9 Things You Need to Do to Get Promoted

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Throughout your career you must navigate a wide array of situations. One area in particular seems to cause the most confusion, angst and frustration, confounding new and seasoned employees alike: How do I get promoted? It's a topic that evokes a depth of emotion, causing intelligent people to question their worth, drawing out insecurities in even the most confident people. As an HR professional I frequently find people perplexed by the promotion process and hear complaints of unfairness, even conspiracy, as to why an individual hasn't been promoted. More often than not, there are a handful of fundamental actions every employee should be taking that these employees are neglecting. Here are nine tips to help you get promoted.

Invisibility is Great if you are Harry Potter, but it Won't Help you get Promoted

The promotion process inevitably includes discussions between managers and a comparison of employees to determine who is and isn't ready for a promotion. If your manager recommends you for a promotion and the other managers do not know who you are, it's going to be difficult to get the necessary endorsement. You may be doing phenomenal work, but if people don't know who you are, they certainly don't know your work. Get to know the managers across the org. Make sure that you are visible enough so that when your name comes up people know who you are and can speak to the impact of your work.

Don't Fixate, Obsess, Myopically Focus on Getting Promoted

Sometimes employees get stuck in a rut and spend way too much time and energy thinking about when he/she will get promoted. A conversation about promotion should take place once or twice a year (maybe three times?), but not every month. An employee who is constantly bringing up promotion risks having their manager shut down and tune out. Too many promotion conversations will actually work against you. Badgering and begging will only convince your manager that you lack the maturity needed. Instead, focus on the work, understand what's expected of someone at the next level and start performing at that level of work.