1. Figure out what your employer wants without actually asking then. After you have seen two or three people advance at your company, sit down and write a list of the factors that seem to go into promotions where you work. Does the boss base promotions solely on performance? Are they looking for creativity over detail-orientation? Do they select people with whom they feel particularly comfortable; the ones who hang out with them? Answer these questions, and then work on developing the appropriate skills or behaviors.

2. Let your boss know you have more to offer. A golden opportunity to do this is during your performance review, although there is no reason to delay your conversation for such a formal occasion. Simply ask what you can do to make yourself more valuable to the company. I would suggest a conversation along this line: When talking with your boss, say, ‘I love my job, I love what I am doing, I think this company is going places; I want to go with it. What can I do to make myself more valuable to the company?’

Another piece of advice: Never, I repeat never say, ‘I want a promotion.’ Instead, ask how you could ‘make a larger contribution’ to your organization? Phrases like these have the potential of giving your boss the impression that you are operating from a basis of personal interest in your work and in the company: a very promotable characteristic. At the same time, the unspoken thought that will be planted in your boss’s mind is that you can’t fulfill your desire to do more for the company unless you are elevated to a position from which more can be accomplished.

3. Keep precise records of your accomplishments. A catalog of accomplishments speaks more eloquently in your own behalf than you ever could. If you can quantify your performance-particularly how it impacts on the bottom line-little more needs to be said. It’s hard for a boss to dispute your worth when you can show hard data indicating, for example that you have saved the company $100,000 over the last year through a project you proposed. The odds are that your boss is too busy to keep careful track of such things himself, instead most supervisors remember the bad performances, not the good ones. Unfortunately, when managers supervise workers, they tend to look for mistakes, because they do not want them repeated. In an effort to overcome this managerial tendency give your boss a list of your accomplishments a few days before your next performance review.

4. Show some initiative by making constructive suggestions or developing new ideas. There is always the danger that if you simply concentrate on doing your specified duties well, management will never see any reason to take you away from a position for which you have your current duties, they obviously do not even begin to tap the depths of your potential. One way to accomplish this is by making suggestions and developing new project ideas. This kind of pro-active action sends a subliminal message to your boss that you not only want a promotion, but that you obviously deserve one (depending on the merit of your ideas, of course.)

5. Volunteer. This is another way of showing initiative. But you have got to look for the opportunities. Say it is after quitting time on a Friday night, you are still at the office, and your boss is still there, too. You stop by his office and say ‘I see you are working late.’ Is there anything I can help you with? Your boss will appreciate the fact that you are concerned about him and not yourself. By fostering good chemistry with your boss, you boost your chances of being promoted.

6. Ask to further your training. Tell your boss you would like to take a computer course at a local college, for example, and explain how it will help you help the company. Sign up for any in-house seminars your company offers that might be appropriate to your career goals. Once again you are sending an unspoken message to your boss that you are motivated to move up the corporate ladder.

7. Gain more visibility. Compete for professional awards sponsored by your industry or trade group. Get published or be interviewed by the press. If you have strong skills and opinions about what you do, write articles for trade or popular magazines. Additionally, make yourself available as a resource in your area of expertise to the press, radio, and television in your town. If you do not toot your own horn, you are limiting your promotability. I would highly recommend getting involved in civic and philanthropic activities that are supported by those at the top of your organization. In addition to the generous devotion of time, it is a way of forging business relationships.

8. Be well positioned for promotions. Take careful note of the career paths of others. In heavy industries, for instance, advancement generally is greatest for those with experience in plant management. In consumer goods companies, it is marketing, advertising, and sales people who are most likely to reach the higher rungs. Sure, it can happen that a company will occasionally promote from a different department, but is not likely. To get advice on how to best position yourself, find yourself a mentor who is, if possible, a couple of levels above you, and who looks well positioned themselves.

Joe Hodowanes, a career strategy adviser in Tampa, Florida, offers a free resume and career analysis. Fax your resume to (813) 936-0201 or email it to jmwanes@jmwanes.com For questions, call Joe at (813) 936-0091 or visit www.jmwanes.com on the Web. All Job Search Advisor articles on this website are the property of www.jmwanes.com (J.M. Wanes & Associates). You may download
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© 2006 J.M. Wanes & Associates.