Career advancement tip: Stay informed on updates from your employer
Career advancement in software development requires more than just technical skills. Those skills are the first thing to develop of course. Although if you really want to advance in your career, then soft skills development should not be neglected. Writing this blog, for example, is improving my written communication skills. The good news is there are some relatively easy things you can do to improve your soft skills. One of those things is to stay informed.
It happens to the best of us. We miss an internal communication, leadership makes an announcement on a day that we’re out of the office, we’re neck-deep in a strategic project, etc. This problem compounds at larger companies with thousands of employees. Maybe an email distribution group changed and some employees missed an important email. This very thing just happened to me this week. Some employees, including me, didn’t get invited to a company-wide webinar. Thankfully, other people were staying informed. Leadership got the problem fixed and everyone eventually got the invite. These things happen.
Even allowing some leeway for things like this, it still surprises me how often throughout my 26-year career I have encountered coworkers who seem to be constantly unaware of important updates.
Simply staying informed is a relatively easy way to boost your career. Read company emails. Pay attention and stay engaged in meetings. Attend town hall meetings. Pay attention to strategy updates from your leadership teams at all levels. It’s not that hard. Take notes.
Why is it good to do these things? Here are just a few reasons.
- It signals to your manager that you are engaged in your role.
- Your manager doesn’t have to constantly tell you things that you should already know.
- You can talk to higher-level leadership about company strategy, which signals to additional company leaders that you are engaged in your role.
- You’ll be made aware of opportunities that you might miss otherwise.
- You can get a jump on any new technologies or initiatives your company is planning on implementing.
I could keep going, but I think this list illustrates my point. So, stay informed, read emails, attend town-halls, etc.
Software developers can sometimes be introverted, and I’m no exception. You don’t have to go to every company function. While most career advice experts would tell you otherwise—If optional, halloween costume dress-up parties aren’t your thing, then don’t go to those.
But do pay attention and stay informed. It’s not that hard and you will benefit in the long run.