Are you stuck in a career rut?

Not sure where you see yourself in 5 years, 2 years, heck even the next year?!

Want to move forward, but don’t quite know how?

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." Now of course this expression doesn’t mean that you will literally never work a day in your life. I know some of you were thinking it ????  This blog is all about ways you beautiful Muslimahs can progress and truly excel in your careers.

Taking the next step up the career ladder can sometimes seem very daunting, so here are some expert advice and top tips we’ve collected for a successful career progression:

We start with PIE and no we’re not talking about the pie you eat, though a nice warm hearty pie during these wet and cold days, sounds a treat.

So, what is PIE?

Action 1: Up your game

You might think that as long as you keep doing your job, progression will come naturally – but don’t assume. Competition for higher up positions is often strong, and if you don’t make more of an effort to stand out from the crowd, you could be undeservedly overlooked.

So to avoid this, use every possible opportunity to show your passion and enthusiasm, and always be open to taking on extra work if needed, demonstrating your flexibility. It could be that your boss needs a hand with that hefty project proposal, but it’ll mean working slightly outside your regular hours. Or maybe your workplace is especially busy, and someone needs to stay late to help out. Whatever field of work you're in, putting in that extra bit of effort demonstrates your commitment to the company and the job you do - something that will always put you in your employer's good books.

Action 2: Talk about what you are doing on a day to day basis



This can be with your manager, your peers, your team and the owners of the company. Now this may sound a little strange, but by doing this, you will start to get exposed and naturally help build your image across the company. One of the best places to do this are in your 1:1s with your manager, your manager is often busy and individual performance can sometimes get overlooked on a day to day basis, so this is the perfect time to talk about all that great stuff you’ve been doing.

Action 3: Go after that opportunity



If you want an opportunity, you should make it clear to your manager, because they will be able to open up so many doors for you, by just asking them to help and support you working with other people. For example, if there is a project available ask to see if you can work on it, this will give you a chance to meet and work with new people in the company, other people as part of the bigger team and this is where you will start building that image and exposure.

To drive home the importance of exposure - your manager and senior stakeholders will often have meetings and your manager may put you forward for a promotion or better role, but if you haven't worked with any of those people around that table or they haven't heard of you or know about you, and this may be the one reason you don't get the position despite you working really hard.

Ask yourself ...

Okay okay so now you’ve got it, one thing to note is no matter how great your manager is, it all comes down to you.

Never withhold from aiming high

This was an attribute our Prophet (SAW) always instilled amongst his companions. To strive for the absolute best and to have high aspirations.

Rasulullah (SAW) said: “So when you ask Allah, then ask for Al-Firdaws, for indeed it is the highest part of Paradise; above it is the Throne of the Most Merciful and flowing rivers.”

The power of Dua is like no other as the Hadith goes Prophet (SAW) said, "Tie your camel and place your trust in Allah" (Tirmidhi)

The lesson from this hadith is that we need to use all resources available to us to solve our problems, and then trust Allah for the outcome as “Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Qur'an 13.11)

Stop settling

If after all of this you’re not getting where you wish to be, if the company you’re currently working for doesn’t allow career progression in your preferred direction, it might be time to move on. The last thing you want is to be stuck in a dead-end position, just because you had some hope that it might, possibly, someday, turn into the career you actually want.

So, broaden your horizons, make a plan, and if you can’t move forward where you are, see what else is out there. You could be missing out on pursuing your dream career path without even realising it.



So whether you want to stay in your current industry but you’ve reached your peak at the company you’re at, or you want to change careers completely, finding a new position might be the best way to fulfil your career goals.