I got a promotion. I started working in 2015, I quit my first job last year and started a new one. And yesterday it was announced that I will get promoted to a senior position. It might not be that much, but it’s a step forward that I have wanted since day one.
It’s a nice feeling. Not only because my skill got recognized, but because my goals were achieved as well. Getting promoted has always been my goal and I’ve tried to work towards it.
Getting a promotion at your workplace isn’t an easy thing. Because most of the time there only one spot and many that will want it. But, with certain effort, I think everybody could get promoted. Here are the steps I think one should take for getting a promotion, based on my experience:
1. Have a goal
You can’t just wish to get promoted. You have to make it a goal. A goal that you could work toward. Set up deadlines. At my first job, my goal was to get a promotion in 2-3 years. When I realised that it wouldn’t happen, I left for a place where my goal could get achieved.
For the new place I’m working, the timeline was the same. To get a promotion in the next two years. I got it in less than one.
2. Become an informal leader
A promotion is almost all the time in a leadership position. With a bigger or smaller impact on the team, depending on the type of the promotion. But a leader nevertheless. This is why you have to become a leader in your workplace, even without the organizational role.
Step up within the team. Be in front. Prove yourself to them that you are worthy to lead them. Gain their trust. Don’t be the guy that stays in front of the computer all day long. If the team doesn’t trust you and get behind you, you’ll never get the promotion, even though your other skills might be the best.
3. Be involved
Don’t just do what you’re supposed to do. Do something extra. Try to take other responsibilities. Come up with new ideas, improve the process.
Talk to your managers and ask them for special projects. Tell them that when the opportunity arrives you want to be promoted. And ask them to help you in that direction. Don’t do the minimum stuff from your job description. That is just to get your paycheck.
A promotion it’s not an easy thing to get. But it’s not that hard either. You just have to work a little bit extra.
Image source:Pixabay