Getting promoted is the first step in climbing your career ladder. Many people seek promotions at different points throughout their careers.
Promotions are limited, so not everyone can get to the top. You have to pursue promotions and make yourself the obvious choice for it.
To stand out and get promoted, try the proven and practical way many others have utilized with effectiveness.
How to Get Promoted at Work
Set Yourself Up for Promotion
Before anyone offers you a promotion, you must prove that you are the best person to receive it.
Your performance must be excellent. Above all else, you have to stand out from your colleagues to be noticed by your superiors. When they do your performance reviews, let your performance speak for itself.
Take on extra tasks and responsibilities to improve your visibility.
Make reports of your progress on projects and tasks so that your superiors always know your accomplishments. Do this even if they have not asked for the progress reports.
Be on early for work, appointments, and meetings. Being early shows that you care for the department and the organization.
Being late makes you look lazy and ineligible for promotion. You should also avoid taking extra days off for the same reason.
Add specialized skills to your portfolio. Take as many opportunities to add to your value. Pursue a master’s or doctorate in your free time. Take professional development courses if your company offers them.
You can make yourself indispensable by being the go-to person for particular jobs. Train in that field until you are a master at the task.
Network effectively and make connections. Making connections and engaging with your colleagues makes you stand out when the organization is making promotions. Managers are also more likely to promote someone familiar than someone unknown.
Ask
Sometimes, you have to be direct and ask your boss for a promotion. Even if all your superiors know your accomplishments and acknowledge your performance, you might still need to make them aware that you want more.
Do not assume that you will automatically get the promotion based on your merits. If the manager cannot tell that you want to get promoted, they can choose someone else who communicated that they want it.
Be Visible
When you attend meetings, speak up and make good suggestions. Seek out your bosses and ask for extra responsibilities.
Make sure you prepare for meetings. Make sure your contributions are of use, don’t speak just to hear your voice.
Help Others Succeed
Do not achieve your goals at the expense of other people. Not only will you not get the promotion, but you will also get a bad reputation among your colleagues.
Helping your team succeed shows you are a team player. It also makes you stand out as a leader. Leaders recognize that when everyone is excelling, the whole organization is also succeeding.
Help people who are struggling and respectfully offer them your assistance.
Do Not Play Politics
Office politics rears its ugly head when there are several people aggressively seeking career advancement. Much of the competition will try to make everyone else look bad. Try not to sink to their level. Engaging in office politics wastes time and makes you look like a bad leader.
Try not to engage in these games.
Good Communication
You should be able to communicate your points clearly and effectively. Learn how to use PowerPoint and other visual aid tools.
Including visual aids in your presentations helps others process the information better. Avoid blocks of text in your visual aids and limit them to graphs and pictures.
Look Outside the Department
You might realize that your department does not have the same opportunities as others in the organization. Notify your boss that you are interviewing for a new position. Do not let the news come from HR as they are looking for more information about you.
Let your boss know that you appreciate his mentoring and ask for their support.
Do not Assume You Will Get the Job.
As an internal candidate, you have an advantage over others, but that does not mean the organization will choose you.
To improve your chances, update your resume and write a targeted cover letter for the position.
Get reference letters and recommendations from your supervisors and other managers you have worked with in the past.
Do not take the interview lightly. Instead, take it as if you are an outsider.
3 Things to Avoid
Do not overwork yourself. If your boss is good at his job, he will recognize your value and contributions without the need to exhaust their workers. Overworking yourself will make you a less effective worker before long.
To reiterate the point, do not engage in office politics.