When it comes to your career, "you have to be your own advocate because no one else is going to do it," says Beverly Gundersen.

Gundersen, a former admin moved up to her position as an accountant at Salt Lake Community College in Utah, by noticing that she was already doing much of the work that the written job description called for ... but without the higher salary.

"So, I went to my boss and asked for the title," she says. That made her the highest-ranking woman on the director's team. 

Gundersen would receive a thumbs-up from career counselor Barbara Moses, author of The Complete Guide to Taking Control of Your Working Life, for looking out for herself.

"If one word can be used to characterize the new career," says Moses, "it is 'self-reliance.'"
Moses offers this advice:

• Assume that every aspect of your work can improve. Pursue ways to improve processes or relationships. Example: Brijette Chenet, an admin for Goodwill Industries, improved her working relationship with a new boss by telling him exactly what she needed to do her job well. "You have to knock on the door, sometimes," she says, "and speak up."

• Use networking to meet people in and outside your circle. Office Dynamics trainer Joan Burge recommends using communal spots such as the copying room to spur conversation with people you'd like to know better. Chenet often volunteers for committees composed of people from across the company.

• Look for gaps in your company and fill them. Once you've mastered your job's basics, seek challenges beyond your cubicle wall. Example: Gundersen gradually sought out new accounting tasks with the goal of challenging herself. Eventually, she learned enough to ask for the title that matched her skills.