Promotion: Are you Ready

Are you ready for Promotion

Ideas on what to do to advance your career

Nowadays, if you want to be promoted it’s not enough to knuckle down and work hard. Higher-ups within your department also have to perceive you as a dedicated, idea-generating top performer.

While you might think your achievements speak for themselves, you’ll only help yourself by raising your profile. Use these tips to move your career forward:

Always be available to help.

Volunteer for new assignments, even ones considered difficult or risky. Challenging tasks offer the best opportunities to showcase your abilities.

Perhaps your manager just requested immediate help with an important initiative and nobody’s expressed a willingness to take charge. This is a great chance to demonstrate your leadership ability however be aware of how you may be percieved, lead from the front. Show and prove.This will secure a solid platform for your ideas.

Tackling tasks outside the bounds of your job description, especially during critical times, can earn you recognition from those who might otherwise overlook your day-to-day contributions.

Be assertive not arrogant and over bearing.

Prove yourself to be enthusiastic and engaged by actively participating in discussions. Before entering a meeting, review the agenda and prepare a few points of interest related to the topics at hand.  However do not be big headed and selfish.

Be willing to pitch your boldest solutions in brainstorming sessions. Remember that when times are tough, confident communicators, smart risk-takers and innovative thinkers are in demand.

Become a regular idea generator and volunteer. 

If you work tirelessly behind the scenes its time to start to get noticed. You don’t need to behave like a fool to get noticed, increasing your visibility does require strategic thinking, finesse and some self-promotion.

Carefully let people know how you are doing by periodically apprising your boss of your successes. Add muscle to your status updates by quantifying your contributions, linking your efforts to the positive impact they’ve had on the bottom line.

Put simply, a strong work ethic will always be vital to advancement, but you’ll never achieve your full potential unless others are aware of your expertise and accomplishments.