If you feel like you’ve hit a wall on the job, you’re not alone. A Pew Research study found that one of the major reasons 33% of U.S. workers left their jobs in 2021 was because their employer provided no path for advancement. Stagnant jobs quickly lose their luster and the current job market (372k jobs were added and unemployment held at 3.6% in June) offers opportunities to professionals who want growth.

Naturally, more people will leave their jobs in a hot market, but the challenge is finding opportunities with genuine and lasting advancement. Not every job will give you that.

Here’s how to capitalize on the good fortune of the market and find jobs that develop your career in alignment with your goals. Plus, we’ll cover how working with the right IT staffing agencies can help when you feel there is no room for advancement at work.

Identify Multiple Avenues of Growth

The IT industry is so expansive and engaging that just about any job you take will advance your career in some way. However, does that translate to advancement you want to make? Not in all cases.

If you’ve dealt with more transactional recruiters in the last year, you’ve been approached with jobs that offer more money, new challenges, new technologies, or work-from-home options. Though you could have taken them for higher pay or novel projects, you didn’t, probably because they felt misaligned.

In some ways, that self-screening is beneficial because knee-jerk responses create a short-term fix. However, there is more than one way to reach your career objectives. In fact, circumscribing your options can limit your growth rather than streamline it.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you’re in a mid-level developer position. You know you want to eventually reach a senior developer role in a true DevOps shop working in an industry with career stability. Senior roles, DevOps heavy positions, or even jobs within high-demand sectors (healthcare, financial services, etc.) all could provide the advancement you need. Staying open to any of these routes can provide room for advancement in ways you might not have initially imagined.

Determine How to Feel Fulfilled

Your next job is always going to be measured against your last job. Much like relationships, workers pile up baggage from their previous positions, and unless the next job rectifies past negative experiences, most will find they have a short fuse for repeated frustrations. However, taking stock of your pet peeves at your current job first will allow you to find a better and lasting opportunity.

What contributes to the feeling that you’re stuck? Does your boss micromanage you? Are your projects too rudimentary? Does the company discourage innovation?

If you have no room for advancement at work because of a micromanaging boss, your next job should be or offer upward movement. If the work environment or tech stack is stale, you might benefit from lateral movement expanding your repertoire and setting you up for future success. Alleviating your greatest source of frustration can create satisfaction that help you to check your baggage at the door.

Collaborate with a Recruiter

You might feel like a position is perfect on paper for your career advancement, but will the reality deliver what you want? Not always. A survey conducted by The Muse shows that 72% of new hires found a position, work culture, or company very different than their initial expectations. Increasingly referred to as Shift Shock, this phenomenon puts many job seekers in a position where they’re compelled to renew their job search almost as soon as it’s finished.

In these situations, tech professionals can increase their odds of finding fulfillment with career development by working with an experienced recruiter. The right recruiting partner can help you to evaluate the positions on your plate, identify different options, and figure out what should be dealbreakers for your next role. Plus, they can provide an inside scoop on a company’s culture, helping you to cut down on the margin of error when selecting your next job.

If you choose to work with Capstone IT, we can take that partnership a step further. Our recruiters are committed to three unique pillars which position us to better advance your career.

Servant Partnership™: Your success comes first. We do the hard work of finding tailor-made jobs so you accept work that leaves you feeling satisfied in your choice.
Guaranteed Quality: Our recruiters learn the exact formula for success at every stage of our partnership to provide you with the roles, insight, and support you need to build a satisfying career.
Employee Engagement: We don’t think of our partnership as a one-off connection. Our recruiters pinpoint the types of positions that build towards your long-term goals, even if it’s incremental. Plus, we do everything we can to make your ongoing roles unforgettable.

Whether you choose Capstone IT or another staffing partner, overcoming the wall of a stagnant job to find more satisfying work on the other side is much easier when someone else is there to give you a boost.

Tired of the feeling there is no room for advancement at work? Search our jobs or submit your resume to get started on the next phase in your career development.