It's all too easy to just sit around and just hope someone will recognise your potential. You need to give yourself every opportunity, says business coach Claudie Plen
When you saw The Devil Wears Prada, were you sympathising with the downtrodden employee Anne Hathaway, or imagining yourself in the power bitch shoes of Meryl Streep? If you want to move your career forward and bag that all-important promotion there are a few ways to make sure you really get what you want. Follow these tips and you’ll quickly start to feel the benefits:
1. Ask yourself what you really want. Do you have a clear vision of your ideal job? How would a promotion impact on your working and personal life? You might gain aspects to your job which would enhance the experience of going to work every day, but also lose some of the hands on elements which make you love it so much and gain more ‘desk-bound’ responsibilities. Make sure you’re happy to win or lose in this way to move up the ladder.
2. What potential does your current employer offer for career progression? Is this the place for you to move forward? If not, start looking into the kind of organisation that could offer you exactly what you are looking for and the experience you would need to cross over. If you decide your future lies elsewhere, you may find a promotion in your current place of work would equip you for a move at the right level in a year or two’s time, or you may feel you have all the experience you need right now. Either way, do your research and make plans from a position of knowledge.
3. If you want to be promoted within your organisation, let the right people know you are interested. It’s important for the powers that be to know you have ambition and want to forward your career. Set up a meeting with your line manager (or if appropriate, senior management) to discuss the possibilities. Find out what they are looking for in a more senior employee, and ask for feedback on your performance so you know which areas need improvement (this also shows willing).
4. Be discreet amongst other colleagues. It won’t necessarily help your working environment for those around you to know about your plans for achieving world dominance, so concentrate on being a useful member of the team, creating strong relationships and communicating effectively instead. Building up trust and enhancing your reputation as a hard working employee who has great people skills will always do you favours when the time for promotions comes around.
5. Dress the part. Most organisations will have an unspoken dress code (and sometimes an explicit one), and if you want to progress through the ranks it’s important to show through your sartorial choices that you understand the culture and want to fit in. This is not about abandoning your individuality, but more about how to look successful in a way your superiors and colleagues will understand. Unfortunately there are no rules for how this works. Some industries (finance or law, for example) tend to be quite formal and conservative, and in these environments suits and restrained colours are usually de rigeur. However, if you work in the media or other creative environments, the opposite will often be true, and the more flamboyant, casual and cutting edge the better. The rule of thumb is to look around you and notice what others are wearing, especially your superiors, which will give you a cue as to what works and what will be well received.
6. Socialising: join in on company events, (without getting too drunk, many a promising career has been ruined by alcohol fuelled discretions, and bedding the boss/ photocopier guy/head of HR is not the ideal way to effective working relationships and enhanced colleague relations). Being seen to get involved gives the impression that you are committed to the company culture, and can establish new relationships and cement existing alliances.
Finally, be prepared to play the long game if necessary and wait for the right opportunities to come along. The perfect job will be out there so do the groundwork and put yourself in the best possible position to grab it when it appears.
Claudie Plen is a Creative Life and Business Coach based in London. To find out what coaching could help you achieve with your business go to www.claudieplen.com
Copyright Claudie Plen 2006
