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Written by: Lauren @BubbleJobs
At some point during your career, you’ll want to advance within the business you work for, and a promotion is probably the best and only way you can do this.
However, getting a promotion isn’t as simple as asking for one or waiting for a colleague to leave – you have to be proactive and work for it.
Also, it’s not just enough to be good at your job, you have to make it clear that you want a promotion and make yourself stand out in the office.
With that in mind, here are some tips on increasing your chances of landing a promotion.
Make Your Interests Known
A lot of the time, people are recommended for promotion, or the decision makers will have someone in mind for the position.
Speak to your boss about your desire to progress within the business, and make it clear that you’re looking for a more senior position within the company.
This can pay off as – not only can your boss recommend you for any internal vacancies – but they can give you certain projects and tasks to work on that will boost your chances.
Find Out What You Need To Do
When you want a promotion, it’s a good idea to discover exactly what you need to have achieved to be seriously considered by the decision makers.
Approach your boss about your career in general, and ask what sort of things you can be doing to maximise your chances of promotion.
This is also a good idea as it stops your boss feeling like you’re going behind their back – it’s vital to have as many people on your side as possible when it comes to progressing within an organisation.
Befriend A Mentor
One of the best ways of discovering how you can really get a promotion is by talking to someone who has gotten one themselves.
Take the time to get to know a colleague in your department who has recently been promoted and try and pick their brains on how they went about it, what the process was and what you can do to achieve something similar.
This will give you a much more honest and realistic insight into what steps you can take to maximise your chances of getting a promotion than your boss or HR might give you, as they’re normally bound by certain company policies and restrictions.
Do Your Own Job Well
While it might be tempting to forgo your usual day-to-day tasks and responsibilities to prove that you would be able to perform at a more senior level, this can backfire if your boss notices that you’ve been slacking on your “normal” job requirements.
Make sure you put your all into every task you complete as you would normally do, as this is the one of the key ways you’ll be taken seriously by decision makers.
When deciding whether to offer you a promotion or not, senior staff will look at your current work ethic, as well as your ability to perform at a higher level so there isn’t really any room for error.