How to Get Promoted

October 12-18th is Career Week here at Blondes & Bagels! We’re dishing up a week’s worth of career inspired posts in honor of National Boss’ Day on Friday, October 16th. So let’s kick things off with the #1 thing we know you’ve been dying to accomplish: how to get promoted.

Are you ready to climb the next rung on the corporate ladder? Make sure you’re following our golden rules of how to get promoted and stay tuned for the rest of Career Week here at B&B!

Start doing the role above yours.

The reality of getting a promotion is that in most cases they don’t come unprecedented. You’ve gotta work for it! It’s imperative to start doing the work a level above your role before a promotion comes your way. Stepping up like this not only gets you noticed by your bosses, but also helps to prep you for doing the actual role prior to getting the official title change. I had an opportunity to start working a level above my role when my boss retired last year. A year later I was promoted because of all the work I had done and the initiative I had shown by taking on the open position in addition to my current job!

Take feedback like a boss.

No one loves getting feedback – especially if not all of it is positive. We all have areas of opportunity and the best way to get promoted is to clearly identify what those areas are and rather than avoid them, hone in on them and improve! When my boss stepped down, my manager hit me with the hard reality of where my weaknesses were. It was really hard to hear the things I needed to work on and I originally took it personally. After taking a moment to step back and think it over – she was right, and it wasn’t personal. Learning to take criticism is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but in the end it helped make me stronger and helped me move up to the next level.

If you don’t have the skills you need, develop them.

In conjunction with taking feedback, we all have skills we lack! Rather than turn a blind eye to the things you don’t know and aren’t great at, face it head on. Learn the things you don’t know by taking classes or seminars. Practice and you’ll see the results!

Understand that soft skills are as important as hard skills.

Work isn’t always about the technical, hard skills. Although you need to be technically proficient, a lot of what makes a good worker and what can influence a promotion are soft skills: how you interact with people in your working environment. This is currently, and always will be, my biggest area of opportunity. I’ve learned in the last year how important it is to always remain level headed, even when it’s tempting to get passionate. Working in a really collaborative way with your team can be rewarding! Make sure to spend a little extra time honing in on the soft skills and people will be waiting in line to work with you.

Don’t compare yourself to the person next to you.

When you’re on the hunt for a promotion, it’s really easy to compare yourself to your coworkers. This will not help you and will only serve to drive you crazy (as it may entail watching them move up the corporate ladder at a faster pace than you do). It’s hard not to make comparisons, but focus on your skills and goals and we promise good things will come. Remember, “a flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it, it just blooms.”

What are your tips for getting promoted at work?

xoxo Blonde