Northwestern Mutual: You Can Advance Your Career While Working from Home

Many remote employees find that working from home improves productivity and offers more flexibility without the tedious commute. However, one of the perceived downsides of remote work is that it makes employees less visible to managers. In turn, remote employees may not be as top of mind when it comes time for conversations about career advancement.

Remote workers may want to take a few proactive steps that highlight their strengths and show their dedication to their jobs to best position themselves to advance their careers.

Make connections

Working from home offers flexibility, but it also reduces the chance for daily interactions that help build strong relationships with coworkers. While remote work may limit casual in-person networking opportunities, it encourages intentional communication to stay connected.

Remote workers should work to chat with team members and other coworkers whenever possible. Setting up virtual coffee meetings with select coworkers can be a great way to connect and intentionally carve out time that’s not work-focused.

Of course, it’s helpful for other employees to also understand an individual’s professional strengths, like mastering email marketing campaigns, quick and flawless sales data entry skills, or a keen understanding of universal life insurance policies. But providing coworkers insight into one’s personality and life outside of work can make a more lasting impression.

Actively Engage

Sometimes, remote workers have to do more than quietly excel at their professional responsibilities to stand out. Active engagement and commitment to the company’s goals can help someone shine while working from home. Some strategies for demonstrating active engagement include:

• Taking the lead on new, interesting projects.
• Sharing thoughts and ideas in team meetings.
• Looking for ways to improve internal processes.
• Asking questions about other teams’ projects.

More intentional, active engagement may pave the way for career advancement and improve job satisfaction, too.

Seek feedback

Regular feedback is essential for growth in any workplace. In workplaces with established performance reviews, workers should show up prepared with specific questions about the role and a roadmap of career aspirations. For workers without a formal evaluation process in place, it can makes sense to schedule regular meetings with their supervisor to seek feedback and discuss growth.

Remote employees should be sure to incorporate constructive criticism into their work moving forward and keep track of measurable improvements. Maintaining a record of accomplishments clearly showing growth can help make a case for promotion.

Prioritize education

Remote work may offer more flexibility to pursue additional education or training. Continuous learning can make remote employees more valuable assets to their organizations. A worker might further their education within the field by seeking a formal certificate, like a Salesforce certification for an employee who works in business development.

Alternatively, an employee may consider researching relevant topics to advance their expertise. For example, someone in the banking and financial services industry might research term and whole life insurance policies to branch into a related field. Building expertise can be as simple as staying up to date with industry trends through trade publications or podcasts. Sharing new insights or skills at a meeting may uplift the whole team and position a worker for advancement.

With a little extra effort, a remote employee can demonstrate their indispensability to their organization and climb the corporate ladder like an in-person employee.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM) and its subsidiaries in Milwaukee, WI.

Media Information:

Source: Northwestern Mutual

Contact: Don Klein, 1-800-323-7033