With supporting reports emerging almost daily from Today, MSNBC and more, it’s reasonable to acknowledge the workplace is far more hostile than it was just 10 years ago. Economic pressures, outsourcing, business contractions and falling profits all contribute to make the work environment tougher and, frankly, outright competitive.

So, what do you do as an aspiring manager wanting to advance? How do you seek the best way forward and target that desirable promotion to secure your career path? How do you set yourself apart in the applicant pool?

Simply put, you must first acknowledge the need to take action. It’s not enough to hope to “stay put” and receive regular promotions in an expanding business environment. For most managers, (from the very junior up to the CEO spot) that time is in the past.

Nevertheless, not everyone seems to act. A wise executive once told me there are three reasons people fail to take action. Namely, they:

1. Don’t want to.
2. Don’t know how to.
3. Have become lazy; sometimes called the “fat Rep” syndrome

Now, if you want to control your management career, then by definition most folks should be well motivated; so, item number 1 should be less of a concern. And given most positions no longer leave people “fat, dumb and happy,” item number 3 is much less a factor, too. Therefore, the implication is that aspiring managers wanting to advance (but not taking active measures) simply do not know howto systematically go about the task.

Few of us can afford to spend years randomly searching for reliable ways to position ourselves as strong candidates for positions we desire. Ideally, a “canned methodology” with an obvious structure and proven method is what is required. Similarly, the best way to move forward is by being systematic. What is required is a process that is precise, targeted, reliable, repeatable and, above all, easy to use.

Planning a management career is not a one-time event. Rather, it is a lifelong process that is best undertaken methodically and reviewed systematically over time. Further, it is important to recognize that promotions typically go to those already best prepared to fill the position. Normally, that next job places demands upon you that exceed the skills you currently employ in your day-to-day activity. So, you need to develop yourself for that next role. It is better that you already possess attributes and skills necessary for that next role before you are up for promotion. Importantly, by investing in your proactive development you can position yourself as the best candidate for that job you desire.

More specifically, to target that next position you will need to:

Understand the foundational and generic management skills the job requires

Understand the nature of those generic management skills

Honestly assess your own current competence in the skills you have identified

Select the specific skills you can develop in yourself to enhance your candidacy

Develop a personalized plan to affect the necessary improvements

Once you’ve learned how to target one position, you can readily target any other. More importantly, once you are empowered to recognize how to invest in your career you can continue to plan, reassess and revisit your growth needs as they evolve in the future.

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.

In times of economic hardship it becomes increasingly difficult to plan a professional management career and earn promotions. Outsourcing, too, compounds the problems of aspiring managers in a troubled global economy. This means that job seekers and promotional candidates have to work harder to obtain that competitive edge- something that sets them apart.

I developed my new book, Empower Your Inner Manager, to help aspiring managers quickly develop personalized career plans that get them the opportunities they seek. Regardless of your current management experience, the size of company in which you are employed, and the industry in which you work, this book has something for you!

Whether you’re developing yourself along a management career path, are engaged in an entrepreneurial role or just motivated to maximize your management skills, this book holds ideas and insights that will help you.

Based on my 30 years of Silicon Valley executive management experience in both large Corporations and start-ups, I believe both novice and experienced managers will benefit significantly from reading Empower Your Inner Manager. This book will serve you as both an immediate, personal planning tool and as an on-going reference source throughout your career.