Best Ways to Get Promoted At Work

Why Some People Get Promoted And Others Don't

To Understand How To Get Promoted In Your Job, We First Need To Understand Why You Are Not Getting Promoted Especially If You Are Performing Well In Their Current Roles, As Per Your Seniors Opinion.

There Are Also The Cases Where A Star Performer Got Promoted To Next Level And Was A Complete Disaster And Utter Failure At That Job Level.

Some Of The Reason Can Be Beyond Your Area Of Influence Or Control.

And In Many Cases People Are Not Promoted Simply Because They Are Not Promotable.

First Let Us See The Causes Which Are Totally Within Our Area Of Control, Yet Because Of Either Not Knowing About Them, Or Knowing But Not Accepting Them, Or Not Taking Any Actions To Eliminate Them, We Are Passed For Promotion.

Why [Not In Any Order] You Won't Get Promoted, Even If You Are Meeting Your Targets In Your Present Job – These Could Be Combinations Of More Than One of The Following Parameters

1.You Try To Outshine Your Seniors And Behave In A Superior[Know More Than Your Seniors] Way
2.Although You Are Delivering What Is Expected Of You, But The Performance Stops At That Point
3.You Have Not Been Updating Yourself With The Latest Best Practices In Your Profession
4.Your Attitude With The People Who Are Juniors Who Are Smarter Than You, Have More Knowledge That You Is Just Arrogance Of "What Would They Know" As I Have More Experience
5.You Do Not Seems To Have Passion, Enthusiasm And Energy
6.You Do Your Work But There Are No Exceptional Visible Impact Or Results
7.You Behave Passive-Aggressive Way In The Face Of New Changes
8.You Are Considered Loner And Have Conflicts With Many
9.You Might Be Dubbed As Trouble-Maker
10.Your Performance Is Brilliant But You Lack The Potential Soft Skills Needed As Per The Next Level's Basic Requirements
11. You Had Been Promoted In The Past To This Level But Your Performance Has Dipped Considerably
12.You May Have The Attitude Of "Why Should I Bother, They Don't Pay Me For That & Neither It Is Worth Doing As There Would Be No Recognition Of Extra Efforts"
13.You Rely On Your Current Base Of Knowledge. No Need To Learn New Skills, You Stopped Learning Since Quite Some Time
14.You Voice Your Complaints About The Management At Their Back
15.You Don't Share The Credit & Try To Hog The Limelight In The Successful Projects
16.You Don't Take Feedback
17.You Don't Take Initiative To Go For Challenging Assignments Or Volunteer For Tough Tasks
18.You Think Like An Employee And Like Not A Leader/Entrepreneur/ Owner
19.You Operate With The Mindset Of Entitlement
20.You Haven't Built A Sufficient Support Network Of Mentors, Sponsors, And Ambassadors Around Them.
21.You Don't Understand The Ecosystem In Which You Are Operating
22.You Never Acknowledge Other People's Contributions To Your Work
23.You Only Ask About Getting Promoted Instead Of Focusing On How You Can Improve
24.Focus On What You Want Out Of The Promotion.
25.Ask About A Promotion In An Emotional Way Instead Of Focusing On Facts
26.You Are Part Of The Gossip & Rumor Mongers
27.You Are Great At Point Out Flaws But Do Not See Your Role In That
28.You Highlight Problems But Do Not Work For Solutions
29.You May Not Display A Professional Image Through Dressing, Grooming, Personal Hygiene, Work-Area Neatness, Discipline & Punctuality, Taking Breaks Frequently, Enticing Coworker For Unprofessional Behavior, Use Of Vulgar Language Etc
30.Forming Groups And Unions
31.You Are Not Confident You Can Do The Job At The Next Level
32.You Think Too Small And Have No Strategic Vision.
33.You Embarrass Or Surprise Or Correct Your Boss In Public
34.You Get Defensive When You Get Constructive Feedback.
35.You Do Not Have A Solid Strong Relationship With Your Boss.
36.You Expect Your Work To Speak For Itself. It Doesn't! You Do!

The Shadowy Reasons You Don't Have Any Control On But Those Which Could Prevent You from Getting Promoted

