how to get a promotion at work

Welcome back to guest writer Courtney Harrison who has written a fabulous post for us before! 

In the past it used to be the case that workers generally progressed along a set career path during the course of their careers.  The impact of technology, globalisation and flatter organisational structures has changed this. Today employees have to generate and manage their own career paths. So how is the best way to do this? Below are a number of strategies that may be useful.

Work for a Company that gives you Potential to Progress

The first question must be are you in the right organisation that will allow you to be promoted. Large corporations do usually have many promotional possibilities. However it does not need to be a large company. When you are applying for a job ensure that the company is growing and not stagnating.

Where are You and Where do You Want to be?

If you want to get promoted the first stage is to evaluate where you currently are. Why are you there and what are your strengths and weaknesses in this position? Can you use your strengths to lift you into your next position? Do you need to improve on your weaknesses? Once you have identified where you are currently positioned you next need to decide where you want to be. Develop a plan to achieve that objective. This all sounds very simple but if you think it through and write it down it will be a clarification exercise. Once you know where you want to go make sure that your boss knows what your career aspirations are.

Do the Best You Can Now in Your Current Job and Get Credit for That

Do the best you can do currently in your job. Take pride in your existing work. Although doing good work in your current work will not get you promoted if you don’t then you certainly won’t get a promotion. Make sure that you are punctual, show willing and enthusiastic. As well as doing a great job you need to make sure that your boss or those higher up the structure are aware that you are doing a great job. Self-promotion is better done in a subtle way but make sure that you get credit where it is due. Keep a record of everything that enhances the company’s bottom line.

Do More Than is Necessary and Beyond  your Remit

Make sure that where possible you take the initiative on work and don’t wait to be asked. Volunteer for work and solve problems even if they are not yours.  Try and do work that is normally done by the next level up so as to prove you are cable of doing so. Force yourself to innovate into new routines.

Seek out New Skills

It is not enough to be great at your job; you also need to establish marketable skills that will prepare you for your promotion. Further is you become over qualified for your current job then your boss may think it is a waste of your talents leaving you where you currently are. Ensure however that any new skills and knowledge learnt is relevant to your promotion. If your job is in financial investment then a course on investment trusts is going to be more appropriate than one on computer design.

Obtain a Mentor

In a recent study it found that in the case of four out of five promotions made those individuals had a mentoring relationship with someone higher up in the organisation. On one side you will learn about your organisation form a higher perspective and you will get to know about potential jobs higher up the organisation. On the other side your mentor will hopefully be there to put a good word in for you at the appropriate time.

Be Popular

In ideal world promotion would only be based on performance. In reality we are all humans and if you are likeable your promotion potential is always going to be better. In particular if you have a good relationship with your boss they should assist in helping you ascend to the next level. Moreover you should be able to act as a team player as in the corporate world a lot of work is now accomplished through teams. Ensure that you network as much as you can as the more people know what you add to the organisation and what your ambitions are the more likely your name is to arise when opportunities come up.

Obviously this is not an exhaustive list of tips on how to get a promotion but by at least putting some of these into practise you should increase your chances!



Courtney Harrison is a freelance writer who covers investment trusts and related jobs and services for a finance company. Everyone will deal with rejection at some point in their careers; the key is to just keep on pushing for that raise.