Skip to content Sis, Your Work Ethic is Immaculate
That Alone Won't Get You Promoted
If you’ve been working hard but still getting overlooked, First Mondays will change that. This article will show you how to take control of your career by using the first Monday of every month to clarify your goals, advocate for yourself, and make your value undeniable. You’ll learn practical steps to get visible, document your wins, and position yourself for promotions—because hard work alone isn’t enough.
Crazy Curls & Career Confessions
Share your wildest work or hair story anonymously!
This blog will help you:
Ready to strengthen your network and head into the new year with intention? Let’s dive in.
Before you can nurture your network, you need to identify the people who’ve been instrumental in your career this year. Take a moment to think about:
Action Tip: Create a short list of the five most impactful relationships you’ve had this year. Write down one specific way each person contributed to your growth.
Gratitude is a simple yet powerful way to maintain and strengthen connections. The key is to make it personal and specific. Instead of generic “thanks for everything” messages, highlight what the person did and why it mattered to you.
How You Can Show Your Gratitude:
Action Tip: Send personalized notes via email or handwritten cards. If possible, invite them for coffee or a virtual chat to express your gratitude directly.
If you’ve fallen out of touch with key connections, year-end networking events are a great way to reconnect. These events offer a casual yet professional setting to check in with peers, mentors, and even new potential connections.
Where to Find Events:
Attending these events not only strengthens your existing network but also helps expand it, introducing you to people who can play a critical role in your professional development in 2025.
Action Tip: Before attending, prepare a short “year-in-review” story about your career progress and goals. This makes it easier to spark meaningful conversations.
While group events are great, nothing beats a personalized conversation. Use this time of year to schedule one-on-ones with your key connections to reflect on the year and discuss future opportunities.
Conversation Starters:
These conversations show genuine interest in their perspective and can strengthen your relationship.
Action Tip: Offer to treat them to coffee, lunch, or even a virtual meeting if in-person isn’t feasible.
The relationships you nurture now can continue to grow in the new year—but only if you’re intentional. A connection plan ensures you’re staying top of mind with your network, even when life gets busy.
Ideas for Your Plan:
Action Tip: Make a list of three new connections you want to establish next year and find relevant networking events or groups to build those relationships.
Your career isn’t just built on skills or accomplishments—it thrives on the relationships you cultivate. As you close out the year, take the time to reflect, express gratitude, and intentionally nurture your connections. Whether it’s reaching out to a mentor, attending a networking event on Meetup.com, or sending a thoughtful note to an advocate, these small actions can have a big impact on your professional journey.
The main benefit of this “press tour” concept is keeping my momentum going. When it comes to networking, your work is never finished. At some point, you become the person people are trying to meet—and that’s what you’re working toward. But something with such abstract benefits can be hard to get out of bed for. But when I’m tempted to bed rot after a day of work instead of putting on my networking outfit and leaving the house, I pump myself up by reopening my vision board and remembering that if I want my life to feel like a movie, I have to go on the press tour.
he key to 2025 isn’t just setting ambitious career goals—it’s building the network to help you achieve them. Let’s make it a year of connection and growth.
For more career chats, check them out here.
Crazy Curls & Career Confessions
Share your wildest work or hair story anonymously. I’ll share advice via the career chats page on how to navigate them.
Why Hard Work Alone Won’t Get You the Promotion You Deserve
For far too long, Black women in corporate spaces have been conditioned to believe that keeping their heads down, doing the work, and staying out of office politics will eventually lead to recognition. The truth? That strategy often leads to being overworked, undervalued, and overlooked. Promotions don’t go to the most qualified—they go to those who make their value known.
Taraji P. Henson has been vocal about knowing her worth, demanding what she deserves she believes she should be paid, and refusing to accept less. She speaks up in rooms where decisions are made and doesn’t wait for permission to advocate for herself. That is the energy you need to bring to your career. If you’re not consistently showing up for yourself and making your goals clear, someone else will control your trajectory.You’re already doing the work. Now, it’s time to make sure the right people know it.
What is First Monday’s?
First Mondays is a structured, intentional way to take control of your career every month. It’s not just about setting vague goals—it’s about creating a plan to ensure you are seen, valued, and positioned for advancement. The first Monday of every month should be dedicated to assessing where you are in your career, what moves you need to make next, and how you will ensure your work is recognized.
Instead of waiting until your next performance review or hoping someone notices your contributions, use First Mondays to map out your career clarity, workplace influence, and next steps for advocating for yourself. Here’s how to implement First Mondays to ensure you are actively building your professional presence and preparing for your next career move.
Step 1: Get Clear on Where You’re Going
If you don’t know where you’re headed, you can’t create a roadmap to get there. Many professionals—especially Black women—are constantly in execution mode without pausing to think about their long-term vision.
On the first Monday of every month, take an honest inventory of your career:
Write these answers down. Clarity is the first step toward career advancement.
Step 2: Make Your Strengths Known in the Workplace
Being good at your job is only half the battle. The other half is ensuring that the right people know what you bring to the table. Too many Black women operate under the belief that their work should “speak for itself.” But in reality, visibility matters just as much as execution.
Use First Mondays to plan how you will amplify your work and advocate for yourself:
Your contributions should never be a best-kept secret. First Mondays ensures that you are consistently reinforcing your value.
Step 3: Build Your Career Roadmap and Speak Up
Promotions don’t happen in isolation. They require intentional positioning. Take time at the start of each month to plan out what steps you will take to get closer to your career goals.
Ask yourself:
First Mondays is about proactively managing your career, not waiting for someone else to do it for you.
Step 4: Advocate for Yourself Like Taraji P. Henson Would
Taraji P. Henson didn’t wait for someone to recognize her worth—she demanded it. She spoke up when she wasn’t being compensated fairly and made it clear that she knew her value. That same approach applies in corporate spaces.
Black women have been socialized to avoid being seen as “too aggressive” or “difficult,” but advocating for yourself is not arrogance—it’s self-respect. Your career success shouldn’t be dependent on whether a manager notices your efforts. You have to ensure that your contributions are visible, documented, and aligned with your goals.
First Mondays is your opportunity to take ownership of your professional growth. Every month, you should be assessing, strategizing, and taking intentional steps to position yourself for success.
The Bottom Line: Closed Mouths Don’t Get Promoted
You’re already doing the work. Now, it’s time to make sure the right people know it.
The next First Monday is coming up—what will you do to ensure your career moves forward this month? Drop a comment and let’s hold each other accountable.
Search The Blog
Optimized by Seraphinite Accelerator
