Time to get promoted!

One of the most frustrating things that can happen to you professionally is to be rocking and rolling in your current position, wanting more, but have NO CLUE how to build your career prospects.

I put together several posts around this topic and will put them together here for a single read and resource.

Remember, if you are running into challenges finding a new career option, you are likely looking to narrowly. Think outside of the box and don’t be afraid to ask A LOT of people questions.

?After all, it is a HUGE decision that will impact you and your family as you progress into a new role.

Questions after reading this? Comment or send me a direct message and let’s talk about it.

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Before we get started – Remember that no matter what you do, if your brand is trash, you won’t attract many positions. It’s never too late to rectify, but here are some points on Brand.

Would someone pay top dollar for YOU? ??

It depends on your Brand. ?

"Your brand is what other people say about you when you're not in the room." - Jeff Bezos ?

This is an impactful question if you take the time to review and look in the mirror. ?

What is a BRAND? ? By Definition - A brand is a comprehensive and distinctive identity or image associated with a particular product, service, company, organization, or individual. It encompasses various elements that collectively shape how a target audience perceives and recognizes the entity in question. ?

Think of some Brands…. ? Apple… ? Tesla…. ? Enron…. ? BP…. ? Feel anything when hearing those brand names? ?

Maybe some favorable and some not-so favorable right? ? ?

Now think of the people on your team ?

Go down the list. ?

What is your initial reaction to their PERSONAL BRAND…

Who has a good brand? ??

Who has a poor brand? ??

I bet one person stuck out in particular for each... ?

Mixed emotions? ?

Now - What do others think about you when your name comes up? ?

Personally and professionally. ?

Would they describe you as: ? Reliable or Unreliable?

Hard Working or "Meh"?

Honest or Dishonest

Confident or Timid?

Competent or Incompetent?

Someone who "Gets it done" or someone who needs their hand held?

Personable or Abrasive?

Professional or Professionally Immature?

Consistent or "Up and Down"?

Adaptable or Stuck in Your Ways?

Coachable or "Knows Everything"?

Collaborative or "Doesn't work well with others"?

Humble or Cocky (not to be mistaken for confident)?

Competitive or Passive?

A great communicator or unclear?

Organized or disorganized? ?

Whether or not you realize it, you are a company of one, selling yourself to organizations or clients. ?

Just like we will make purchasing decisions by what we feel about a brand, companies and clients are doing the same with you. ?

Would you spend $50,000, $100,000, $200,000+ on something with bad reviews and a poor brand? ?

Build the perception you want others to have of you.

Make it daily. Make it intentional. Make it part of who you are. ?

Brand is built by each interaction, decision, reaction, and contribution. Be mindful, a great brand will change your future. ?

Not sure if your brand? Make a blind survey or ask others for feedback. It’s better to know then walk around oblivious. ?

The saying goes.... There’s a jerk in every group of friends. So if don't think any of your friends are jerks……. You’re the jerk.??? What do you think?

Is your brand where you want it to be?

Do you agree or disagree on the importance?

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Now that we discussed Brand – Let’s get into the tips and tricks.

?So…You want to get promoted? ?? ??Let's do this! - First tip in this post.?

First thing before you continue - You are not owed anything.?

Secondly - All development should be self-Initiated.?

OK - Got those two out of the way. You may not agree, but I am setting the stage for my thoughts on this.?We have all been there, and many of you are reading this are currently in this are over your current role…?Want something more…?More responsibility…?More money….?Better titles…?Better work-life…?Just something better. Nobody goes for a promotion to be worse off, right??

Don't be ashamed or feel bad for wanting to improve your situation.?If you want to do so in your current organization, that's even better!?

If not - There's a place for all this advice for you too.?

Personally - I have changed industries through transferrable skillset external promotion 4X in my career.?Each time was for a different reason, but they all "leveled me up" on my personal goals.?I am going to provide several tips this week as a theme that I have personally employed - So follow me ?? here if you are interested. Share this if you know someone who could use the advice.?

Many of these items are a marathon approach to opening as many doors as possible so that the position you go for next is the one you REALLY want.?

Here's the first tip:?Clear the playing field on things you KNOW you don't want to do!?You have a TON of transferrable skills, does that mean you want all of the positions that they can fit with? No, so figure out what those are quickly and cross them off the list.?

Not sure if you are interested in a role or not??Have a quick call with a recruiter or someone in the role - Without applying or saying you are looking for a career change - I call them "Informational interviews" - Take this time to understand the role and if it is something you really want to do.?When you are choosing a potential career move PROACTIVELY - you get to be in the driver's seat.?

True story - I had just taken over a team and had an associate who was bullish on their next role for months. When we started creating a development plan together, I asked why this path and what they knew about the role.

Both questions brought out little certainty.

They only knew what they thought it did and what they thought it paid.?We worked together to connect with someone in that role and even the future hiring manager (there were no roles available at the time).

After 10 minutes of understanding role & potential pay - They were no longer interested.?This exercise saved BOTH sides time, energy, and potentially challenging conversations.

