The recession is waning; it’s time for a promotion!
Actually, any time is the right time to earn a promotion — and more money — during a recession or during a boom. Those who bring value to their employer — and who know how to substantiate that value — can earn themselves a promotion in any economy.
The keys to doing so are mentioned above: a) bring value to an employer (sales, streamlined processes, new ideas, new products, etc) and b) show your employer that you’ve done so.
Another key to earning a promotion is probably the most important: c) ask for it.
Here are a few tips to help you get a promotion in a year or less.
Understand that a top priority should be to make your boss a success easier. That’s right. Yes, you want to be successful, yet to get there, if you help your boss succeed, you win too. So find out your boss’ priorities. Sit down with her and ask about her goals for your department and the challenges she faces in reaching them. Then decide how you can help her accomplish these goals and meet with her again with a short report on how you will help her do so.
As you have time, take on projects no one wants to do and do them. Especially find those unloved tasks critical to your department’s/company’s success and do those. Ask permission to do so, of course, and don’t neglect the tasks you were hired to do — do more.
Keep an accomplishment journal. Write down your successes (be sure to add dates). Did you bring in 10 new clients in three months? Document it. Did you create a new client retention data base? Write it down Were you your department’s employee of the month? Be sure it’s in there. Even if it’s as “minor” as finding a new office supply vendor that saved your department $100 a month, document it. You’ll want to have this document handy when you go to your boss asking for your promotion.
Start doing the job to which you wish to be promoted. In other words, start working at a level higher than your current position. For example, if you’re hoping to move into management, start acting, dressing and comporting yourself as a manager would. Ask your boss to delegate some of her tasks to you. She’s in management; if you end up doing some of her duties, you’re then doing the job of a manager. Also, start thinking like a manager. Don’t step on your boss’ toes, of course — you still need to defer to her — but if you start looking at your position as your boss does hers (profit and loss, efficiency, employee morale, etc.) you’ll be able to start walking the walk and talking the talk. Which will serve you well when you…
Ask for a promotion. Once you’ve been doing the steps above for a few months, soon enough it will be time for you to ask for a promotion. You don’t necessarily need to wait until your annual review; you can ask your boss for a meeting, bring your accomplishments document with you (and give your boss a copy) and then point out all you’ve done in the past few months. In fact, if you’ve been working at a level higher than your written job description, as you speak with your supervisor, you can say something such as “I’ve already been doing the job of manager, now I just need the official title.” Such a statement — backed up by substantiated accomplishments — often is all it takes to secure a promotion.
If you live in the Winnipeg, Manitoba area and are looking for the next promotion on your career ladder, contact Pinnacle Recruiting and Human Capital Solutions. Whether you’re looking for temporary or full-time work, we can place you on some terrific work assignments with some of Winnipeg’s best employers. We look forward to hearing from you.
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