Getting promoted at work is a great gesture of validation by your boss and the organization for the work you’ve been doing. It often comes with good benefits and it helps you move forward onto new things. However, getting a promotion at work requires seizing the right opportunities and some active engagement from your end. For those of you who’re hungry for success, here are 8 tips that can help you get promoted at the workplace fast.
1. Research for Opportunities for Growth Before You Join an Organization
Sometimes, we come across a job description that fits our areas of expertise and preferences, and in that moment are keen on applying. If you apply and get a call back for an interview, do your research on the opportunities for growth at the firm. You don’t want to join an organization and learn that the chances for promotion are slim – especially if you’re competitive and want to rise to the top.
2. Make it Clear to Your Boss that You Want a Promotion
Most people don’t care enough to do something for you unless you ask them to. You have to visibly show intent to your boss about wanting a promotion. Jae Alexis Lee in an article in Time magazine writes that you may miss out on a promotion opportunity simply because your boss never knew you were interested in one. Your intentions need to be clear to those who can grant you a promotion to make it happen.
There is no one way to ask for a promotion as Jayson DeMers discusses. How you go about it depends on your relationship with your boss. It is always beneficial to have a good working relationship with your boss so that you can discuss promotion possibilities with them.
3. Know Your Boss’s Likes and Dislikes
Everybody has a specific way of working and there are certain things and methods that people prefer over others. It’s good to know which your boss likes and doesn’t like. A good way to please your boss is by giving them work that they will like. This increases their chances of liking you too.
That being said, don’t be too much of a yes-person. Be clear about your ideas and opinions even if they aren’t in line with your boss’s. This way, they can appreciate your ability to stand for what you believe in and be accountable for it when the time comes. It is a necessary quality for a leader according to business and leadership coach, Kimberly Fries.
4. Show Initiative by Volunteering for Work
You won’t be noticed at work if you stick to doing your work with your head down. You need to show your boss that you have a desire to help the organization succeed. Volunteer to work on new projects that weren’t assigned to you to show your boss that you have a desire to grow. It’ll help to make you stand out from the rest of your colleagues too.
5. Interact with Everyone but More with the Right People
Your connections are everything. Who you know, and the relationships you have with them can be a decisive factor when it comes to a promotion. Sometimes, a promotion can even come down to: “do I like this candidate or not?”
Therefore, you must develop a good relationship with the people who are responsible for your promotion. They should be able to see that you have the skills present to warrant a promotion. According to serial entrepreneur and bestselling author Deep Patel, networking is an important and necessary trait for a leader. Your networking skills should be evident to your superiors in the way you maintain relationships with them, other colleagues, and your clients.
Also, hang around people with senior positions if possible. It will help people associate you with that group. Someone who is mostly around leaders must have similar qualities as said leaders to be able to fit in. Try and establish a good association with the group of leaders in your workplace. It will help your boss recognize your abilities as a leader.
6. Make Others Aware of Your Accomplishments
Marketing manager Janet Choi uses Carl Lange’s mantra “do things, tell people” to outline two steps for success at a workplace. You need to tell people around you about your accomplishments to highlight your contributions to the company. More often than not, your accomplishments are unheard of by many and that is hurting your chances for being recognized for the good work you’re doing.
You can make people aware of your accomplishments by requesting for feedback, or by speaking at a conference about what you do. Be humble about your accomplishments when you speak about them – you don’t want others to think that you’re arrogant about the work you’ve manage to do.
7. Be Nearly Irreplaceable
When it comes down to it, your work has to speak for yourself. Your contribution to the company should be able to convince your boss that loosing you would actually hurt the company. This way, they can be more willing to give you the promotion you are seeking.
8. Document All of Your Success in One Place
You’ll help your case by creating a working portfolio of your time at the company. You may forget some of your accomplishments over time, and your boss may forget about even more of them. That’s why it is great to have all the good work you’ve done documented in one file. You can then provide evidence to your accomplishments to your supervisor and leave nothing to hearsay.
This will help make your case for a promotion stronger. CEO and expert at recruitment, Jack Kelly, recommends compiling all of your accolades, achievements, awards, and victories into a PowerPoint or memo file which can be left with your boss for review later.
More often than not, a promotion won’t just be handed to you; it requires you to do a significant amount of work to make your case. Do your best to stand out from the rest so that you get what you’ve been wanting.
