So you’ve achieved your goal of working as a medical secretary and you’re earning a decent wage. Now you’re ready to start working towards advancement. You could be earning more than you are. Read below for some tips on how to get ahead.
GET ACCREDITED
If you don’t already have accreditation, you should get it. With formal proof of your skills, you will be in a much better position to demand a higher wage. Evening and weekend courses will allow you to work and study at the same time. There are also an increasing number of online options, which will save you the time and expense of commuting to a campus.
GET (A VARIETY OF) EXPERIENCE
Don’t feel obliged to stay with your current employer. You may be comfortable where you are, but after a few years you’ll have learned everything you can from that job. Moving on to another office will give you the opportunity to learn new skills, since every employer does things a little differently. And with a letter of recommendation from your old boss, you’ll be able to look for something that pays a bit more, too.
JOIN PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Professional Associations, like the American Society of Administrative Professionals (ASAP), offer opportunities to find new jobs, network with other professionals in your field, and participate in lifelong career training. Often what’s taught through the local branch of your association will be more immediately relevant to you than the general topics covered in post-secondary institutions. Additionally, professional associations almost always have volunteer positions that will make your resume look very impressive.
JOIN A UNION
Unions take all the work out of negotiating for a higher wage and better benefits. If you hear about a union forming in your field, consider supporting it. There are pros and cons to unionizing, of course. Unions may collect dues and require that their members purchase licenses to work, but the pros of unionizing usually outweigh the cons.
DO A GOOD JOB
Sometimes we get so caught up in achieving our future advancement goals that we forget to pay attention to our present performance. Your first priority should be to make sure that you’re doing the best job that you can do, every day. Any effort that you put into additional training or networking should come second.
ASK FOR A RAISE
This one may seem like it’s too obvious to mention, but often people seem to think that it’s somehow rude to ask for more money for doing the same job. But the fact is, the more experience you have in your field, the more valuable you are as a worker. If, after a year or more of consistently performing well, your boss doesn’t think that you’ve proven yourself to be a more reliable (and therefore more valuable) worker than some new hire, then that may be just the cue you need to start looking for a new position.
We all need goals to work towards if we don’t want to wind up in a rut. Set your sights high, and keep working towards your dream salary. You have opportunities all around you to advance, so grab one of them and achieve your career goals!
