Hard work and loyalty will never harm your reputation within an organisation but even the most diligent and loyal of employees aren’t guaranteed to get promoted. There are many potential barriers on the road to promotion but if you identify these obstacles and develop a strategy to overcome them, you greatly improve your chances of landing any promotion you put yourself forward for.
These tips will put you in a better position to be promoted by your employer by highlighting issues you need to think about and suggesting ways to deal with those issues.
- Be Easy to Work With
If the people who are responsible for deciding whether or not to promote you are the same people you’d be working with in your new position, you need to be someone they’d want to work with. An easy-going colleague is more likely to be in demand from the teams higher up the company than a co-worker who’s difficult to get along with due to constant whining and complaining.
- Use Your Social Skills
The person most likely to get the promotion isn’t the one who’s constantly hunched over their desk, ploughing through their work, but the one who not only gets their work done but also gets on well with everyone around them. People with well-developed social skills are usually seen as ideal for promotion into positions where they’d be supervising, managing or leading others. Having good social skills also allows you to promote yourself by demonstrating your good qualities in your interactions with others.
- Think Before You Shout
Getting into an argument with your boss or manager is a no-no at the best of times, but especially if you’re trying to work your way up the company. No matter how justified you might feel in your viewpoint, trying to shout down your superior is not the way to put across your opinion. Sometimes you’ll have to walk away from a discussion altogether, no matter how much you want the other party to admit that you’re in the right. Think about what’s more important to you – is it your ego or your career?
- Go Above and Beyond
It’s not enough to just do what’s included in your job description if you’re looking to stand out in your organisation. You have to go above and beyond the call of duty to prove to your employer that you have the drive, initiative, creativity and ambition to join the senior ranks of the company. Volunteer for the challenging tasks that everyone else is too scared to have a go at. Show a genuine interest in projects by making suggestions on how to do things better. You always have a choice as to whether to be proactive or passive at work; don’t settle for just being a passenger.
- Learn and Grow
In order for your career to evolve within an organisation, you must evolve as a professional. Take responsibility for your own learning and development so that you end up growing into the ideal candidate for promotion. Continuous learning can take any form you want, whether it’s doing an online course, signing up for evening classes or regularly listening to a podcast about your specific area of professional expertise.