• Always keep in mind that while your performance at your job is important, you have reached the phase where interpersonal performance is critical.
• Align your behavior, rights, and values with the company's values, goals, and objectives.
• Do not provide problems. Offer positive solutions, and take time to think through issues before offering suggestions.
• Be a team player, and put the spotlight on the group's efforts.
• Approach everything you do with a positive attitude, and be sure that each thing you do makes a difference, regardless of appreciation.

In today's fast-paced world, one should always be aware of career plateaus and should set strategies to avoid falling into their grip.

On the net:

Hit a Career Plateau? Four Tips for Moving Up
Coping with a Career Plateau: An Empirical Examination of What Works and What Doesn't

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