1.You Are Too Good At Your Job And The Management Wants Such People Right Where They Are, Keeping The System In Balance, Because They Believe By Disturbing That Work Link Unnecessary Disturbances Would Be There So They Avoid Promoting You Because The Move Won't Be As Disruptive
2.You May Be Too Independent, And In Your Organizations The Bosses May Not See Independence As A Positive Trait. They Might Politely Tolerate It Because You Are So Productive. But At The Same Time, They May Not Want To Reward It Either.
3.In Such An Environment, Management May Prefer People Who Are More Compliant To Those Who Are Self-Reliant. The Compliant Will Be Promoted Precisely Because They Aren't Expected To Rock The Boat.
4.You May Be A Threat To Your Insecure Boss Because Of Being More Competent And Capable Than Your Manager And It's Not Just The Department People Who Are Aware Of This , Your Boss Is Only Too Aware Of It
5.You Don't "Fit The Organizations Image Of Face", Many Organizations Have An Unspoken Concept Of Who Represents The Most Desirable Employees. For Example, A Company May Try To Position Itself As Young, Vibrant And Attractive. If You Are Say Not That Young, You Would Miss The Boat. And If This "Image" Is Modified In A Way That Excludes You After You've Been Hired, You Probably Won't Be There For Very Long.
6.This Is Again For The People Who Have Insecure & Less Capable Managers Or Bosses, If You Are Not Act As Informants For The Boss For Your Coworkers. And The More Insecure The Boss Is, The More That Loyalty Is Likely To Be Rewarded Than Merit
7.If Your Boss, Your Boss's Boss, Or One Of Your Boss's Informant Does Not Like You, You Won't Be Promoted
8.If The People Who Are In A Position To Promote You Don't Like You On A Personal Level, Your Future With The Organization Is Extremely Limited.

Why I am highlighting these points, Just to let You Know That Sometimes You're Just In The Wrong Place. This List Can Help You Identify That Fact.

And If That's the case, You May Need To Move To A Different Department Or Employer In Order To Move Forward In Your Career.

I know many Competent And Highly Productive people, who were Working In Organizations Where They were Never Going To Be Promoted, Changed Jobs and rose to unimaginable positions.

Many times You May Be Doing Everything Right, But You're Being Attacked Because of the Incompetence and Insecurity of The People powerful in position than you.

Common Mistakes Employees Make In Managing Their Career

1.They Do Not "Think Long-Term"
2.They Leave Their Career Management To The HR
3.Asking For Promotion Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong Reasons
4.Not Applying, Attending Interviews And Networking Outside The Company
5.The Worst Mistake You Can Make Is To Stay At A Job For 5-10 Years, Without Ever Having Interviewed, Networked Or Connected Meaningfully With People Outside Of Your Organization.
6.Every Single Professional Should Be Interviewing Regularly Outside Of Their Organization, No Matter How Happy Or Unhappy They Are In Their Jobs.
7.Regular Interviewing Outside Your Company Also Helps You Understand The Changes In Your Industry, Identify Potential New Opportunities That Would Be Thrilling For You, Meet New People Who Can Later Support You In A Transition, And Gain A Clearer Sense Of Your Essential Value In Your Marketplace.

It sounds Crazy to Me How Often People Expect A Raise Just Because They are Doing Their Job as expected.

Without understanding That a Promotion, And Most Raises, Typically Come From Not Only Doing Your Job Well, But Adding Huge Value To All The Stakeholders.

So What Is They Success-Formula

It Is Just Not Good Enough To Stop Doing All The Above But You Also Need To Do Almost All of The Following.

I.Ask Yourself These Questions

1.Do You Understand What Your Organization Recognizes As Superior Performance Indicators , The Results, Attitude, Attributes And Behaviors Are Basic Prerequisite To Move To Next Level
2.Do You Know And Are Working Towards As Well As Seem To Be Contributing Towards Your Bosses' And Organization Visions, Mission And Goals, Values And Objectives
3.In What Way You Can Create Meaningful Difference To Your Role, Your Team, Your Function, Your Unit, Your Organization
4.What Soft Skills And Leadership Skills You Need To Develop To Lead From The Front
5.Do You Understand What Your Boss And Senior Leadership View As Critical To The Success And Growth Of The Organization And In How Effectively You Are Supporting And Causing Them To Be Successful In These
6.Do You Know What Others Who Matters, Think Of Your Performance And Contribution
7.What In The Opinion Of Your 360 Degree Stakeholders About Your Areas Of Development And Strengths

II.Before You Ask For Promotion

1.Recognize Your Promotion As A Negotiating Opportunity
2.Understand The Elements Of The Whole Package, Not Just The Titles. The Responsibilities, The Authorities, The Perks, The Benefits Etc
3.Identify What Is Negotiable & What Is Not, Focus On Long Term By Sacrificing The Short Term Gains In Favor Of Long Term Impact
4.Negotiate On The Entire Package Not Just On Position And Salary
5.Prepare As Much As Possible. "Make A List Of What You Want And What You Are Willing To Do For It," It May Even Help You To Script Out Your Responses."
6.Come Prepared With Your Job Performance Records, Resume, And Other Documents.
7.Use Facts, Not Emotions.
8.Show Your Value
9.Keep Your Employer's Goals In Mind
10.Pick Your Battles. Don't Try To Negotiate Everything.
11.Be Respectful. "Don't Play Hardball, Because You Want To Build These Relationships For The Future And Start Your New Role As Positively As Possible"
12.You Want To Maintain A Positive Reputation In The Company, So Don't Destroy Any Potential Of Future Advancement By Worsening Relationships

