Searching for Support

Dear Dori - I am looking for career growth, and I am not getting support from my supervisor. What should I do? -- Searching for Support

Dear Searching for Support -

I’m sorry to hear that your supervisor hasn’t shown support for your career growth. This can be frustrating to navigate, especially when some programs require supervisor approval to participate.

While it can feel personal and like your supervisor is rooting for you to fail, there are often more neutral explanations:

  1. They’re busy.
  2. They think it’s important for you to develop skills in your current position first.
  3. You and your supervisor have differing visions for what career growth could or should look like for you.
  4. Some combination of the above.

Investing in our employees is one of the smartest and most fiscally responsible things we can do as an employer. Turnover is expensive, and supervisors know (or should know) this. Still, the urgent things that need to be done often take precedence over the important career development that should be done. In light of the contributing factors above, my advice to you is to make it as easy as possible for your supervisor to say “yes.” How?

1. Be Excellent at Your Job

Be excellent at the job you have. This makes it easier for your supervisor to think of you when considering how to allocate limited training dollars.

2. Frame Your Ask

Frame your ask in terms of how it adds value to the team, division or agency overall, not just how it benefits you personally. For example, does your team spends a lot of time on tedious, paper-based processes that could be streamlined with Power Automate? Identify yourself as someone willing and interested to learn the skills to make the improvement happen.

3. Do the Legwork

Do as much of the legwork as you can up front. Instead of saying, “I’m interested in career growth, can you find me something?”, make your request specific and ready to approve. For example: “I want to learn more about Excel, and I’ve found a course I can take on June 11 for $65. Can I send the Special Expense to your email?”

A good place to capture these types of requests is within your Individual Development Plan (IDP). Rather than a general goal like “learn more about change management,” you could set an actionable goal: “Enroll in ETD’s 'Championing Change' course next available on June 23 or the next available ETD course with similar content.”

4. Be Creative

Be creative in how you find or define opportunities for career growth. Be open to free or low-cost options such as LinkedIn Learning or trainings offered through communities of practice. Or check out Employee Career Exploration Week for free virtual presentations and panel discussions on career development in state service.

If you’re a seasoned professional, consider volunteering to present at a conference. Speakers often receive free registration, and the preparation time may count toward certain professional certifications.

5. Be Aware of Your Resources

Your supervisor isn’t your only resource for exploring future career growth. Coworkers, mentors, employee resource groups, and communities of practice are all rich resources for having career conversations. People love talking about themselves. If you see someone in state service who has the kind of job you think you want, reach out to see if they’d share their career journey with you. If you’re impressed by a presenter in a meeting, reach out afterwards to share your feedback and see if they have any advice for you. The state is full of smart, talented, mission-driven professionals. Don’t be shy about asking to learn from their experience.

-- Workforce Development Director Dori

About Dear Dori

Dear Dori is a career advice column in our bimonthly enterprise career development email. State employees can ask anything about career development at the State of Minnesota using the Ask Your Career Development Questions form. These questions are anonymous, so employees should not share private details or anything that identifies them.