If it happened months prior, the associate would have been better aligned to their ideal career path.?I guess that's two tips, but it's free either way ???

1 - Clear the playing field for positions you don't want.

2 - If you're on the fence - Make sure you truly understand all of the roles you are considering.?

Wonder why other people get "tapped" for opportunities, but you feel invisible?

Here are 5 Actions to Improve Career Prospects. Get noticed!! Many people are feeling stuck in their roles and maybe they aren't feeling they know what to do other than being a good employee. Here are some steps I would recommend.

1. You MUST perform at a high level in your current role - This means taking a look in the mirror, taking feedback and coaching to get where you need to be for YOUR current role.

2.?Help solve a problem and track the journey - Speak with the key stakeholders in your career (note this may not be your direct leader) and find something that you can assist with. Ideally, you should be passionate about it.

Some?ideas:

• a. Coaching someone else on your team as a peer mentor.
• b. Find a pesky metric that is stuck and part of the corporate initiatives.?
• c. Identify an overall skill gap on the team and be the "champion".

3. Document anything you are doing above and beyond showing ownership in the project. It should include:

• a. Where it was when you started.
• b. What you did to impact it (Specifically)
• c. Checkpoint progress d. What the result was when you were finished

4. NETWORK - One of the most commonly missed opportunities is to network internally with different lines of business or others in your line of business. Just because you ask about a career journey doesn't mean you HAVE to apply for it!?Things to understand about opportunities - I like calling these "informational Interviews:

• a. What does the position entail? - The day-to-day.
• b. What does the ideal candidate look like?
• c. What type of experience should the candidate have? (This can feed points 2 & 3).
• d. What can YOU be doing TODAY to prepare yourself for that career journey?

5. Keep In Touch and FOSTER relationships! - Leaders and executives often have associates reach out for item #4 only, but then go silent. Ideally, once you find the career path you would like to progress in, set regular connections and don't get discouraged if they get rescheduled or canceled from time to time. You are prospecting the next stage in your career. ALWAYS bring something you have done from the last conversation to the table to show your intent. Do these 5 things and you are guaranteed to start being a part of a different talent bench. It may not happen immediately, but you will be introduced to new talent discussions that will shape your career.? What would you add?

P.S. Brand is EXTREMELY important for this journey as well - Follow along as I dive into that topic and tips.

Looking to promote into leadership? ?? So - You are a top performer and looking to advance to leadership? ?

Are you nuts?! ?

Just kidding! ??

Leadership is an extremely fulfilling and in-demand position. ?

Life circumstances changed? ?

Need more of a stable income (even if it’s a little bit less)? ?

Have a passion for helping others succeed? ?

Getting tired of the daily grind and looking to change pace with a new challenge? ?

These are just a few reasons, and all are valid! ?

The best time to promote is when you are at the top of your game. So… How do you show you can be more than a top performer? ?? ? Here are a few ideas: ?? \

? Connect with your leader and be clear of the intention as soon as you feel the itch. Time is needed for some of these impacts. ? First-time leaders often struggle with not having an example of how to influence others. Here's a tip to help close that gap. ?

?Connect with your leader and find a?challenge that the team is facing, specifically one that can be measured and you can impact. ? Try to tie it to overall profitability or revenue generation that "pays for the lights" of your business. ? For example - Service-based sale may be focused on subscription products.

Whatever that is, make sure it is something that:

? Can be measured - Baseline performance is crucial

?You are confident in your ability to influence on - Are you seen as an expert on your team?

?You can influence in a relatively short amount of time.

?You can articulate a process to take someone from point A to Point B. ?

A great framework is S.M.A.R.T ?? Specific ??Measurable ??Actionable ??Realistic ??Time-Bound ?

Next - It's time to put it into action! ?

Discuss with your leader if it should involve the whole team or just a few mentor relationships. ? Once you are set up with the mentorship or task. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING! ? Start with the baseline metric you are influencing. ? Have a conversation with the team? Document what it was about, how you presented it, save the decks, etc. ? Have coaching conversations with your peers? Follow-up with a recap of the conversation. ? You are BUILDING the example of your leadership impact without the title. ? Set a timeframe - 60-90 days - for this activity and be consistent. ? At the end of the project - Provide a recap of effectiveness. ?

? Word of CAUTION? - If you buy the ticket, take the ride! ? Just as this exercise can PROVE your ability to lead and influence, it can also DISPROVE. ?

No matter what, it will be a valuable experience you can learn from on your journey. ?

Please tell me if you try it, or if you want to recommend it to someone for their growth. ?

P.S. This is also a leadership hack to unlock some of the VERY BEST out of your team's desire to develop.

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Hi! I'm Matt I am going to be posting about leadership tips, career growth, and sales process effectiveness. Follow me and repost. New to my posts? Check out previous ones and send me a DM on what you liked.

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This is a consolidation of a few of my posts. If you like this topic, please check out my profile and previous post activity. Your engagement and feedback allows me to keep improving.

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Have a great day and get your plan going!

Matt

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