When you hear the word “plateau,” your mind probably jumps to topics like weight loss, sports training, or exercise. It’s almost impossible not to instantly think of these topics when weight loss pills or detoxes are constantly being advertised all over social media and TV. What isn’t being advertised are the plateaus that Americans all over the country are experiencing in their own careers. In a world recovering from a pandemic, these plateaus have taken on all sorts of forms within the last few years.
While that might feel daunting, this quiz can provide some invaluable ideas and prompts for helping you to redeem your career plateau. Even if you aren’t experiencing a plateau yourself, Test Your Knowledge to motivate and help a friend who is going through one.
What is a crucial component of creating a plan for overcoming a career plateau?
- Starting from the drawing board and evaluating your entire career
- Focusing primarily on developing technological skills
- Accepting failure as a necessary part of career growth
- Identifying assumptions that are holding you back and challenging them
Why is seeking out a coach or mentor invaluable for working through career plateau?
- They have special wisdom that generally isn’t advertised to most employees
- They are often experts in a plethora of fields and can help you identify blindspots in your role
- They can offer objective guidance for helping you to achieve your goals
- They are helpful for one size fits all solutions for employees in various fields
What’s a common sign you might be experiencing a plateau in your career?
- You’re further ahead on your tasks and duties than everyone else on your team
- You feel stagnant and your responsibilities haven’t changed in a long time
- You’ve recently made a lateral role transition in your office
- You’re working exceptionally hard and long hours
If you are going to overcome a career plateau, you should be:
- Neutral, knowing that plateaus eventually pass
- Self-reflective, knowing that looking inward can help you course correct
- Proactive, taking agency of your career
- Restless and frustrated, knowing that those emotions can propel you into change
What is a potential outcome that can result from overcoming a career plateau?
- You’ll likely achieve a better salary and more desirable job title
- You’ll have great short term success after a long period of stagnation
- You’ll feel more secure in your job and more likely to stay there permanently
- Your mental health and outlook will be better, yielding a greater sense of fulfillment within your job
What is a crucial component of creating a plan for overcoming a career plateau?
- Starting from the drawing board and evaluating your entire career
- Focusing primarily on developing technological skills
- Accepting failure as a necessary part of career growth
- Identifying assumptions that are holding you back and challenging them
Why is seeking out a coach or mentor invaluable for working through career plateau?
- They have special wisdom that generally isn’t advertised to most employees
- They are often experts in a plethora of fields and can help you identify blindspots in your role
- They can offer objective guidance for helping you to achieve your goals
- They are helpful for one size fits all solutions for employees in various fields
What’s a common sign you might be experiencing a plateau in your career?
- You’re further ahead on your tasks and duties than everyone else on your team
- You feel stagnant and your responsibilities haven’t changed in a long time
- You’ve recently made a lateral role transition in your office
- You’re working exceptionally hard and long hours
If you are going to overcome a career plateau, you should be:
- Neutral, knowing that plateaus eventually pass
- Self-reflective, knowing that looking inward can help you course correct
- Proactive, taking agency of your career
- Restless and frustrated, knowing that those emotions can propel you into change
What is a potential outcome that can result from overcoming a career plateau?
- You’ll likely achieve a better salary and more desirable job title
- You’ll have great short term success after a long period of stagnation
- You’ll feel more secure in your job and more likely to stay there permanently
- Your mental health and outlook will be better, yielding a greater sense of fulfillment within your job
Frequently, the lead-ups to plateaus can be so subtle and gradual that an employee may not even realize that they’re in the midst of a dull season. Be it from new management entering and usurping tasks that you once had to your job title changing altogether due to budget cuts, or even the presence of technological advancements replacing duties you once did yourself, career plateaus are a very real reality.
As opposed to the negative connotations associated with weight loss plateaus, however, career plateaus aren’t always a sign of hopelessness. For many, a plateau may wind up being a much-needed sign that a routine needs to be switched up or that an your professional life is unsustainable. While many in the workforce will do just about anything to squash any signs of their career becoming static, plateaus can help point out current habits that are faulty or in need of freshening up. Instead of just thinking about how to tread through the plateau, it’s significantly more beneficial to self-reflect on how you can use the plateau to propel your career forward past where it was before.