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10 Ways to Get a Promotion at Work

If you want to achieve more at work or you’re looking to take the next step in your career, these top ten tips will set you off on the right track.

Know your goal – to start with take a look at your current situation and decide what you want to do next. Are you looking for a promotion within your current field or business or are you seeking a change? What do you think you need to do to achieve it? What’s holding you back? A coaching session may help at this initial stage if you’re struggling.

Be proactive – don’t wait for opportunities to come to you or for people to recognise your talent. It’s likely that if you don’t step forward and express your ambition things won’t change. Offer yourself up for new projects or opportunities, suggest new ideas, take on more work or ask your boss for feedback.

Help others – some people believe that in order to be successful they need to prevent other people thriving. This isn’t the case. If you share your knowledge, offer answers and give credit where it’s due people will come to see you as a knowledgeable, influential person that works well with others. This type of behaviour will likely make you popular with your co-workers and boss. No one wants a troublesome member of staff who works alone and is negative about others.

Anticipate & inform – one sure fire way to get ahead is to anticipate tasks that need doing and do them before asked. Think about what your boss might be working on or struggling with and consider how you might help.

Develop yourself – take responsibility for your own development and stay ahead of industry developments. You’ll be able to impress if you really know your stuff.

Be happy – don’t skip the office party, don’t bad mouth your co-workers and don’t complain too much! Your boss wants staff who enjoy their jobs and won’t cause any drama. If you’re naturally shy and avoid social situations try and interact a little more with your colleagues and make yourself known. Develop your charisma and build productive relationship with people.

Be professional – sometimes when we are dissatisfied or seeking change we can let standards slip. The first step to getting a promotion is doing your current job to the best of your abilities. Be professional at all times. The old saying of “dress for the job you want, not that you have” is also useful here. Stand out for the right reasons.

Mentor/successor – it can help to get yourself a mentor either within your workplace or outside. They might be able to offer new insights or ideas if you’ve become stuck. They will also help develop any skills needed for new roles. If you think that your boss might be worried about replacing you if you were promoted start thinking about preparing a possible successor.

Find a gap – think about what you have to offer that no one else can. If an opportunity isn’t apparent straight away don’t be afraid to suggest new opportunities or roles that you feel you could help with.

Be confident – be confident without being arrogant. Don’t be afraid to talk professionally with your boss about what you want and what you can offer.

I speak to many people looking to achieve more in their professional lives and can offer direction through life coaching sessions and other techniques. If you’d like help with this please do get in touch.

Alix Needham

My techniques guarantee that you remain in control at every session. These techniques, developed over 25 years, are so effective that many issues can be addressed in as little as three sessions and my location in the very heart of London means you can book sessions to work around work.

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