Practical Promotion Tips to Help You Succeed
You may be looking at a new career or thinking of ways you can move forward in your career. Automotive offers a career for life with endless progression routes. So whether you need help not or would like to have some tips for the future, here are some useful tips to make sure you are the best you in the work place.
- Firstly, do a self-assessment. Think about every aspect of your work from your performance, how you meet business need and objectives, attitude and even ask you colleagues and boss their opinion on about you. Try not to take any negative comments to heart and use them as building blocks to create future goals.
- This leads me to the next point. Create a plan! You should know at this point what you need to improve on so think about how you can achieve it. Set goals for yourself and set out steps on how you will achieve them
- Conduct an assessment of your work performance with honest feedback from colleagues. For example someone may say you come across a bit grumpy when speaking with customers, your goal could be; become more customer focused. Then you will need to research ways to do this. Failing to plan is planning to fail, but now you have a plan the only way is forward.
- Make sure you have a way to record progress. For example you could ask for more feedback from your colleagues or you could quantify your goals for example; you will improve your sales technique and record the number of sales you make each week or month, hopefully seeing an improvement. This will help you give evidence when talking to your manager about promotion.
- Work ethic is important but make sure it comes with results. And on this point make sure you share credit. If you have worked with another person on a project and you receive praise make sure you mention the other person and do not hoard the success. It shows you are much more of a team player, honest and able to see others as equal no matter what level you work at. This will also help shape a personal brand.
- Give recommendation on how things could be improved. This isn’t just about fixing problems, it is great to point out problems but ensure you have a solution and doing this you need to be ok with pushing yourself outside your comfort zone.
- Further learning. This is one of the reasons the IMI offers courses. Your continual professional development is proof that you enjoy your career and want to further you knowledge. By doing this you are not only making yourself better but you are becoming a better asset for your company
- Do your research on the organisation and manager, what are their values and what are they looking for in an employee? Is there something that is currently missing that you are able to do which adds value?
- Volunteer for additional tasks, it may help you stand out and it can also lead you to working with other people in the business. This means you will not only be gaining knowledge but also networking with a new potential manager within your company
- Don’t expect it to change overnight. Like anything you have to work for it, think about the long term goal and keep it in your sights. ‘Patience is a virtue’ as they say and this can also stop you from getting to ahead of yourself altering your attitude or seeming arrogant.
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- Find a mentor, this could be someone with in your business or someone outside of the business but has achieved what you are looking to achieve. Having someone with a fresh, outside perspective is great
- Create your own brand. Think about how you want to be perceived what kind of person you want to be known as. Maybe even consider your appearance are you clean, well dressed (this doesn’t just mean suit and tie, job role applicable), and polite. What do you want someone to describe their experience working with you as being?
- Create your own opportunity, find gaps in your business that you could potentially fill, identify the areas that could use extra help and make sure you are able to provide it. Also consider that what you have to offer may help you gain a higher up position in another company. Whilst we are talking about promotion this may not be possible in your business but this doesn’t mean just ditch your current employer. You are going to need a good reference after all! Always leave on a good note.