Tips for getting promoted

Mr. Loverman

Hi all

I have been promoted a few times so I thought I'd share a few things I've done or noticed other people (who want to get promoted) aren't doing.

Feel free to add your own tips or disagree with my advice!

In no particular order...

Dress like a manager

This is an easy one, but hardly anyone does it. It sounds stupid and is stupid but people take you more seriously if you dress well.

Look at the managers in your company and then look at the non-managers. You'll notice they probably wear a different style of clothes.

Start dressing like the managers...

Start producing documents

A very large part of a managers job is producing documents.

Prove to the company that you can do this too by documenting your current processes, documenting suggested process improvements, etc.

Find ISO or IEEE or whatever standards you can apply to your process. Use these in your documents.

You don't have to create all the documents from scratch. Use Google! No doubt someone has written and published something similar in the past. Use their document as a template.

Be in the right place at the right time

Although it is true that you are more likely to get promoted if you're in the right place at the right time, I want to talk about the opposite...

If your boss has a handy number and looks like she will stay there forever; if she's great friends with other people on your team but isn't your friend; if there are other people on your team who have been earmarked for future promotion... cut your losses and find another job. You could be waiting forever for that promotion.

Make friends with the boss

Sounds simple but... you are way more likely to get promoted if you are friends with the managers.

It's about who you know, not how good you are

I know this goes against everything you were taught in school, but being the best at what you do isn't the most important thing.

Sure, you need to know what you're doing, but you are far more likely to be promoted if you spend more time managing your relationship with your superiors than being brilliant at your job.

Change jobs

It's frequently easier to get bumped up a level if you change jobs. So start applying for management jobs.

Ask for it

To me this is the most obvious one, yet hardly anyone does this. Tell your manager you want more responsibility and want to get promoted.

Get a management qualification

Start a management course at night or by distance learning to prove you want to be a manager and may be more qualified than the guy sitting next to you.

Get the basics right

Come in early. Wear your security card around your neck. Don't surf the web at your desk. Act mature. Be well groomed. Be reliable. Don't get drunk at any work parties. Act like a company man.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I hope some of you find this useful.

hardCopy

Raise your profile

Volunteer for side projects or give presentations at staff meetings and "teachbacks". Be the person who gives updates on your team's work. Organising staff nights and stuff can be good but the most valuable projects are the ones that make or save money.

Pablo Sanchez

Excellent thread idea Loverman, i would echo everything you have said.

I would add, differentiate yourself from the herd by not partaking in the usual moaning, backbiting etc.

If you can forsee a upcoming problem, go to your manager with the solution as well as the problem, dont just dump it in their lap.

Whenever your at a training or communications session make sure to ask at least one decent question, make yourself heard, dont shy away at the back.

SCOOP 64

Just like to run this by you,
Firms xmas night out ,a meal and a few drinks at hotel which the boss regularly uses for meals etc.., late on into the night one of hes employees is very sick in hotel toilet , on the floor by wash basins, a cleaner was called too clean it up, another employer then saids "don't worry ill do it, and cleans sick up himself on his hands and knees, boss see this, and approaches this employee next morning and gives him a envelope ,he opens it , a cheque for €100, he saids "whats this for", boss replies, "its for you ,very impressed by what you did last night".
Would you regard doing something like this as a good way to promotion or is just kissing ass?

Mr. Loverman

Personally I would think the person is a bit mad... but I'd have to have been there to witness how he did it. Maybe it came across as kind and taking charge, but more likely it came across as a guy with a vomitgirl fetish.

PS Don't google vomitgirl.

Irish_Elect_Eng

hardCopy wrote: »

Raise your profile

Volunteer for side projects or give presentations at staff meetings and "teachbacks". Be the person who gives updates on your team's work. Organising staff nights and stuff can be good but the most valuable projects are the ones that make or save money.

Good Advice.

I would add:

Build a Brand: Decide what your role and brand is within the team. Decide what high value tasks you will step up for and become know as the go-to guy for that area of expertise. Problem Solving and Brainstorming? Joe's your guy. Inter group Conflict, Joe's the peacemaker. Project going down the pan, Joe does great recovery plans. etc. Become know as the the guy whe excels at x....and cruicialy is willing to share the expertise and raise everyone's game.

thisNthat

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Hi all

I have been promoted a few times so I thought I'd share a few things I've done or noticed other people (who want to get promoted) aren't doing.

Feel free to add your own tips or disagree with my advice!

In no particular order...

Dress like a manager

This is an easy one, but hardly anyone does it. It sounds stupid and is stupid but people take you more seriously if you dress well.

Look at the managers in your company and then look at the non-managers. You'll notice they probably wear a different style of clothes.

Start dressing like the managers...

Start producing documents

A very large part of a managers job is producing documents.

Prove to the company that you can do this too by documenting your current processes, documenting suggested process improvements, etc.

Find ISO or IEEE or whatever standards you can apply to your process. Use these in your documents.

You don't have to create all the documents from scratch. Use Google! No doubt someone has written and published something similar in the past. Use their document as a template.

Be in the right place at the right time

Although it is true that you are more likely to get promoted if you're in the right place at the right time, I want to talk about the opposite...

If your boss has a handy number and looks like she will stay there forever; if she's great friends with other people on your team but isn't your friend; if there are other people on your team who have been earmarked for future promotion... cut your losses and find another job. You could be waiting forever for that promotion.

Make friends with the boss

Sounds simple but... you are way more likely to get promoted if you are friends with the managers.

It's about who you know, not how good you are

I know this goes against everything you were taught in school, but being the best at what you do isn't the most important thing.

Sure, you need to know what you're doing, but you are far more likely to be promoted if you spend more time managing your relationship with your superiors than being brilliant at your job.

Change jobs

It's frequently easier to get bumped up a level if you change jobs. So start applying for management jobs.

Ask for it

To me this is the most obvious one, yet hardly anyone does this. Tell your manager you want more responsibility and want to get promoted.

Get a management qualification

Start a management course at night or by distance learning to prove you want to be a manager and may be more qualified than the guy sitting next to you.

Get the basics right

Come in early. Wear your security card around your neck. Don't surf the web at your desk. Act mature. Be well groomed. Be reliable. Don't get drunk at any work parties. Act like a company man.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I hope some of you find this useful.

Feel free to add your own tips or disagree with my advice!

Act like a company man.

Ok I think I'll step in here...

I know company men in a Multinational I work for and they could be described as follows...

Arseh**es who would sell there best mate if they thought they would get up the ladder.
Usually people who have very few true friends as they are sly, devious, vindictive people who are waiting and hoping for someone to f**k up so they can run to the bosses with the "Look what they done" in the hope it will make them look good,

They spend most of their time either on their knees in front of the boss or bending over whenever the boss asks.

Yes men, who will agree with absolutely anything that anyone in a more senior position says in the hope of getting noticed, usually nodding away agreeing to whatever is being said.

Slime, who follow the bosses around pretending to "just happen" to be in the right place at the right time.

They don't get drunk at company parties in fear of crying and pouring their heart out about how pathetic and lonely their sad existence really is.

Company men do what they're told, when they're told and lick balls and bend over while doing it.

Company men are usually people that have had a terrible childhood by either bullying, being ignored, having no friends or never having a girlfriend which is why they have the stomach pulled clean off themselves by age 15. So its all about the company cause lets face it, There ain't anything else to live for in their sad lonely existence. If the company ever went bust they would be completely lost, there would be no point to life, no reason to live.

Company men, Yep... Me sir, me sir, promote me sir..
I'll even bring my own sudocrem and vaseline (The before and after creams).

As you can tell I'm very high up in the company :rolleyes:

Mr. Loverman

You can be a company man and still be a nice person with a normal life and lots of friends.

