Larry on Careers: Get a Promotion 2: Do the Job They Want Done

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Get a Promotion 2: Do the Job They Want Done—& More

This continues our series on actions that will help you get a promotion

You need to impress management for them to want to promote you. Sometimes, they may want to move you out of a job if you cannot do it effectively. They will lay you off, or—if they really like you—they may try you in something more to your skills. To receive a promotion you have to do the job they want done—and then do more than they expect.

Discover What Job They Want Done

You have to know what job management wants you to do before you can do it. Unfortunately, companies sometimes fail to communicate their expectations effectively. You may need to research to find them. The following activities may help you discover their expectations:

Ask for, and study, the job description, noting the specific results they want
Talk to your mentor several times asking questions to understand their perspective
Talk to people in your network of contacts inside the company to gain their insights
Study what the company posts as results in annual reports, posters, & office memos
Ask your supervisor after completing the above activities

Meet Their Expectations

Once you know what they expect—you work to meet their expectations. Some specific actions will help you accomplish what they want done:

Create an Excel spreadsheet with graphs to monitor and track your performance
Include a line on your graph for each week or month for each of the following measurements

Each result they expect from you
Your actual performance on each result

Brainstorm ideas of what you can do to improve your performance with your mentor, network, and your supervisor
Make needed changes to improve your performance

Do More Than They Expect

Once you begin to meet expectations, continue your focus on improvement. Try the following: