If you perform well in your work, your coworkers and team leader will recognise your efforts. Often, you can get rewards such as a compliment, a pay raise, or even a promotion! This is why many professionals do their best in their work. They gain more responsibilities, but it also means a higher position and salary at work. Thus, it’s a way to boost your career.
Getting promoted also helps increase job satisfaction. If you are promoted, it means that your work is appreciated by your boss. It shows that the company puts trust and confidence in you. This is an opportunity every employee wants to achieve. However, reaching this goal can feel like a near-impossible dream at first. Don’t worry, read this article to learn about the different ways you can get promoted!
What is a job promotion?
To put it simply, a job promotion is an upward movement of an employee within a company. This often comes with more responsibilities, higher status, and bigger pay. For example, moving a manager to a CEO position. Depending on the company’s needs, it can be permanent or temporary.
Remember that this is different from a job transfer within an organisation! Getting promoted involves upward mobility in a company’s hierarchy. If you’re in an entry-level position and later become a manager, that means you get promoted. If you stay in the same position but move to a different department, that means you are transferred.
Furthermore, a job transfer doesn’t always mean a salary increase or more work. Meanwhile, promotion often includes these things. Higher-level positions usually demand more advanced skills and certification. Thus, people in these roles take on more complex work. Others will also expect you to lead teams and perform well. Thus, the higher pay reflects the high number of responsibilities.
Types of job promotion
Typically, there are two main types of career advancements: vertical and horizontal. Vertical job advancement means you move up to a position with more responsibilities and higher salary. Meanwhile, horizontal mobility is when an employee moves to a new position but at the same level of an organisation. You can say it is an upgrade for an employee.
There is also diagonal promotion, which is lesser known. This combines both aspects of vertical and horizontal mobility. An employee moves up the corporate ladder, but to a different role from their current position. This allows them to learn from other divisions and widen their skill set. Furthermore, employees can boost their careers in a number of ways.
Seniority-based
A leader considers many factors before deciding which worker to promote. One of them is their seniority, or how long they have worked in the same role within the company. Usually, a senior employee has more experience and loyalty to the company. From the employers’ point of view, raising the position and salary of a senior employee leaves little potential for nepotism or prejudice.
Merit-based
Other than length of employment, you can also grow your career because of your merit. This means your professional skills and talents become the top factor in your promotion. Employers usually conduct an internal audit to examine each team member. They study the employees’ strengths, weaknesses, and impact during a certain period. This kind of job advancement encourages employees to improve their skills and perform better.
Dry promotion
This happens when you receive more responsibilities and a new job title, but don’t get a salary increase. This defeats the purpose of career acceleration because you don’t get more benefits. Some professionals still think this is valuable because you still gain more authority and status. However, if you feel like your skills and responsibilities deserve more compensation, don’t feel bad about turning down or negotiating this kind of offer.
Open promotion
When all employees in a department are eligible for career advancement, it is called an open promotion. Companies usually announce that they are opening opportunities for job mobility. Then, every worker is welcome to apply. This way, you have a chance of advancing your career regardless of your skills or length of service. However, an open application like this can be very competitive. To stand out, you must improve your skills and increase your productivity.
Closed promotion
It is also possible for companies to select a few candidates to be considered for career advancement. These can be people from the same or different departments. Employers pick eligible candidates after a thorough internal audit of every team member. They don’t announce any job advancement openings, but they may inform the selected candidates so they can prepare accordingly.
How to get a job promotion
Some companies are more traditional in their approach to career advancement. The longer you work for a company, the more salary and job responsibilities you receive. Of course, aside from your employment length, you also need to impress your employers. However, there are other strategies you can use to attract your boss’s attention and increase your chances of climbing the corporate ladder.
- Give more value: To get a promotion, think of what your employers want from you and make an effort to answer them. Keep improving your skills to deliver better results.
- Ask for feedback: If you want to know exactly what you need to do to advance your career, ask your work supervisor! Don’t be afraid to be clear and straightforward in your request, like “How can I get promoted to manager?”
- Show leadership skills: Moving to a higher position usually means working with and leading more people. Become a role model in the workplace and motivate your team members. This shows that you are ready for bigger responsibilities, like leading an important project or becoming the head of a department.
- Solve problems: People who get a promotion know how to make themselves stand out. You can do this by taking the initiative to solve problems in the office. Companies always respect self-starters.
- Maintain a strong work ethic: In your work, you should show that you have mastered your current role and you’re ready to take on challenges at greater heights.
- Be a positive presence: A great leader can stay calm under pressure. If you want to get promoted, keep your mind clear and focused, so you can always deliver good results. This way, you also help team members stay positive.
- Stay motivated: Career advancement opportunities may be rare, and it can take you several years to reach this goal. You need a constant drive to keep up your effort in striving for a promotion.
Bottom line: When should you ask for a promotion?
You should ask for a promotion when you are ready to grow. Maybe you have taken more responsibilities than what your current role demands, so you deserve the increased benefits. Another sign you are ready for career growth opportunities is you have made good progress on certain skills and areas. You are also ready to grow your career if your work has made a great impact on the company.
Getting a promotion starts with improving your own skills and competence. Don’t stop with what you already know, but always be curious for more knowledge. Luckily, the College of Contract Management offers online courses for upskilling opportunities. Learn from anywhere and at any time without disrupting your full-time job. Start your career growth with us and enrol today!