I am definitely a company man in my current company. Why? Because I am 35 now and I don't feel I need to prove anything to the world or act out against authority. If the company want me to wear my security badge around my neck all day at work, I will do so. When I go to company functions I don't get drunk because it is unprofessional and I want to get promoted again. When my boss talks to me I am always nice to him because he controls my destiny.

And guess what? All these little things add up and as a result whenever something important is happening in work the CEO and COO involve me because I am reliable and "on their side".

What does this mean to me? I have a good relationship and get treated well by all the Chiefs in the company and earn a lot more money than the average person doing my job.

I only go to work so I can earn money, so I will do whatever the company asks me/pays me to do.

Having a chip on your shoulder or going against your managers wishes or displaying any sort of post colonyism anti authority messiness just damages your career and causes you to earn less money. I want to earn a lot of money.

mikemac1

I used to dress like a slob. Didn't give a damn, what's an iron?
Got pulled aside one day by the boss for a quiet word and sorted myself out.
It's only now that I'm looking at the new hire with even worse shirts then I had and shabby jumpers that I may not take them completely seriously.
Well I do listen to them of course but I wonder do they care? That used to be me!


If you see a problem certainly escalate it to the boss. But the boss has 100 hundred other things going on so a nice tidy summary and timeline and a solution at the end is greatly appreciated!
It mightn't be the perfect solution but it gets the bosses thinking about what the next step is.


Speak up dammit. Don't be the quiet soul in the corner saying yes to everything, playing the martyr and hoping everyone will like you.
All that happens is you fall behind in your own work while you do everyone else's! This will not be remembered at appraisal time and if something goes wrong your so called friends will blame you.
Guaranteed you'll turn bitter and end up in boards.ie personal issues forum


It's good to be flexible.
But if your teammates work 8 hours every day and you work 10 then you are not a hard worker, you are inefficent and the bosses think you struggle

StillWaters

Excellent tips, I would just add position yourself. There is no point doing all this if you work in an area where there is unlikely to be promotion or management opportunities. Look to where you feel there will be openings and expansion, and become an expert or specialist in that field.

StinkySocs

Great thread... thanks guys!

I think my top tips would be:

Always admit when your wrong, take responsibility for your actions.

When I started work I used to sit in a bay with 4 guys, they would talk about football all day. My manager suppoted Everton, I didn't know anything about them, so i'd always listen to the sports headlines, so I'd be able to "talk the talk". So if I had something to ask him, I start off with something about Everton, and then ask my question, worked like a charm for years!!

Get your name out...managers always talk, if you do something to impress them, they'll tell someone else.

Be able to provide positive feedback. If someone on your team does something good, tell your manager. I think it shows good grace.

Ray Palmer

What would worry me about these tips is would the OP use this as criteria to promote somebody else? It seems like a pretty useless set of criteria to find the best person for the jobs.

If it is working then there isn't a line of great people being promoted. Meet a good manager and your promotions will stop. If you promote others using the criteria under such a manager he won't think much of you.

Not saying it won't work in some organisations just it seems like a terrible way to gt good people doing jobs.

I saw in one place they promoted the people who worked the longest hours. What the company ended up with was a bunch of managers who only thought longer hours was the way to get things one and weren't very good at the work or knowledgeable. Saw one guy get promoted because he stayed later to get the same work done as everyone else. Terrible manager unable to do the job and burnt out most of his staff.

I would say if such criteria works in a company go somewhere else as there would be a lot of back stabbing.

Arciphel

I think thisNthat has got the closest so far!

I'll throw my oar in.

Have integrity with everything you do.

If you have a suggestion and it gets over looked or veto'd, disagree while it is useful but be ready to commit to the decided plan for the good of the team.

Display flexibility, but don't give people the impression that your time is cheap because that is how they will value it.

Continue in your education and try to up skill yourself every chance you get.

Feel free to bitch about shortcomings in the workplace when you have a solution you are willing to implement. Otherwise zip it!

