6 Ways To Improve Your Chances Of Getting A Promotion

Six Ways To Improve Your Chances Of Getting A Promotion 

By Mark Wager

Leadership Coaching available via Zoom with Mark Wager

People often believe that a promotion is something you shouldn’t chase after. It is something that should come to you naturally as a reflection of the work you have done. That is great if only life was fair, but unfortunately we all know that it is not. Sometimes good work goes unnoticed and often there are times when the promotion doesn’t go to the most deserving. So this week I want to explore with you some tips on how you can increase the odds of getting the promotion that you rightfully deserve.

Make people aware of your ambition. 

Too often I have had people contact me for advice when they’ve missed out on a promotion, yet when I ask them whether they made their ambitions known, they tell me that they thought they didn’t have to because they believed it was obvious. Let me tell you what is obvious. A closed mouth doesn’t get fed. Don’t allow your career to be subject to assumptions. You  need to make it very clear to your Boss and anyone else who matters where you want your career to go next and the more specific the better. Identify your next job and make it clear that you want it because if you don’t and stay quiet then your opportunity will go to someone who did decide to speak up.

Don’t sacrifice long term benefits for short term gains.

It’s common today for people to move jobs very often.  I have a young niece who is over twenty years younger than me but she’s worked for more employers in her short career than I have in my whole life. I’m not saying moving jobs is wrong but you do have to ask yourself what are you missing out on when you have the opportunity to move and you are not moving just for the sake of moving.

The long term success of your career will depend on the level of knowledge and skills you learn. The more skills and knowledge you have,  the more career opportunities you will get so don’t consider leaving a job if you believe there is still more to learn. Too often I work with young people who faced difficulties in their job and rather than face those difficulties they have instead moved jobs. They have received short term gains but have lost the long term benefits of the lessons they would have learnt by staying in their current role.

Add value

The business world is fundamentally all about value. The more value you have to offer the stronger your bargaining position is. If you want to get ahead in your career then stop focussing on doing what you are told and start looking at ways you can add value. What problems can you solve, how can you make life easier for those around you. If you make yourself useful and the go-to person, you become invaluable and once this happens companies will start fighting over you.

Don’t make the mistake of waiting to do more when you are in a higher position because if you do then not only will you find those higher positions are not offered to you but you will soon find others start overtaking you. In order to progress you need to tell yourself what your employer expects from you is the minimum you should give, everything you do above and beyond is an investment in your long term career.

Find a mentor

Being able to find the right person who can mentor you can shortcut your career path. The key advantage you have with your journey today is that someone, somewhere has already taken the same journey and when they did they left lessons from their failures and their successes. You can discover these lessons, you just need to find the people who can be a mentor. 

Look for someone who is living  the life that you want to live and reach out to them. You will be surprised just how willing people are to help others as long as the intent is good and the request is done respectfully you are likely to get a positive response. I did just this when I started my business I contacted successful entrepreneurs and invited them out for coffee or lunch and not only did I pick up valuable lessons which helped me immensely but I also gained some very useful connections.

Build a personal brand

In order to improve your chances of promotion you need to be fully aware of your personal brand. If you are not sure what it is then ask yourself what do people say about you when you are not in the room? This is your personal brand and if you are unsure about whether branding is important then just look anywhere in the business world and you will see that it’s never the best product or service that succeeds it’s always the one with the best brand. MacDonalds never ever won the best burger of the year yet they are the most successful burger chain in the world and it’s because they have the best brand.

In this corner of the world self-promotion is not something we are comfortable with but building a personal brand doesn’t have to be about telling everyone how great you are instead it can be something as simple as getting feedback from people on the quality of your work and how you are getting on. Branding is more about awareness. Do people perceive you to be ready for a promotion, if not then why not? This is the type of question that will help you get that promotion.

Develop new skills.

Education doesn’t end as soon as you leave school. If you want to get ahead then you need to be prepared to continue to learn and develop new skills and this doesn’t mean you have to sign up for a course or head back to complete a course. This can be as simple as spending time each day to seek out new knowledge. Never in history has information been as easily accessible as it is today. With  just a few clicks anyone who has access to the internet can discover answers to any questions. You  just need to know where to look.

Seek out experts in your field, people you admire and see what content they have created and whether they are articles, videos or talks. Today some of the best teachers are ones you will never meet in person. Look for podcasts or YouTube videos that inspire as well as inform and also buy a book. Some of the most successful people I know are avid readers. I don’t believe it’s a coincidence.

Your career is too important to be left to chance so you need to embrace these six tips in order to have a career that you truly deserve.