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December 26, 2022 - 6 minutes

What Does "Growth Potential" Really Mean?

Forget Friday beers and free massages. THIS is the work perk that really pays off.

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No one wants to be stuck in the same position for the rest of their life, so it's important to find a company that has a lot of growth potential and will help you grow your skills and advance in your career. 

What Is Growth Potential?

Growth opportunities are essential to employee engagement. They go far beyond a higher position or a better parking space, these opportunities enable individuals to grow as a person and become their best selves. When there is a lack of growth potential, employees tend to look for new opportunities. 

When joining a new professional opportunity, ask questions during the interview process about the company's plans for the future and your own potential for growth. Consider what you want from your career and find a company that can help you achieve those goals. 

Ask what the potential for promotion and raises looks like in the near future, and if there are any additional responsibilities or training opportunities available. It is also important to think about how long you would ideally want to stay with a company before transitioning into a new role.

There many online courses and other professional development opportunities, like Ironhack’s bootcamps, that can help you expand your skills and knowledge. So don't be afraid to seize new opportunities and grow your career in the direction you want!

Understanding Your Current Growth Potential

Change starts from within, so we want to give you some tips on how to identify how you want to grow. Maybe you want to get into managing people, rise in your current role, or even shift into a completely new profession. There are so many options available with today’s evolving work environment. Your job is to decide what direction you want to grow in, and that will help you to better understand your potential for growth. 

Understanding your current growth potential means This means taking an honest look at yourself and assessing your strengths and weaknesses. Only by knowing where you stand can you begin to make the changes necessary to unleash your creative power.

It's no secret that the world is constantly changing. The growth of technology has led to an ever-growing number of new opportunities for those who are willing to learn and grow with the times. For those looking to start or further their career, it's important to stay ahead of the curve and keep learning new skills.

One way to do this is by taking advantage of professional growth opportunities. These can come in many forms, such as additional training, continuing education courses, or even simply reading about new developments in your field. Whatever route you choose, make sure that you're always challenging yourself and expanding your horizons.

The more you learn, the more marketable you become, and the more growth potential you have for your career. So don't be afraid to invest time and energy into your professional growth; it will pay off in the long run!

Asking About Growth in Interviews

When you land an interview, it’s normal to get excited! But you’ll want to go into your interview armed with tough questions for the interviewer to make the best use of your time. You bring value to any organization that is interested in hiring you, and you can position yourself for growth within the company when you express interest from the beginning. 

Here are some examples of questions to ask in interviews that’ll help you understand the growth potential of that role.

- How has the company grown in recent years?

Ask about the company’s growth overall. While startups are great and getting in at the beginning can be a great opportunity for growth, joining a better established company with employees who have grown with the company is a very good sign as well. Try to get an idea of what turnover is like, and how the company has grown in the past. 

- What are the company's plans for growth in the future?

On the flip side, ask about how the company plans to continue to grow. Are they seeking outside investment? Are they a smaller company that will stay small? Not all companies want to grow massively. Sometimes they find the sweet spot with their customers and work to improve efficiency but want to maintain the status quo. Try to understand what the company has in store as far as future growth.

- What is your growth potential within the company?

Ask how you can grow within the company. Is the role you’re interviewing for meant to be something that can grow vertically? Or is it a role that is more static and will probably be something that you are expected to stay in. Is the role seasonal? This is important to understand. There may be opportunities for learning even if there isn’t necessarily room for growth in the company itself. Try to gauge what you’ll learn and weigh it against your career goals overall.

- What opportunities for growth exist within the company?

Ask how the company handles employee growth and development. What kinds of training programs do they have? Are there employee engagement programs in place? How often do they hire for new roles internally? Are there plans for new roles in the future as the company grows? 

As a professional, growth within your company is essential to maintaining a career and taking it to the next level. When you are considering growth potential, there are several key factors to take into account. The first is the job market; what type of growth opportunities exist at your current company, and what other options might be out there.

What to Do When You Can’t Grow: Pivoting to a New Career

Pivoting to a new career can be a great option for those who find themselves unable to grow in their current job or industry. It presents an opportunity to explore different areas of interest and get out of a stagnant routine. Plus, by entering into a new field, you have the potential to gain new skills, increase your salary, and even find more growth potential. It’s like a breath of fresh air for your career! So don’t be afraid to take the leap — you never know what kind of growth opportunities might be waiting for you on the other side.

The tech industry is an incredibly rewarding and growth-oriented professional pathway to explore. As technology continues to evolve, it creates new opportunities for growth and development. With the rapid growth of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the number of career paths available to those interested in tech are steadily increasing. From software engineering to data science, growth potential in the tech industry is abundant and exciting. So if you’re looking for a career that offers growth opportunities, look no further than the ever-changing world of tech!

And don’t worry—you don’t need to be an expert coder to succeed in this field. Your growth potential isn’t determined by your coding skills. It’s up to you to make the most of the growth opportunities available in this exciting industry. So go ahead and take a chance—start exploring the tech industry and see where it takes you!  You never know what kind of growth potential you could unlock.  Good luck!


Check out how Ironhack graduate Jonathan Montalvo turned his experience into a position as a Senior UX/UI Designer at PWC in this video!

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