One of the advantages many companies offer is the opportunity to grow within the same organization over time and develop new skills. This appeals to many people, especially those who aren’t content to settle and like to set goals.
It’s one thing to join an organization in a role with little responsibility, hoping that hard work and effort will help you climb the ladder. It’s another to join a company and believe that the role you started in will be the only one you’ll ever have the chance to hold for as long as you work there. That could be a little frustrating, couldn’t it?
Even more frustrating is hoping you could get promoted, only for weeks, months, and years to pass without anything happening. Have you ever worked somewhere you could have moved up if given the chance, but it always seemed to be someone else’s turn, never yours?
If you’re in a job where your performance isn’t valued and you feel completely stuck, remember that you don’t have to stay just because you’re afraid of what might happen if you leave and pursue new goals. Often, fear is what holds us back from achieving more and better things, keeping us in the same place instead. If this sounds familiar, we recommend listening to this Gananci Friday episode, which will teach you how to stop making excuses so you can pursue what you want without self-sabotaging.
On the other hand, if the problem isn’t the organization but that you’re not giving it your all, and you think this is why you haven’t earned the promotion you’d like, here are some tips to help you stand out in your role and achieve your career goals:
Believe in yourself
Your attitude will be essential to getting a promotion that comes with more responsibility than your current role. A promotion should bring better pay and working conditions, but it also means greater responsibility—not just for your duties, but for setting an example for your team, more than ever.
People who earn promotions through their own merit often have leadership qualities, and self-confidence is one of the most noticeable. If you haven’t developed this quality very much yet, take a look at these Gananci tips for developing the leader who may still be inside you, waiting to be awakened so you can achieve your goals.
Keep learning (there’s always more to know)
To have a chance of becoming a strong candidate for promotion, you need to be well prepared—not only academically, which is essential in many cases, but also through experience.
Even if you already consider yourself qualified, keep learning. There’s plenty of material available online these days, so make the most of it. If you’re someone who keeps developing your skills, you’ll have an advantage when candidates are being considered for promotion, as that training could prove very useful to the organization in your new role.
Don’t act arrogantly
Even if you’re highly qualified and confident, arrogance shouldn’t be part of your personality. It will only distance you from your team, when you want them on your side so everyone can work productively and efficiently—something that will certainly matter when promotions are awarded.
Stay humble and approachable with everyone you work with. It doesn’t matter whether they’re in more junior roles or higher up in the organization—you never know when you might need someone’s help. It’s best to maintain good working relationships, and arrogance is one of the surest ways to damage them.
Consistently demonstrate responsibility and punctuality
Everyone should have these qualities, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case, so it’s worth repeating. Sometimes we try to stand out by doing amazing things and forget about the basics.
If you want a promotion and the role you’re aiming for—one you feel ready to take on—you can’t neglect values such as responsibility and punctuality. Someone who consistently demonstrates these two qualities is trusted to take on a range of roles. You could have a master’s degree from the best university in your country, but if you fall short in these two areas, it will be much harder for people to take you seriously for the position you want.
Excel at the responsibilities of your current job
To be ready to take on more, you need to have everything under control in your current role. Even if you think your job is pointless or don’t particularly like it, deliberately doing it badly in the hope of being moved to another position is unlikely to work—and it will make you look like a very poor employee.
Show that you excel at your responsibilities and can perform effectively in whatever position you’re given. If the organization values its people, it will want to promote you, since doing so could also benefit the company.
Make sure the person responsible for promotions knows you’re interested
Don’t let shyness hold you back. If modesty or embarrassment gets the better of you, the promotion might go to someone who asked for it and showed the right attitude and initiative. So if you believe you’re qualified for the role you’re aiming for, talk to the person responsible for promotions and ask them to consider you. Don’t assume they’ve already put your name forward. They probably have if you’ve met all the requirements above, but it’s better not to take the risk that they haven’t.
Which of these 6 key strategies are you already putting into practice, and which do you need to work on to achieve your goal of continuing to climb the career ladder?
About the Author:
I'm Andrés Gananci, an entrepreneur and adventurer with a passion for life. I founded my first online business when I was just 17 years old. 12 years later, I still travel the world while working from home.
Editor at gananci.com
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