Career Development: How To Get Promoted
By Larry Boyer, Career Coach & Personal Branding Strategist
At this time of year many companies are going through their annual review process, deciding on salary increases, bonuses and promotions. This process is often mysterious for both those making the decisions and those for whom the decisions are being made. Regardless of which side of the decision you are on, there are two key points to be looking for or developing when considering a promotion:
- Adding more value to the company by your labor and leveraging others
- Behaving like someone in the role you are aspiring to
These two points should be in the forefront of your mind when developing your career strategy and professional development program. When are promoted, you should be providing more value to the company. The value you provide your company need to be greater that the costs associated with you (your salary, benefits, office space, etc). As you get promoted the more value (monetary and non-monetary) is expected of you.
Whether you are preparing yourself for a promotion pay attention to what other people are
What is a promotion all about? Have you really thought about it? A promotion is more than getting a new job title and higher salary. A promotion is about moving from one job to another job, typically in the same or a similar area. Remember:
A Promotion Is Like Getting a New Job
And what should you expect with a new job? New responsibilities. Delegating old responsibilities. A change in the work you are doing. More focus on management and leadership and less on task execution.
Think about your strategy for getting promoted in a way similar to a job search. Think about what is necessary to do the new job you want. List out what your skills and qualities are that would help you be successful in the new position. Identify where you many not yet have the right skills and work on developing those skills. Demonstrate that you can do the job and you have the right presence for the job -increasingly important as you move up the corporate ladder.
For a light hearted look at how to get promoted, enjoy this 2 minute clip from The Life of Tim: