How many times have you found yourself contemplating quitting in the past few weeks, months, and years simply because you figure that is the only way you can truly advance in your job? There are so many people that are just waiting for that perfect opportunity to come along where they can prove themselves, and move up that career ladder to their dream job. But waiting around isn’t usually the best plan, and there’s no guarantee that it will all just happen without any effort on your part.

So, should you quit your current job in the business field in order to get a better one? Not necessarily. Here we’ve put together a number of tips and advice that can help you to create a proactive plan that gets you the kind of career results you’ve been after.

Speak to Your Employer and Discuss Your Goals

Sometimes the best plan of approach is to be honest and forthcoming. Set up a meeting with your employer so you can let them know what your goals and dreams are. Where would you like to see yourself going in the company? During this meeting you can ask such important questions as:

1. Do you promote from within?
2. What does the company look for in their executives?
3. How many years of experience are required?
4. What sort of schooling is needed?
5. Is there anything you can be doing, learning, and taking on right now that will help to prepare you?
6. Do they have any advice for you?

Rise to the Challenge

It’s also important to step outside of your comfort zone at work and rise to the challenge. Often tasks and projects will come up that may seem like they are outside your area of expertise, skills, and knowledge. While you may be correct in this analysis, it doesn’t mean you should say no. Even if you have to take on a task or join a team as a junior member, look at it as an opportunity to learn.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions

Often people find themselves pigeon-holed into one particular role or department and don’t venture outside of their “area”. If you have dreams of one day becoming an executive or leader in the industry, you’re going to need to expand your knowledge. What this means is you need to take advantage of the time you have right now and ask questions.

What kind of questions should you ask? You can ask such questions as:

1. How did you decide on which process to use for a particular task?
2. Are there other ways to go about the same task?
3. What are some of the hurdles and challenges that person has run into?
4. What are the top priorities of the task?

Become a Solution-Oriented Individual

You can also start to create a persona for yourself in which you become the solutions person. You want to be the one that finds ways to be more productive, efficient, streamlined, and less costly. These are all key attributes of an executive or leader in the industry.

Further Your Education and Open New Doors

It’s also a good idea to consider furthering your education. Learning more about the industry you work in is a great way to prepare you for more senior level positions. Take an online Executive Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programme as an example.

A programme that is completely online means there is no need for you to quit your current job. This is perfect for working professionals who want to advance in the field and become leaders in the industry. Some of the benefits and highlights of an online DBA programme include:

• The ability to complete the program in one to two years
• Develop the skills needed to be a professional researcher
• Learn about the four key research models used in the business field
• Make use of high-tech podcasts, vodcasts, directed reading, online quizzes and tasks, and video conferencing in order to learn the material

You can click here for an example of an online DBA course.

No Need to Quit Just Yet

So, if you’ve made up your mind that it’s time to find a way to advance in your career, you may want to hold off quitting for the moment. It may just be that you need a different approach in the office in order to garner the results you’re after.