Navigating your way up the career ladder takes a lot of effort apart from simply doing what you were hired to do. You know what they say about great men going the extra mile while their peers were asleep. When it comes to offering you a job promotion that you have earned, the management of your company or Human Resources is likely to overlook your efforts and leave you to work the motions and get lost in the sauce. The one person who won’t forget that your well-deserved promotion is overdue is yourself. So what do you do when you are eligible for a promotion but no one seems to look your way?
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Let your short-term actions guarantee you a place in the long-term
When running for a job promotion, your actions have to be deliberate. You know what is required of you and what the parameters for measuring your performance are. Keep one eye on satisfying your KPIs and another on expanding your influence in the organisation. When you satisfy your KPIs and still manage to handle other responsibilities, you indicate that you have mastered your current role and are willing and able to do more. Also, let your extra responsibilities be geared toward the promotion you are eyeing. If you aspire to become a supervisor in your department, the extra responsibilities you can take on can include onboarding new hires and helping teammates when they face challenges. This will make you a strong contender when management decides to promote someone to that position.
Say Less, Do More
Talking big game is good to get you through a job interview because that is how to get your foot in the door. When you are settled in the position, you have to manage the expectations placed on you by your colleagues and superiors. You can be driven by the ambition to rise through the ranks by promising the sun and moon but when you are unable to deliver, you can be written off as incompetent because you failed to deliver on what you promised. On the other hand, when you promise little and deliver much, you give the indication that you went the extra mile on delivery. This makes you look efficient and presents you are a contender for the next promotion.
Employ Internal Networking
This may sound like a corporate “Game of Thrones” and it is not far from the truth. It is not likely that the promotion you deserve and desire will fall into your lap. You will have to get noticed somehow by the powers that be and this too will not happen by sheer luck. Internal networking means that you have to sell yourself to those who matter in your organisation. It means you have to know your colleagues, be nice and helpful, and volunteer to lead teams and contribute to the general output.
Ask
All the effort to be a great employee and teammate leads to this point. Sometimes, you may not need to say anything before you are deemed worthy of a job promotion. At other times, you have to pitch yourself as a worthy candidate for a promotion. How you go about asking for the promotion might either present you as deserving or entitled. Know that getting promoted is often not based on how long you have been at the company or what you feel is fair. A job promotion is given to whoever is deserving and is capable of delivering, and so in presenting yourself as the worthy candidate, you should argue based on your track record and ability to perform the role satisfactorily.
