Are you ready to move your career to the next level? Can't figure out why you keep getting passed up for promotions? Have you given in to fear and frustrations about upward mobility in your career? Do you understand what networking is all about?

It's time to look in the mirror and take a reality check to determine how others may be viewing you, and learn what may be holding you back from career advancement.

Once you do this, you then need to decide what (if anything) you need to focus on to move your career to the NEXT LEVEL.

There are many reasons you may not be advancing in your career. Some things you may be capable of changing, and some things may be out of your control.

Take a look at all of these road blocks to career advancements and decide for yourself what you need to work on. Remember, you are the only person who has the power to make positive changes in your life.

Here are the Top 25 Reasons why people lack career advancements:

1. Not enough experience / lacking diversity
2. Bad attitude on the job. Managers dislike you
3. They know you are looking for another job
4. You gossip / talk too much
5. Lack of education or unrelated degree
6. You are a minority / you are not like them
7. Gender differences
8. You plan on having a family (or you already have children)
9. You wont put in the overtime they desire
10. You dont socialize / hang out with key members after hours
11. They dont trust you or your intentions
12. You intimidate others maybe even your supervisor
13. They know you wont stay for too long
14. You lack the image they are seeking (body size, ethnicity, etc.)
15. You are not willing to relocate if needed
16. They show favoritism to relatives or friends
17. You lack the social status they desire
18. Poor work performance / not completing tasks in a timely manner
19. You have poor management skills
20. You have bad written/verbal communication skills
21. Your appearance (heavy make up, dress inappropriately, etc.)
22. You are above the current salary range
23. Age discrimination
24. They want to fire you!
25. You didn't network with the right people

For those of you who are not self-employed, take a step back and be willing to evaluate yourself in terms of your job performance, project management skills, etc., and decide to work on the areas you can improve. Don't be passed up for a position simply because you were unwilling to improve in some areas.

As we all know, sometimes you can do just about everything right and still be held back for reasons out of your control (e.g., appearance, gender, age). This is why the power of networking is so critical for us all.

Some people have a bad concept of what networking is all about. It does not mean that you give someone an opportunity (or a lead) that they are not qualified to handle, it simply means that you help each other by exposing those opportunities and sharing your resources to service each other, make referrals or introductions so that everyone may benefit and have the opportunity to explore those options.

Networking also involves developing relationships and associating yourself with people in key positions who can help you achieve your career goals. The concept of networking does not imply that you should ever place yourself in a position in which you are uncomfortable, forced to do things against your will, or involve yourself in any illegal activities.

You must be careful when deciding how, when, where and who you will network with, especially when it comes to developing business relationships with executives, hiring managers, peers, etc. Not all networking contacts are great contacts!

In conclusion, do you want to take your career to the next level? Aside from improving ourselves, we need to begin by networking, helping each other, and developing key relationships with those who can help us. When we look out for one another, we look out for ourselves as well.

Unlocking Greatness...