It’s a question all employees think about, but often don’t ask out loud: How do I get a promotion? This article outlines 5 tips to help you become a star employee, hopefully fast tracking your next promotion!
1. Be constantly learning
Learning doesn’t stop the minute you leave university. A key ingredient to showing your commitment and drive is to be constantly learning. To become better at your job, you might pick up a technical skill such as coding, or hone a soft skill such as time-management. In addition, we can always learn new things from others. Learning from your manager who is particularly good at public speaking, or a co-worker who makes fabulous slide decks, will make you a more effective worker as well as demonstrate that you’re a self-starter.
2. Become good at stakeholder management
One of the integral traits that managers and executives possess is excellent stakeholder management. Being able to maintain good relationships enables them to communicate more effectively and get others on their vision, making it easier to reach objectives. Key to this is being able to think from the shoes of others, whether that be your colleagues or clients. This involves being an active listener, understanding their interests and motivations, and highlighting how your goals could fit together.
3. Think above your level
To show you’re manager material, you need to act like you’re perfect for the role. This involves thinking above your own level and demonstrating initiative. For example, when a task is handed down to you and requires you to gather the sales data of a new product the company has launched, what are the senior executives trying to achieve? Are they trying to evaluate the performance of that product? Potentially they’re assessing the company’s growth plan for the next financial year? Asking yourself these questions will help shape the direction of your work, and also demonstrate your critical thinking capabilities.
4. Make your boss’ job easier
Managers are busy people, so you want to make their job as easy as possible. Completing all your tasks timely is just the first step. When your manager hands you a task, make sure that you have understood all parts of the task to avoid requesting further clarifications. If more questions do come up, write them down in a list, and then meet with your manager to ask them all in one go rather than sending a message once every 10 minutes. When scheduling a meeting, write clearly in the title and the body what the meeting is about and the agenda for the meeting. Little things like these go a long way to making a good impression!
5. Show off your achievements
People often shy away from this point, especially females, to avoid acting like a ‘show off’. In reality, it’s employees who have their achievements recognised that get a promotion faster. While colleagues in your immediate team know that a customer has given you an outstanding review, others beyond your team might not. While the co-worker sitting at the neighbouring desk knows the amount of effort you spent on a model, your manager might not. Therefore, while we still want to be humble and honest, ‘shouting from the rooftops’ and showcasing your hard work are critical to giving you the recognition that you deserve.
Hopefully you found these tips helpful! Good luck in fast tracking your next promotion!
