1. Dress and Act for the Role you Want
If you are telling people you want to be the manager, but you consistently showing up late, have to be reminded to submit your timecard, or frequently calling last minute you are signaling you are not ready for more responsibility.
For the next role, maybe there is a certification or specialized knowledge you need, take the course, and often your current management will pay or reimburse.
This has benefits you as well because you start to see yourself that way and you think what would <this role> do? Then you start acting like the role, and people perceive you that way.
Lastly, if all the people in that role wear dress in business casual and you are showing up every day in athletic wear, subliminally you don’t look like a person who has that role.
TL, DR: If you are being mistaken by a bystander regularly as a person in the role (ie people asking of you are the manager, the administrative assistant, or security) then you have hit the mark. However if you are being asked if you work there…. then you are not…..
2. Document Your Achievements
Keep track of accomplishments and share them with management
Anytime you complete anything larger than a daily task: a project, a quarterly report, training someone, helping beyond your station, write it down. Keep an email draft, put it one note, handwrite it in a notepad. If you think you will struggle to remember to do that, put a calendar reminder in every week or every other week.
Ask for feedback on areas for improvement
Whenever you have meetings with people higher than you in the company directory, ask them for feedback. Just listen to whatever they say and write it down. Ask any clarifying questions. Thank them for their feedback. You will want to look at it later and not be defensive at all. You want to make sure you are addressing those issues or the perception that you are not doing well in a particular area.
3. Set Clear Expectations
You can’t be considered for internal roles if no one knows you want to and expect to advance. When you meet with your management for conversations, be it 1 on 1s, informal coffee chats or your regular performance reviews make sure to explicitly ask what opportunities are available for you within the company for career advancement. Ask them if they are aware of any company wide initiatives or opportunities for advancement. This is the fastest, best way to find out about upcoming opportunities that may not be available yet. Additionally, if they are not aware of opportunities for further advancement in your type of role you now have the information to know you have reached the top of the ladder at your current location and what your next move might need to be.
💡 Tip: If you are nervous about saying the right thing to your manager, practice is always the answer. Anything from writing out some questions and answers, to practicing role play with a coach, this will put your mind at ease.
Be sure to come to the table with a basic understanding of what future role requirements look like. If all the next level managers have a PMP, a Master’s degree or a CISSP certification, knowing that ahead of time makes you more prepared and confident. This allows your managers to have confidence in you and promoting you as well.
4. Interview Preparation
You will have to be ready to seize the opportunity, remember 🍀 luck is where preparation meets opportunity. If you have acting like the role you desire, then you will want to be able to have a fluent conversation if for some reason someone drops by for a casual chat. The specific interview questions will vary by role, you can always research “top interview questions for <role>”. If you practice even a tiny bit, if/when an opportunity presents itself the conversation will feel smooth and natural.
In turn, doing this work prepares you for actual interviews in this role. It is good to aways be submitting for that next desired job. There are some companies I knwo who seem to only give out promotions when they have to match an offer from some where else. This is a double win because if your company does not match you could take a new role else where.
5. Train Your Replacement
This is a critical step, sometimes you will hear an excuse, “we can’t promote you, you are too valuable.” That is a terrible reason to wait to promote someone, however if you have been training your replacement, then you have someone to recommend.
Here are the benefits for your company:
- you clearly mastered your current role so well you can teach it to someone
- they have an expert in the role with institutional knowledge
- you can mentor someone in a role
- it shows your leadership that you do have the company’s best interests at heart
- it soothes worries around the transition for your replacement will be smooth
- it demonstrates a level of competence to strategically plan ahead and be forward looking.
The benefits to you are:
- you can completely leave and turn off on vacation, or deal with an emergency
- teaching someone else something is the final form of mastery
- it is a great item to add to your list of achievements, as well as your resume
- you can document it as you go formally or informally and now you have a handbook for that role to train more people or deliver as a product of work
Some of you may be worried you will train someone and they will take your job for less pay. If your job can be easily mastered by someone quickly where your better knowledge and expertise won’t matter much then you probably do need to focus on getting some more specialized skills
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