You're aiming for a promotion at work. How can you showcase your worth and boost your chances?

To enhance your chances of advancing in your career, consistently prove your value by delivering exceptional work that exceeds expectations. Document your achievements, quantify their impact, and highlight how they benefit your team and company. Take on additional responsibilities that contribute value and growth opportunities, while avoiding tasks that do not lead to promotion. Seize leadership opportunities, network within the organisation, and build relationships with influential key decision-makers. Share your career goals with your manager and seek regular feedback. By showcasing your skills, drive, and readiness for higher positions, you position yourself as a strong candidate for promotion.

Enhancing your skills is a strategic move in career development, especially for those eyeing leadership positions. By proactively identifying and addressing skill gaps, you not only align yourself with the role's requirements but also demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement. This initiative is crucial in executive recruiting, where showcasing a proactive approach to personal growth can set you apart as best-in-class talent. Exceeding objectives in your current role while preparing for future ones signals to decision-makers that you are ready for greater responsibilities.

Ask your manager what you need to do to get that promotion. You can work super hard, and keep your fingers crossed while wondering if it will happen. Or you can express your desire to your manager and come up with a plan together on which steps exactly you need to take. In fact, this should be a normal part of your conversations. And it doesn't need to revolve only around money; it's a conversation about what you need to learn, master and achieve in order to advance.

'It took her one ride to get the promotion she wanted!' This is the story of "Sue", a high performer, who like 1000 other high performers at company X, had waited for years for her promotion to happen. She had one talent that others didn't have: she was a master networker! When the Business Director at the location Sue wanted to move to was was visiting, the management took him out for dinner, and guess who volunteered to drive him? Correct, Suzy! On the way to dinner, Suzy communicated her desire to relocate, her strengths and what she could bring to the business in a genuine discussion. It was this talk that triggered the Director to retrieve her internal transfer/promotion application and recommend her for the role! She got the job!

Communicating your aspirations is critical. In your career, it helps others to know what direction you want to head in and what goals you want to aim at. Here are some essential tips: 1. Be specific: Instead of saying "I want to move up," be specific about the position or title you're aiming for. 2. Show your value: Highlight your accomplishments and contributions to the company, and explain how your goals align with the company's goals. 3. Be open to feedback: Listen to any concerns or suggestions your boss may have, and be willing to adjust your goals or approach if necessary. 4. Follow up: After the initial conversation, follow up with your boss periodically to provide updates on your progress and ask for feedback.

Communicate your results with evidence-based examples of where you were highly effective. Sharing data about your results strengthens the argument for why you are ready for a promotion. Too many mid-career professionals lead with, "Well, I've been here for # years, and I'm ready to be promoted." Why? Why should the organization promote you because you've been there a long time? Organizations don't care about that. They want to know what you have done and what you will do for them in the new role. Speak from a place of evidence and confidence.