How to Get That Raise or Promotion You Deserve

Your chances of getting a raise or promotion are good if you have been a valuable asset to the company for which you work. Despite some of the problems that might exist in your area of employment, many people are moving up the ladder of success.

Here are some strategies you can use to become part of that trend.

Find Out Where The Power Is

In order to get a promotion, you must first find out who has the power to approve or prevent it. Then you must please and impress the people with the power. Where the power is, varies from job to job. Perhaps your department head makes decisions for some positions, but for others, it's your boss' boss who decides.

Find out who does what in your company. Look at an organizational chart and see who is in the top positions. Then see where you are on the chart. Seek to move from where you are to a higher position. You might have to take it step by step, but at least you are moving from where you are closer to where the power is in your company or organization.

You should always upgrade your job application and resume. If you were a boss, would you promote someone who after five years on the job have not taken any courses to improve himself or done anything else constructive to prove that he could handle more responsibilities? If you have gained more knowledge and experience, let those in authority know that you have filled your knowledge gaps and are well prepared to move ahead.

Dress a little better than usual. It is a business truism that to get ahead, you have to dress like the people on the level above you. By looking the part, you make it easy for your superiors to see you as a candidate for a higher position.

You must also act the part. Most people direct all their working attention to their narrow specific task and never consider the company's or department's main goals. It is a feather in your cap when you let your superiors know you are contributing to the overall goals of the company.

Millions of good jobs are dead ends. They are good jobs because the work is steady, working conditions are pleasant and salaries and benefits are satisfactory, but they are not good jobs for people who are interested in moving up. it doesn't matter how hard you work and how efficient you are, you are still in a dead-end job instead of being on a career path.

Statistics have proven most clerical jobs are dead ends. However, they serve a purpose if you are willing to do what is necessary to move up. You do this first by excelling in the position you are in. Then you take courses and learn other jobs within the company so that when a position becomes available, you will be the ideal candidate for it. The rule of thumb is that while you are working on one job, you should be preparing yourself for a higher position.

Even if you have a dead-end job, you don't have to die in it. You can work in a dead-end job to get the experience to go to another job that is not a dead-end job. You might not be able to move up from the job you are in, but who says you can't get a lateral position and zig-zag your way to the top? No one says going up the corporate ladder had to be in a straight line.

As many as 40 percent of all good jobs don't exist until the right person comes along and the job is created. You can sometimes help your employers see the need to create a better job by turning yourself into the company expert on something.

Keep your eyes and ears open about your company. Learn how to do things that are not on your job description. Keep a list of ideas about how to save the company money or how the company can become more productive. Choose the right time to present these ideas to your supervisor. You might have just created a promotion for yourself!