How to Get a Promotion at Work

Getting promoted at the workplace is a dream a lot of us would have. Whether it’s the salary increase, the added responsibility, the change in role, the improved office or anything else – there’s a lot of things that motivate us to aim for one position up. Here are some tips on how to get a promotion at work.

Know Where You Want To Get A Promotion At Work

It’s good to realise that you want to get promoted at work, but it’s good to know what you’re getting promoted to. Is it actually where you would like to go? Does it match up to your long term goal? Will you enjoy the job? The money or better view from the window may seem like enough at the start, but if you don’t like the new position then it may not be worth getting.
Is it a position within your area or department, or is it in another area? This is a factor to consider as well, because different teams operate in a different way and do tasks differently. If you’re looking to become a technical team leader for a software development group, you could need to move into different area to do this, which may or may not suit your life or work arrangements at the moment.

Learn What The Promotion At Work Involves

One of the starting steps on how to get a promotion at work is to understand what the position really involves. The title of Network General Manager may seem straight-forward to you, but if you're not aware of what it involves then you won’t be able to do the job as well as you need to. Talk to other people about what their job involves, if they are in this position or know about it. Keep track of the people who are in this position and what their daily activities involve. Learn who they report to and what their obligations are. The more you know about a role, the higher chance you have of getting promoted.

Dress For The Promotion, Not Your Current Position

Professionals in different positions dress differently – it’s a fact of working life. Senior managers most likely don’t dress the same as junior staff. A great way of standing out and getting prepared for a promotion is to dress as if you had the promoted role. This has the benefit of letting others see you dressed in a different role, which will get them used to this and the idea of you actually being in that role.

Speak To Other People In The Company

Other people in your company are a good source of information on roles. You don’t have to be direct or sneaky about it, you can basically ask questions such as:
“What does that role involve?”
“How do you get to become a team leader/manager/other job?”
“What kind of experience would you need for that position?”
Employees can be helpful if you ask them for information like this on a role. They may even offer you suggestions or tips on certain roles, or information on any similar roles that may be available.

Be Outstanding At Your Current Job

Arguably the main factor in getting offered a promotion is how well you do your current job. If you can’t perform your current job very well, why would the company ask you to do an even more senior or advanced job? If you can prove that you’re hard working, organised, diligent and experienced for your position, the company will notice you when a job opens up for a promotion. Other workers will notice your work ethic and may even place a good word for your promotion! Your manager, if they are the one that is leaving an open position, might even ask that you are the one to take over their job. The main point here is that you need to be amazing at your current role to have the best chance – that’s how to get a promotion at work!