Question: I’ve been at my current company for two years and have been getting great feedback from my boss throughout that time. I’m eager to advance. What steps should I take to increase my chances of being promoted?

We asked Meghan Lavallee, chair, board of directors at CERIC, a charitable organization that advances education, research and advocacy in career counselling and development, to tackle this one:

Approaching [your boss] directly is always a good strategy when seeking a promotion. I think right now, particularly within our current labour market, most organizations are looking to build talent from within. But it’s important to prepare for that conversation by asking yourself, ‘What does advancement really mean to me?’ It might be [a change in] title, salary and status at your company, but there might be other elements to it as well that aren’t as simple to define.

It’s important to have solid speaking notes for yourself. Demonstrate what it is that you have accomplished within the company and what opportunities you see for yourself in the future. How can you be that person who will bring value to your organization? Help your leaders see you as a person that could take on more responsibility or lead new projects.

Leaders will often see you within your current role. They may not see the other talents or accomplishments you are developing through unpaid work in your community or skills from your educational background that you are not expressing in your current role. It’s important to paint that picture for your leaders. When they know more about you and what you’re wanting to do, they can help match you with opportunities.

Be sure to participate in activities that your organization is hosting. There is an opportunity in an informal setting to get to know leaders working in other departments. Sometimes a lateral move can serve you better long-term if it’s more aligned with where you are hoping to go within your organization.

It’s important to be continually learning. That could mean accessing professional development opportunities through your HR department, getting involved with a professional association or engaging with LinkedIn Learning. A lot of local libraries offer free access to LinkedIn Learning with your library membership. Social media is another source [for learning], but in that space it’s important to check the credentials of content creators to ensure you are getting good advice.

If you do end up taking on an extra project within your role, remember that balance is important. When taking on something new, ask whether there are elements of your current role that you could give to a more junior person in your department, providing the same kind of stretch project for them. That will support good teamwork and provide opportunities for cross-training and mentorship within your unit.

The broken rung and how it limits women’s career prospects

For nearly 50 years The Glass Ceiling has stood as a colourful description for a formidable barrier women meet while trying to reach the top in organizations.

But the actual problem, we have learned recently, is not as much at the top of the organization but further down, at the first rung, where women stumble keeping up with men and never catch up.

“This advancement gap persists and compounds over women’s careers, and causes lower and lower female representation on every step of the corporate leadership ladder,” McKinsey & Co. senior partners Kweilin Ellingrud, Lareina Yee, and María del Mar Martínez write in The Broken Rung.

Making menopause mainstream to boost productivity at work

“For too long, health issues such as fertility, pregnancy and especially menopause have been treated as private matters. Not just in our workplaces but across society and that silence has come at a cost to women and the companies they work for,” says Déjà Leonard.

“That’s why I was especially interested in a new white paper from SanoLiving, a national digital health platform focused on women’s mid-life care. Their research makes it clear that menopause isn’t just a personal health issue. It’s a workplace performance issue and one we can no longer afford to ignore.”

How to give a better performance review

“Good performance reviews happen all year long. This is feedback that employees should be aware of from conversations you’ve had through the whole year. Nothing should be a surprise. If it is a surprise, you haven’t set yourself up to have a good performance review,” says Sarah Stockdale, founder and CEO of Growclass.

“You should have a process and a structure for performance evaluations and that process should be shared with your employees. I work with a lot of startups, who sometimes say, ‘We’re winging it.’ But if your company doesn’t have a process, make the process.”