12 THINGS TO START DOING IF YOU WANT TO BE PROMOTED
You may think that by working hard and excelling at your role will get you promoted.
You might think that having worked there for a long term will see you get promoted.
But, neither of these things alone will get you promoted.
Having worked in the corporate world for over 30 years I have seen the things that have got women the top jobs.
They are things that may make you uncomfortable but without doing them you are seriously curtailing your career.
- Understand why you want promotion
The first thing to get clear about is WHY you want promotion. It is different for everyone. It might be money or status. It might be all about being able to make a bigger difference. Make sure it’s not because you think you should, or because someone else things you should.
Get clear about your goals and reasons as this will help you get committed to achieving it.
- Speak up
So many women sit back and just let work happen to them. You need to speak up and share your opinions, your ideas and your thoughts. You have a lot to offer but you need to be brave enough to talk in meetings and not be the silent attendee.
Be constructive with your feedback, let people know who you are and what you stand for. Challenge the status quo but without being confrontational.
- Get involved
Corporate organisations often hold focus groups, consultations, strategy feedback etc, make sure you get involved in these. Stand out and get involved wherever you can so that people get to know you.
Offer to support and help organise where you can, encourage other people to join in, be seen as someone keen to help the company grow and develop.
- Support the corporate message
Actively support the vision of your organisation and share your supportive views with colleagues. Where you disagree with policy, challenge it constructively, understand the reasons and then support it and help others understand and support it.
If you really can’t support it keep quiet and find a new job where you do support the vision and values.
- Promote yourself
Share your successes whenever you can. Particularly at 121’s, reviews and meetings. Make sure you know what you have achieved and don’t be shy to talk about them. Focus on outcomes and results.
You can also promote yourself in ad hoc conversations but learn to sound proud rather than arrogant. Think about the headline of your success and share that not the whole scenario, keep it brief and powerful.
- Get good at selling yourself
Learn how to be comfortable selling yourself in interviews. This is a game-changer for interview performance. Understand what your skills, experience and successes are and draft yourself a sales pitch that shows off your capabilities and potential.
You can’t be shy in interviews; you must claim your achievements and use “I” and not “we”.
- Network
Get out there and network more. This is a long-term strategy but is very effective in creating your successful career. It’s often who you know not what you know that gets you promoted.
Attend networking events and build your connections, keep in touch and nurture the relationships.
- Take on new opportunities (without getting paid)
Show that you are keen to progress by offering to take on next-level tasks now. This will help you learn new skills and be seen as ambitious and enthusiastic.
It will mean that you will do work that is above your current level without being paid for it BUT this is the best way to show off your skills and should be seen as an opportunity.
- Prove your potential
Following on from point 8, you need to find ways to prove your potential. Doing your current role well only proves you can do this job not the next level job.
The next-level job needs different skills so find ways to learn some of those now and prove that you are capable of stepping up.
- Improve your self-care
Having a great self-care routine is vital for ensuring a successful career. Looking after your well-being should be your number one priority, before anything or anyone else. Being the best version of you really helps you support other people better.
Once you are in a great place you will improve your focus, you will have more energy and your performance will skyrocket. Do not underestimate the power of self-care.
- Learn to like money
Money is the reason we go to work, and it is ok to want more of it. It is not greedy to want a better life. Coming to terms with liking money will help you negotiate a pay rise or a better salary when you get offered your new next-level role.
Remember your worth and make sure that you are being valued appropriately for the work you are doing. Apply for high paying roles because you are worthy of them.
- Focus on your career not your job
Finally remember that you must always be thinking about you and your career. Focus on what the next step is and what you need to do to get there rather than getting better at this job.
Create yourself a career plan, schedule in self-development and take action to raise your profile so that you are always planning for the next step.
No matter how uncomfortable some of these things may make you, I’d really encourage you to try them.
I have had incredible success in my own corporate career following these techniques and I have also seen it work for mant other sucesful women.
Wishing your the very best of luck.