If you’ve been in your current role for a while you may be feeling a little stagnant. It’s understandable. For all the comfort routine brings, we also naturally seek to push ourselves and broaden our skill set.
There are anthropological reasons for this – the paramount one being it makes us more useful to the tribe. Although in this context, the tribe is the company you work for.
Thanks to the way business works, learning new skills can also mean better pay too. Providing your employer looks after its people, this can make the step up worth the added responsibility.
Promotion make sense for all parties as it’s much cheaper for businesses – around a 15% saving – to promote someone over hiring someone entirely new.
It’s more efficient too as you already know how your organisation works so the time between you onboarding and being productive is significantly less.
The trick is getting the promotion in the first place. It can be difficult to get noticed, especially if you’re in a big organisation and/or part of a large team.
However, there are things you can do to stand out from the crowd and bag the coveted new role.
Set Career Goals
Most organisations have annual reviews, with one-to-ones dotted throughout the year. These are intended to – among other things – assess your job performance and identify both areas you can improve or skills you want to develop.
Good managers will actively encourage you to develop your skillset. After all the reason you’re in your role is because you have a skill set the business needs.
If you’ve just had a review, schedule a meeting with your line manager to revisit the subject of personal development. Do you research and identify the skills you need to take a step up, but currently lack.
This meeting should be an open and honest discussion about your career goals. Make sure you have a clear idea in your mind of what you want to achieve over the next 6-12 months.
You won’t get promoted by expecting your line manager to do the running around for you.
Whatever you agree on, make sure you set a target so you can measure your progress. Whether it’s qualifying as an accountant or become a full stack developer, agree the objective and set a time frame.
Be a Team Player
There’s no I in team. While some departments foster competitiveness, there’s a fine line between trying to be top biller and putting your interests ahead of everyone else.
Generally, employers don’t like it when team members are only interested in their own success and progression. Success is a shared responsibility so most business owners and managers will be looking to progress the people who are committed to the greater good. Not their own selfish ambitions.
Of course, everyone works to make as much money as they can to provide for their families and employers understand that. However, if that behaviour starts to impact negatively on the business getting promoted will be the least of your worries.
Instead, be proactive – volunteer for tasks rather than be asked. Show initiative and actively seek out ways you can improve processes, service for a client or identify solutions to make tasks more efficient.
Make Yourself Indispensable
Directly linked to being a team player, making yourself too valuable to lose is a great way to progress within a business. That’s not to say you merely suck up to management or fetch their morning coffee order.
It’s about being trusted within the business to do your job well. So, no matter who comes to you with a task, they can be completely confident that you will deliver.
If you’re really good at what you do you will not only be sought after for projects by co-workers. You’ll also get noticed by company leadership too as people like you will stand out from the crowd.
Document Your Success
If you’re plan is to work towards a promotion (and a pay rise) then you need to be able to justify it.
Simply stating you’ve done an outstanding job and expecting money to fall from the sky will get your exactly nowhere.
Instead, keep a record of everything you’ve done that has made the company more profitable, more successful, more efficient or a better place to work.
By keeping a working portfolio of your achievements throughout the year will demonstrate your commitment and initiative. It will also make it an easy decision by management to get you promoted.
Keep Learning
Personal development is a cornerstone of professional success. Few industries stay still for very long so there are always opportunities to learn new methods.
Conferences and webinars are a great place to start, and usually cheap if not free.
However, you should also be looking at CPD courses that your employer can fund out of their training budget. Also, look for formal qualifications that will give you the skills and knowledge you need to take the next step.
Investing in your learning demonstrates to your employers that you take your career and your role seriously.
Starting a new Career
If you want to start a new career or get promoted but you don’t have the right qualifications, we can help.
Stonebridge Associated Colleges is a leading UK distance learning provider. We support thousands of students each year to achieve the qualifications they need to get the job they want.
Check out our full course offering by clicking the link below.
To learn more about online courses and distance learning, check out our blog.
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