Do things outside of your comfort zone, push yourself.

Don't ever say "I learned from that mistake". People who are learning are usually liabilities who are bring sacked.

Keep your boss in the loop.

Don't screw over your colleagues unless you want a very short career.

Don't be the smelly guy in the office.

SCOOP 64

Always try and keep your self respect.

Mr. Loverman

Ray Palmer wrote: »

It seems like a pretty useless set of criteria to find the best person for the jobs.

It is reality.

In an ideal world people wouldn't vote for Fianna Fáil or pump themselves full of alcohol every weekend or let themselves get obese... etc... but we don't live in an ideal world.

Gosub

No amount of arselick¡ng, brown nosing etc will make a bad manager a good manager. If you're a good manager, believe in yourself. Be courageous in your application of that belief. If you really are a good people manager or process manager, it will shine like a light and be noticed.

Never, ever, think that you are above doing things that you ask other people to do.

Ray Palmer

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

It is reality.

In an ideal world people wouldn't vote for Fianna Fáil or pump themselves full of alcohol every weekend or let themselves get obese... etc... but we don't live in an ideal world.

The thing is it isn't everywhere. The question remains is this how you would decide?

I can't see the people working for you would respect you either.

Mrs OBumble

Ray Palmer wrote: »

What would worry me about these tips is would the OP use this as criteria to promote somebody else? It seems like a pretty useless set of criteria to find the best person for the jobs.

The OP never suggested that they're the only criteria that are used.

But some of them are simply baseline - which some people need pointed out to them. Beyond a certain level, you're simply not going to get promoted if you don't look professional, and demonstrate that you can be trusted and can relate to management.

And you did notice that the suggetions include getting a management qualification: all this being equal, I'd expect someone with one to be better than someone without.

StinkySocs

Gosub wrote: »

No amount of arselick¡ng, brown nosing etc will make a bad manager a good manager. If you're a good manager, believe in yourself. Be courageous in your application of that belief. If you really are a good people manager or process manager, it will shine like a light and be noticed.

Never, ever, think that you are above doing things that you ask other people to do.

Gosub, I definately agree that's the way it should be, but in my place there's one lad, whose an arselicking, brown nosing, bad manager. And he get's ppl to do things that he'd never do.

He did so much brown nosing, he got promoted very quickly, talking the talk, and all that.

It's so frustrating, because all the ppl on his level and below, can't believe he got all these promotions, he hasn't a clue what's going on:mad:

micosoft

A lot of these posts seem like gripes from the floor up. There are dysfunctional organisations with dysfunctional employees and managers but unless they are state sector they get found out about quickly. If we are to assume you are looking to advance your career then lets leave the office politics out of it.

If you want to get promoted deal with the "hygiene factors" - education, personal approach, attitude. Without these you won't necessarily get anywhere but you won't be promoted without.

- Choose your job/company for career path. Always know what the next job on is going to be (not the immediate job) and figure out the route and timing.
- Every job move must have a title change that reflects progression.
- Be willing to move job and role regardless of personal convenience.
- Take calculated risks - don't take the safe option every-time.
- Start in a big company (with a good reputation) and work your way down (easier to become say a senior accountant in a multinational and then jump to be head of finance in a smaller company then to keep going up the ladder).
- Identify solutions to problems and present them in a way that your manager buys it and your managers manager.
- Do make your manager look good, but make your managers manager look better. This is not "brown nosing". If you truly think your manager and managers manager are incompetent leave. Identify what your managers manager wants done.
- Identify projects that are high profile in the organisation and put yourself up for them.
- Accept and deal with ambiguity (what separates senior management and lower/individual contributors is the ability to understand that there are no yes/no answers just better/worse. Read the wikipedia article on "wicked problems"
- You get promoted because the organisation needs you in the role, not because its your time/spent two years at a level.
- Move on after a set time period in an organisation. Don't hold out on the never never and don't necessarily believe "promises".


