How to Get a Promotion

Interested in finding out how to get a promotion?  Promotions just don't happen-you have to work hard and in some cases, you have to know how to ask for a promotion. Asking for a promotion can feel risky for some, but if you never ask, you may never get one.

Show Initiative
Most people don't realize that the day you actually start asking for a promotion is the day you started your job. The work ethic and attitude you to bring to your position, from your first training session to your most recent project are key indicators of your desire to succeed, to further your skill set and contribute to the company's overall goals and objectives.

Signs that indicate you're interested in being promoted include:

• Volunteering for projects that need support that don't necessarily fall under your job description
• Asking for new projects or additional work where you can make a difference or that help advance your skill set
• Developing strong relationships with key employees in other departments who contribute to or influence your department's work
• Getting involved with company committees and task forces, despite the extra work it creates for you
• Being willing to work beyond a traditional eight-hour day
• Maintaining professionalism at all times, with all employee and abstaining from company gossip or affiliating yourself with cliques

Tracking Your Work
A lot of employees never stop to think about the work they've done or the milestones they've achieved until their annual or semi-annual review comes around. When it comes time to meet with their manager, some contributions or achievements may be overlooked or even forgotten.

Get into the habit of writing a monthly self-review, even if you're the only who looks at it. By documenting everything you do on a regular basis, you'll be able to identify trends that support asking for a promotion and areas where you recognize you need to improve before you make your case. Go beyond a simple list and include the impact your contributions have had on the department or company as a whole. For example, if the presentation you put together in February helped your company gain entry to a new client in March that helped the team exceed revenue goals for the quarter, make a note of it.

Making Your Reviews Work for You
If you've taken a casual approach to your annual reviews, stop. These meetings between you and your boss are about more than company policy and should function as a dialogue between the two of you, not just your boss' assessment of your performance.

You probably don't want to ask for a promotion at your first or second review with a new boss or company, but you can use these early meetings to demonstrate your commitment to knowledge, learning and growth.

If your boss suggests you need to improve in a certain area, follow up on that statement by asking for additional training, education or scheduling a subsequent meeting to evaluate your performance in that area after a set period of time. If there's a part of the business you'd like to learn about that can enhance the way you do your job, ask how you can go about adding those skills to your repertoire-this is especially important if the promotion you want takes you across department lines.

Don't be afraid to ask your boss how they advanced to their current position, but try to make it clear you're not gunning for their job, only their advice. Good managers want to see their employees grow and advance, not stay put or make a series of lateral moves throughout the company or industry.

Timing Your Request
You've been working hard, exceeding your goals and honing your skill set. You've document your achievements and consistently earned high marks on your reviews. Finally, the job you're interested in has been posted internally. It's a perfect fit, so why not go into your boss' office right now?

First, take a minute to consider what's happening your department right now. Is your boss under pressure to meet a deadline? Is it his or her first day back in the office after a week on the road? Do you have clients in town? Are any bigwigs from the corporate office about to descend on the office? You can make the best case for yourself anyone's ever heard, but if your boss isn't an receptive frame of mind, you might have a door closed in your face instead of a door opened to the next leg of your career path.

Making Your Case
When you do find the right time to approach your boss, keep it brief to start. Explain your reason for wanting to schedule a meeting and allow your boss to be the one to schedule it (if the meeting isn't scheduled in a timely manner, give him or her the benefit of the doubt and ask again).

In the days leading up to your meeting, gather all of the information you've documented about your job and performance and pull out the key points you want to present to your boss.

Include a list of how your qualifications match the requirements of the new position as well as how you intend to address the vacancy you'll leave behind if you're promoted (focus on the first 90 days and outline a training program for your replacement or suggest a co-worker who is well-suited to take over your current position). By addressing these issues, you'll show your boss that you're invested in the company's success, not just your own.

What Happens if They Say No?
No isn't the answer you want to hear, but you do need to be prepared to hear it. Even if the meeting goes badly and you feel you weren't supported, thank your manager for hearing you out and supporting your career. How you conduct yourself after being shut down may later be viewed as a test: how does this employee react when they don't get what they want?

However, hearing no today, doesn't mean you won't hear yes further down the road. If you're turned down for a promotion or lose it to a peer, ask your manager for frank feedback on what skills, abilities or experience they perceived to you to lack. Enlist their help in putting together a mini-training program for yourself, complete with timeline. For example, if your boss felt your public speaking skills weren't up to snuff, see if there's a local chapter of Toastmasters in your area or if the local community college offers a class. Finally, ask your boss if he or she is willing to meet more regularly with you to discuss your performance.

If your manager bristles when you ask them to provide specifics around what you can do to make yourself more marketable internally, your plans may be dead in the water. Remember, it's always easier to find a job when you already have one, so resist the urge to quit if you find yourself in this situation. Instead, begin searching for similar positions at other companies and remember that if you wind up going to work for someone else, the first day of that job is the first step toward your next promotion.