III.Increase Your Visibility

1.Success Is Not A Straight Line. While Patience And Great Work Are Essential, They Don't Pave The Way Forward In A Logical Progression.
2.Good Work Doesn't Necessarily Speak For Itself. Somebody Has To Speak Up For It, And It Makes The Most Sense For It To Be You. "Do Things, Tell People"
3.Part Of Managing Yourself And Your Trajectory Means Making It Easier For People And Opportunities To Find You.
4.Choose The More Impactful & Visible Project Like Working On Some Aspect That Is Customer-Facing
5.Promoting Yourself Doesn't Have To Be On Someone Else's Terms

IV.Get Yourself On The Path To Getting Your Next Promotion Faster

1.If You Want Others To Think You Can Handle A Huge Leadership Role, You Need To Show Them That You Deserve It. Take The Responsibilities Of Your Jobs First And Show Your Performance, Capabilities & Competence And Then Only Ask For The Promotions
2.Select A Project/Assignment That Will Showcase Your Strengths
3.Find An Organization And A Culture That Complements Your Nature
4.Make Your Boss's Priorities Your Priorities And Make Your Boss Look Good In Front Of His Seniors, Juniors & Clients
5.Coach/Train / Mentor Others To Help Them Improve Genuinely
6.Taking Initiative To Go For Challenging Projects, Ask For Them
7.Tackle Critical Issues/Challenges, Others Are Reluctant To Shoulder Responsibilities For
8.Prioritize Your Ascent, Don't Leave It To Chance. Make Time To Develop Your Skills. Ask What It Takes To Get Promoted And Do That As Your Plan
9.Form Relationships With Fellow Employees
10.Give Solutions At Staff Meetings, If You Have A Conviction That Something Should Be Done In A Certain Way, Make Your Point
11.Build An Attitude Of Sees Needs Takes Actions
12.Move To Another Company If Yours Doesn't Have Advancement Opportunities.
13.Don't Try To Do Your Boss's Job For Them. Your Boss Might Think You Are Trying To Undermine Them, And Which Could Hurt Your Chances Of Getting A Promotion Later On.
14.Volunteer For Projects
15.Ask For Feedback From Your Boss About Areas Where You Can Improve
16.Make A Lateral Move If You Need To Get More Experience. Sometimes It Can Be Helpful To Move To Another Position Of Equal Rank Within Your Organization Before You Attempt To Move Up
17.Find A High-Growth Industry
18.Once You Have Identified A High-Growth Industry, Do Your Homework. Research And Find Out What Companies In That Industry Are Growing The Most Rapidly.
19.Select The Right Boss, Yes That Sounds Impractical, But After You Are Selected, You Should Interview Your Potential Boss Carefully To Make Sure That He Or She Is The Kind Of Person You Would Enjoy Working With And For. This Should Be Someone Whom You Would Respect And Look Up To, Someone Who Is Friendly And Supportive And On Whom You Can Depend To Help You Move Ahead As Rapidly As Possible. Whenever Possible, You Should Talk To Other People Who Work For That Boss
20.Build Your Personal Brand Powerfully With Care, Create A Positive Image
21.Learn To Work SMARTER & Harder
22.Find Influential Mentors
23.Own Projects From Start To Finish
24.Raise Other Team Members' Performance, Help Their Colleagues Instead Of Stepping On Them In Their Climb Up The Ladder
25.Practice Absolute Integrity And Values
26.Show Pride In Your Work Competence, Diligence, Intelligence, Loyalty
27.Display Your Commitment Towards Excellence And Quality
28.Demonstrate That You Are A Trouble Shooter And Problem Solver Both For Organization As Well As Clients
29.Implement Creative And Effective Solutions
30.Work Independently, Without Having To Be Told What To Do Every Step, Be Exceptional
31.Cultivate Your Team Members Into Productive Team Members
32.Keep A Record Of Everything You Do That Enhances The Company's Bottom Line
33.Volunteering To Help Out Other Departments Or Teams
34.Act Professionally At All Times

35.Earn A Reputation For Being Dependable, Professional, And Cooperative. Act And Look The

36.Don't Whine Or Complain Or Blame Others,When Things Don't Go Your Way.
37.Join And Participate In The Industry/Business/Professional Forums And Create Name For Yourself In Your Industry Through Conferences, Articles, Speeches.
38.Create A Quick Elevator Pitch To Tell What You Do At The Company And Who You Are.
39.Try To Be A Part Of The Process For Interviewing New People
40.Be Accountable And Take Complete Responsibility For Your Decisions And Action
41.Become An Expert, Master You Job Well
42.Polish You Soft Skills On A Continuous Basis
43.Learn To Take The Criticism Without Malice
44.Keep Upgrading Your Skills, Knowledge, Qualifications, Certificate To Keep Yourself Always Employable