Most of all though, be SELF-AWARE. Know who you are, what you are capable of and know what people really think of you. Without self awareness you don't know the effect you have on others and will struggle to succeed. Also question your approach and ask for feedback. Most of the people I have spoken with over the years about "workplace politics holding them back" were with good reason not promoted. Their lack of self awareness made them think they were good enough even though there were yawning gaps in their willingness and ability.

Ray Palmer

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

The OP never suggested that they're the only criteria that are used.

But some of them are simply baseline - which some people need pointed out to them. Beyond a certain level, you're simply not going to get promoted if you don't look professional, and demonstrate that you can be trusted and can relate to management.

And you did notice that the suggetions include getting a management qualification: all this being equal, I'd expect someone with one to be better than someone without.

A lot of what was said is very superficial criteria. A professional appearance is very dependent on the place you work. It also doesn't really mean anything, just because somebody doesn't wear a shirt doesn't mean they are some how unable to do the job.

The criteria as explained is not what I would expect a promotion to be based on. It is in some companies I have worked in and they had some pretty bad managers.

StillWaters

Ray Palmer wrote: »

The criteria as explained is not what I would expect a promotion to be based on. It is in some companies I have worked in and they had some pretty bad managers.

That is the Peters Principle. Eventually people will be promoted to their level of incompetence.

But this thread is not aimed at organisations advising them how to promote the best person for the job, it is aimed at individuals advising them how best to position themselves for promotion.

Ray Palmer

StillWaters wrote: »

That is the Peters Principle. Eventually people will be promoted to their level of incompetence.

But this thread is not aimed at organisations advising them how to promote the best person for the job, it is aimed at individuals advising them how best to position themselves for promotion.

The point being if I worked in a company where that worked I would leave. I was also asking if these hints would be perceived as a good method. I have met ineffectual bosses and have seen them fail. Some are taken away from projects, some are fired and a few stay where they are costing the company money.

If you want to be promoted being good at your job helps if you are promoting people who are not good you are not good. Knowing what recruits the best person is therefore important.

If I was in a company promoting people on such flimsy grounds I would leave. The suggestions here would make for a horrible work environment as far as I am concerned. Can't see it being an effectual company either.

Mr. Loverman

Ray Palmer wrote: »

The point being if I worked in a company where that worked I would leave. I was also asking if these hints would be perceived as a good method. I have met ineffectual bosses and have seen them fail. Some are taken away from projects, some are fired and a few stay where they are costing the company money.

If you want to be promoted being good at your job helps if you are promoting people who are not good you are not good. Knowing what recruits the best person is therefore important.

If I was in a company promoting people on such flimsy grounds I would leave. The suggestions here would make for a horrible work environment as far as I am concerned. Can't see it being an effectual company either.

No one is saying bad employees should be promoted because they wear a nice suit and kiss ass.

We are saying obviously you should try to do a good job, but there are these other things you can do which will help you get promoted.

Ray Palmer

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

No one is saying bad employees should be promoted because they wear a nice suit and kiss ass.

We are saying obviously you should try to do a good job, but there are these other things you can do which will help you get promoted.

The point is if you use this criteria it is so superficial what difference would it make. Is it any gauge of competence.

I don't agree it is a good way to get a promotion because if I was your boss and you made this as part of your case to promote somebody I would be not happy.

I have been in meeting where candidates are being selected and you would have been laughed out for using the criteria you suggested. It is a criteria if you suggest it is a good way to get promoted as you are saying it is a basis of selection.

To me it sounds like something from the 70s. It will work in some companies but not in others. I leave it at that you have a set view of what works and I agree it will work but I would avoid a company that operates like that.

syklops

The point is if you use this criteria it is so superficial what difference would it make. Is it any gauge of competence.

Its not meant to be any gauge of competence. This thread assumes you are competent at your job already. The idea behind the thread is to get you from the best team member on your team, to the leader of your team.

I don't think it was necessary for tip one to be "Be good at your job".