Steps to Landing That Promotion

No one enjoys being in a lower position, with lower wages. But how do you self-promote yourself without feeling anxious? We’ve all felt the need of wanting to become noticed at work at some point in our lives. But, that’s only one of the many ways to help get yourself promoted. To help you advance your career and salary, here are a few steps to land your next promotion.

  1. Play The Part

Start working on your promotion by thinking on where you want your career to land you in the next coming years. Now that you have that in mind, start acting the part! Begin dressing, talking, and working how you see yourself down the line. This will show your employers that you are taking your job seriously and aspire to become an even better worker.

  1. Work Like You Mean It

While at work, complete assignments on time and effectively deliver your work. Remember, your coworkers and boss count on you. Taking your work less seriously can hurt the company, and your career with it. Show your team that you’re dependable and can be sought out if anyone has questions or needs help. You can even do your own private research off-shift to gain more work-related experience to impress your supervisors.

  1. Know When to Be a Leader

Although you can still be a team member, it’s just as important to prove to your boss that you can lead your team when it’s needed. After all, members of a team get promoted, not the team itself. By learning leadership skills, you can distinguish yourself from your work team to get yourself that dream job.

  1. Contribute Your Opinions

Occasionally, talk to your employer about your career goals that you are aiming to reach in the company. Managing your career and aspirations are a big step on becoming protected. However, don’t think that you have achieved bragging rights if you’re on the right path. Your boss can take away a promotion quicker than you think. However, don’t assume that your boss doesn’t want to hear your opinions, after all, you’re a strong member of their team.

  1. Choose a Mentor

Whether formal or informal, a mentorship can help you to get ahead in work. Your mentor should be more experienced than you are and should be able to speak with you about work-related matters. They will be able to offer advice, recognize your weaknesses, and help you to improve. Your mentor can also be a valuable asset to have when trying to get your promotion. They can share your accomplishments and talk up your talents and skills to the higher ups in your company. Spend some time thinking about who would make the best mentor. Try to choose somebody other than your boss.

  1. Learn a New Skill

This is one of the best ways you can get ahead of your competition. Learn something new that is pertinent to the job you want. Consider taking a class on public speaking or brush up on your computer skills. You could also learn a new language, which would make you look even better to your boss. Not only will this show your boss how experienced and knowledgeable you are but also that you are willing to improve for the good of the company.

Another way to learn is by challenging yourself with new tasks in the workplace. This will give you some hands-on learning experience and help you to develop your new skills. Even if you do not succeed at the task, you will still learn something.

  1. Keep Track of Your Achievements

After learning your new skill, be sure to keep a record of it. This goes for any professional achievement you receive. You can’t expect your boss to track your personal career development. However, you should keep a log of your accomplishments so you have proof when asking for your promotion. Be sure to update your resume, too!

  1. Ask For It

Though it may seem simple, this is the step that most people skip over. Don’t expect your boss to just hand you your dream job. Ask them for your promotion. If you do not ask your boss for a promotion, you likely will not get one.

Adam Richards

About Adam Richards

Adam Richards is a semi-retired business professional originally from Bangor, Maine. He spent the majority of his career in sales and marketing where he rose to the marketing lead of a Fortune 1000 company. He then moved on to helping people as a career counselor that specifically helped bring families to self-sufficiency through finding them rewarding careers. He has now returned to Bangor for his retirement and spends his free time writing. This blog will be about everything he learned throughout his career. He'll write on career, workplace, education and technology issues as well as on trends, changes, and advice for the Maine job market and its employers.