Strategies for getting yourself promoted

Introduction

Getting a job promotion at work is often a delicate process, if you’re too pushy it could backfire damaging your future career prospects, not pushy enough and you could be overlooked for another more forthright member of staff. This article seeks to provide some simple strategies to help you get yourself promoted.


1. Work Hard

Throw yourself into your work, don’t drag out breaks and be willing to do some overtime to show your commitment to the organisation. Employers often like staff to lead by example so being the first person in the workplace each day is also a good start.

Tip: don’t confuse working hard with being a workaholic. Remember family or social life are equally important. It’s possible to work hard within the confines of normal contracted hours and still be more productive than those who are constantly doing overtime.

2. Be Trustworthy

This is a major issue for an employer. I once heard a story of a senior bank official who whilst in the staff canteen buying lunch, stole a small tub of butter to go with his bread roll, believing no one was looking. The Chief executive of the bank saw him do it and fired him on the spot. The Senior bank official said “It’s only a tub of butter” to which the CEO replied “If you can steal a tub of butter, you can steal anything.”

If you are known for your trustworthiness your chances of promotion will increase dramatically, as management need to know that they can delegate important work to their senior staff.

3. Get to know your boss outside of work

Sometimes your hard work can still go unnoticed, particularly in busy professions and workplaces where it is taken for granted that you will work late. Find out what interests your boss has and engage them in conversation on that subject. At some point you may get the opportunity to take them out to indulge that interest such as a trip to the theatre, football game, baseball match or round of golf. Getting yourself noticed like this is a sure fire way of keeping yourself at the forefront of their mind when it’s time to consider promotions.


4. Improve your skills base.

Skilled staff are always the first in line to be considered for a promotion so take every opportunity to develop your knowledge and experience.

Book yourself on as many internal training courses as you can manage, without it detracting from your day to day work. Alternatively consider taking an external course or qualification of direct relevance to your job. Not only does this benefit both you and the organisation but your employer will be impressed by your commitment.

5. Don’t sleep with the boss

Whether you’re male or female, sleeping with the boss is out. Whilst you may believe it’s the best way to get a promotion you will instantly lose the respect of colleagues. Ask yourself is it really worth sacrificing your morals for a promotion?

6. Be Organised

Employers often look to promote staff who they see as organised, disciplined and efficient. Make sure you take every opportunity to demonstrate how good you are at planning and executing your various job responsibilities.

Tip: If this is not a strong point consider going on organisational or time management training courses. Keep to do lists and record details of tasks that need following up so that you can demonstrate what you have done if required.

7. Be passionate about your job

Being passionate about what you do for a living is contagious and others will naturally look to you, even informally, for leadership and direction, even if they wouldn’t admit it. This will not go unnoticed by your employer and it is a sure fire way of getting a promotion easily if management see you demonstrating leadership skills without even being asked.

8. Be open to criticism

Good managers are often defined by how they have learnt from previous mistakes and this requires an ability to respond positively to criticism. As a manager you will come in for criticism from all sides, your staff will sometimes feel that you are out of touch and senior management will want to know why you haven’t achieved objectives. This requires a willingness to learn from mistakes and getting defensive over a problem because you don’t want to admit you made a mistake will not endear you to management.