At a recent dinner with several graduates (all from top California universities) who began their careers during this recession era, I enquired about the challenges new graduates are facing in California, today. They surprised me with the issues they chose to highlight and upon which they universally agreed.

Firstly, let us begin by considering the backdrop of an increasingly hostile workplace being portrayed almost daily with supporting reports from Today, MSNBC and more; the workplace is clearly now a tougher environment and frankly, often outright competitive.

So, what is the primary challenge that graduates currently face? The group’s opinion was that it is one of both morale and expectation. Either new job applicants are immediately deflated by tales of overwhelming difficulties in securing any job at all, or, those less easily dissuaded (often products of prestigious schools with credentials as top students) and newly established in their first jobs are then subsequently disillusioned by work environments they feel are neither conducive nor receptive to, their advancement.

This is a troubling anecdotal proposition! Basically, if you weren’t alarmed at the prospects for even getting hired in the first place, you will likely be disheartened by the immediate outlook for the position you finally do secure.

As I recall the pre-recession era, graduates were often presumed to go through a “settling” phase within the first 1.5-2years of accepting their first position. It was commonly believed that if they didn’t “move on” at this time, then they would typically settle into their roles for >5 years, before their next major, personal-career reassessment. These seemed to be reasonable “rules-of-thumb,” given typical ages for graduation and the fact that such progressions seem somewhat chronologically likely, anyway. This type of pigeonholing can sometimes seem questionable, but often provides useful guidance for proactive managers and mentors.

However, now the economic climate is much more challenging and frankly, likely to remain so for new graduates several years into the future and this, during the formative years of their careers. Economic pressures, outsourcing, business contractions and generally slowed growth all contribute to make the work environment tougher and career advancements more tenuous. It seems only reasonable to assume that graduates will now become more restless and uncertain with their careers and earlier.

So, what is the solution for you as a new graduate? How do you best establish your career and secure your future? Intriguingly, the solution is really the same now as always, but certainly even more important to pursue in these times of increased competition for promotional opportunities and advancement.

If you want to progress your career, you must maximize your value. This is an act of pro-action, just as were the studies and work that secured your graduation. And, let’s face it, if you don’t invest in yourself for promotion, your competitors likely will!

To develop yourself and increase your value you will need to:

Understand the new skills and qualifications that your advancement will require

Honestly assess your current competence regarding these skills and qualifications

Develop a personalized plan to gain and implement essential improvements

Once you have learned to continuously prepare yourself for advancement you can readily target specific promotional opportunities. More importantly, you are empowered by embracing the process of investing in your career and can do so time-and-again, even as your growth needs evolve in the future through increasingly senior management positions.