Change or progress your career, Hurihia, ka koke rānei i tō aramahi

Maybe you’ve made a good start in your career – you’re in the right industry and you’ve got the hang of your job. What’s the next step?

First – tino pai! Give yourself a pat on the back. People who like their mahi and want to improve are in demand. As you learn more skills, you become more valuable as a worker. You can help your business develop and be more successful.

Next – ask your boss for a meeting. Not just a quick chat – a proper kōrero about your career.

Here are some things you could say to get the chat started:

• Thanks for having me as part of the team. I really like working here. I’ve learned a lot and feel like I know how to do my job.
• I want to keep progressing in my career. I’m keen to learn more skills so I can help to make this company more successful.
• Can I get your advice about what my next steps should be?
  

Some questions you could ask are:

• What do you think I’m good at?
• What could I get better at?
• Where could I go from here?

Then talk about things you can do to progress in your job. You need to ask for what you want, and your boss may have some good ideas as well.

Here are some things you could ask for:

• Your boss’s support for an apprenticeship, further training or study. The company could support you by paying your fees or allowing you time away from your job for learning.
• A career mentor. Someone who’s got to where you want to be. You meet up regularly, and they give you guidance about how to follow in their footsteps.
• Going on courses. Industry associations often run courses where you can learn new skills, or you might be able to get a micro-credential to show you have special skills or knowledge.

About micro-credentials

Get ready for your kōrero by finding out what you want first. Ask other people at work how they got into the mahi you like. Find out about training or study that you’d like to do. Check what it’s called, how much it costs and how long it takes.

It can be difficult to train or study for a new job if you have to keep working in the old one.

Some employers will support their staff to study or train, even if it means you’ll end up working somewhere else. You could ask your boss to help with possibilities like:

• changing from full-time to part-time hours while you study or train
• taking paid or unpaid study leave while you get qualifications – even if it’s unpaid, you get time to focus
• a secondment in the area you want to work in, where you’re still officially employed in your old job but work in the new one for the same organisation
• job shadowing, where you spend time following and watching someone doing the job you want.