The Promotion Strategy
Sitting at your desk day after day working hard is not a guarantee that your efforts will be rewarded. Many of us feel if we work hard, even going above and beyond the call of duty, we will reap the promotional rewards. More times than not, this isn’t the case. When it’s time to consider employees for a promotion or raise, many talented hard working employees are passed over resulting in feelings of anger, frustration and depression.
These people have part of the formula correct – they are willing to work hard. However, they just have to add a few more weapons to their arsenal. Below are steps that can be taken to help obtain a promotion or salary increase.
Develop Goals with Your Manager - It is important to communicate your desire to be promoted to your manager. Ask him or her to work with you to develop goals to help you get to the next level. Meet regularly with your manager to make sure you are on track or discuss any issues keeping you from meeting your goals.
Volunteer – Volunteer and offer to lead projects. This will allow you to showcase your skills and leadership abilities. Don’t be afraid to take on projects that you aren’t familiar with. Learning new things and stretching yourself will add to your skillset and will help you stand out from your peers.
Share Accolades and Successes – Anytime you are part of a successful project or you receive accolades for a job well done, share this information with your manager. Also, document and keep this information so when you meet with your manager to discuss your goals or performance review you will be able to demonstrate your achievements.
Speak Up in Meetings – In every meeting you want to contribute at least three things. The extroverts in the room will dominate the conversation and if you are shy your silence can be read by your manager as you being disengaged or not as swift as the others in the room. Before key meetings try to ascertain the topics being discussed and write down some ideas to contribute to the conversation.
Stay Abreast of Competitive Intelligence - Stay up to date on competitors and current trends affecting your profession. Share this competitive information with your team in meetings or email business articles related to your profession out to your team and copy your manager. Make sure you have thoughts on how this information relates to or helps your company. Being a strategic thinker is a key attribute managers look for when discussing employees for promotions.
Get to Know Leadership – Invite your manager to lunch in order to learn more about them. This will also allow them to get to know you away from work. Also, suggest or organize after work happy hours and invite your manager. The more time you can spend with your manager away from the office the more you will learn about each other. In addition, don’t be afraid to network with leaders outside of your group especially if your position requires you to interact or do work for their area. The more people in leadership roles saying good things about you the better.
Working hard is only part of the battle. You also want to be recognized as a valuable asset to the company -- rewarded for the blood, sweat and tears you give every day. If you take the steps above you will step out of the shadows and into the forefront to be seen as a valuable asset ready for the next level of your career.
