12 Ways to Get a Promotion Before Soon - The Muse

12 Ways to Get a Promotion Before Soon - The Muse12 Ways to Get a Promotion Before SoonGunning for a promotion, are you? With the year a little more than half over, theres still time to snag one before the end of it. In fact, instead of going about business as usual, waiting for your companys performance reviews to roll around, you can set yourself up well now- today, tomorrow, and the next day- if you really want to get ahead. These 12 career coaches weigh in on this topic. If you follow their sound advice, and take those baby steps today, you may just get a promotion before you reif in the new year.1. Address it Head-onHave a clear timeline in mind. Then demonstrate your achievements to date in your current role, being as specific as possible, and backing it up with data Metrics are everything to a manager evaluating your impact. Go in with status updates on projects youre overseeing, and then ask what itll take to get promoted before the end of the year. Your boss will (hopefully) take this opportunity to consider how to help you advance your career at the company, and the two of you can put a plan in place.Yuri Kruman2. Step Up While Your Boss Is OutThis advice relies on the assumption that your manager takes a vacation at some point, and when he or she does, this is when you take advantage of the absence to take on greater responsibility and gain respect thatll ultimately prove youre ready to handle more on a regular basis. Go beyond whats asked of you while your managers out, and itll quickly be apparent that youre a leader too.Avery Blank3. Up Your Wardrobe GameTheres a reason why you wake up earlier and pay special attention to the intricate details of your attire on the day of an interview. From making sure your clothings wrinkle-free to ensuring that your shoes arent scuffed and your jeans arent ripped, you put your best foot forward in this first impression situation. But its important to also maintain this professional image while youre gainfully em ployed, especially if you want to move up. While focusing on clothes might seem trivial or superficial, style and aesthetics can boost your overall confidence, increase your comfort level, and lend you a positive can-do attitude thats sure to impress those around you. Emily Liou4. Check Your Ego at the DoorHows your mindset, really? The best managers are able to increase their skills and capabilities by seeing difficulty and failure as part of the process. If you can tame your own ego and place your need for constant recognition aside, youll likely find that youre more patient, enabling you to show lower-level team members the ropes. What this does is send a message to the higher-ups that youre a manager-in-self-training- and ready for more supervisory tasks.Andrea Gerson5. Maintain a To-Done ListThe point is to keep track of your accomplishments now, so you can make a strong case later. Instead of a to-do list, you want a to-done list.Every time you finish a meaningful task, add it to a simple, bulleted list. On Fridays, take two minutes to look back and figure out which ones really made a difference in your work and toward the organizations mission. Bold those and add them to a key accomplishments section at the bottom of the list.At the end of each month, youll be able to look back at four weeks of key accomplishments and see what you did to move the needle to help make your case for promotion.Alexandra DickinsonWANT A LITTLE HELP GETTING THAT PROMOTION?Good news We know experts who do just that.Talk to a career coach today 6. Understand the ProcessDetermine if theres an open role for you to be promoted into or if the company would create a new role. If its a new role, figure out what the precedent is. For either scenario, flesh out a detailed job description for your current job and for the punkt you want. Make your intentions known, and ask your manager what skills you need to develop to get to the new place. Remember No one is going to promote you just f or the sake of it. Its in creating more value for that you can demonstrate a winning case. Melody Godfred7. Dont Be ShyIf this is what you want, youre going to have to put it out there and make it clear that youre willing to work for it.Have open conversations with your manager and connect with colleagues at your company who received promotions. Ask them about their paths and how they progressed. Get granular with your manager about the steps youd need to take to get to the next level. Perhaps you could use a job description of that coveted role to help identify gaps between where you are now and where you want to be. Seek out whatever tools are at your disposal, and dont be afraid to ask questions. And of course, once some concrete actions have been identified, sink your teeth in and go for itKelly Poulson8. Increase Your VisibilityCommunicate your successes. Dont assume everyone knows the good work youre doing. Your accomplishments and the perception of them, is often the determin ing factor of getting promoted. Its up to you to toot your own horn and make key people aware. This isnt bragging, its accountability for your job performance. Each time you have a major breakthrough with a key prospect, exceed a clients expectations, or close a deal, send your boss an email with highlights and metrics where appropriate. When you have an ongoing record, itll be easier to make your case. Theresa Merrill9. Make it an Ongoing ConversationIf youre having regular check-in meetings with your boss, make sure youre regularly discussing your career advancement and following through on action steps.If you arent doing that and are simply running through tasks, pain points, and soliciting feedback, you need to rework some of the conversation so theres no doubt as to your desire to progress within the company.Neely Raffellini10. Conduct Your Own Mini 360-Degree AssessmentMake a list of people you trust, including managers, co-workers, direct reports (if applicable), internal and external customers. Explain to them that youre gunning for a promotion, you value their opinion, and youre eager for their feedback.Ask them to tell you three strengths and three areas that you could develop to position you well for your next role. Try to get concrete, specific feedback that you can present to your boss with a note about the areas you intend to work on in the hopes that honing those will lead to your next role.Loren Margolis11. Quantify EverythingOne of the best ways to position yourself for a promotion is to demonstrate your accomplishments and the impact you have at work. In order to do this in a way that can be evaluated for a raise or career advancement, youll need to quantify all of your achievements, large and small. Write down details pertaining to your professional successes and the results of your work. Keep a record of projects completed, including quantifiable details such as how many, how much, and how often and include a go-forward plan for increasing results. Angela Smith12. Increase Your Skill Set- at Work and Outside of itOnce you find out whatll position you best for that promotion, seek out those new skills to add to your tool belt. Perhaps its representing the company on a board of directors. Maybe its a masters degree or certificate. Whatever it is, go for it At the very least, youll have increased your skills for the next job whether its at your company or somewhere else.Annie NoggDid you read all this and think to yourself, Gee, I really dont want to have to ask for a promotion? We have an article for that. We also have an article that outlines a three-step plan you can implement ASAP. Whatever you do, make sure youre making moves thatll push your career ahead.