If you are seeking a promotion this year, consider these three things that are common to those who get promoted.
1. They go beyond meeting the qualifications.
Obviously, if you don’t meet the minimum eligibility requirements, you won’t even be considered for a promotion. But just meeting them is not enough. Why? Because there are typically countless others who can tick the boxes next to each of the job requirements.
People who get promoted offer something beyond what’s required. To prepare yourself for the promotion, determine what you offer, looking for traits that sit at the intersection of these three career-building boulevards:
Valuable – what would add value to the team and the company, going well beyond what is required? For example, imagine that you are applying for a business development director role. Do you have a large contact list of potential business partners because you are the queen of networking?
Compelling – what is interesting (and perhaps not even required to do the job) to the people who are making the decision? For example, if you speak three languages, that’s interesting – even if the role only requires English.
Unique – what can you offer that other qualified candidates can’t? Identify the things that you uniquely bring to the role. What traits put you in a category of one? For example, perhaps you spent most of your career working on the client side in a highly specialized business, and you are now pursuing a role as a client relations director at your ad agency.
2. They act like they have the job.
Hiring managers don’t want to take risks when it comes to their talent. In the lean organization of today, there is no room for mistakes. That applies to hiring new staff and to promoting existing team members. When it comes to granting promotions, your boss is looking for someone who has already honed the skills necessary to be successful at this new role. When you’re seeking a promotion, make list of the skills necessary to do the job, and then find ways to demonstrate those skills in the role you have.
That will likely mean taking risks – like tackling the big, honking problem that everyone knows about but is reluctant to touch, or stepping outside your comfort zone to stretch yourself. To show you are capable of handling the role you desire, you need to go beyond the skills you are using every day for your current job.
Volunteer for projects that give you this opportunity. Look beyond what you do at work. You may be able to demonstrate these skills through your professional associations, etc. Being on a board or taking a leadership role in an extracurricular organization can help you master the skills you need in order to be considered. Just make sure you let decision makers know what you’re achieving.
Read more of the original article at The Washington Post.
