How promotable are you?
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What do senior people look for when promoting people? This question was posed at a recent career conference we ran. An interesting question to ask and, whilst all organisations will differ, there will be key similarities wherever you are working.
Have you let it be known you are interested in progressing to the next level?
Making people aware of your desires, ambitions, interests, is no bad thing. Many people work very diligently hoping their talent and effort will be spotted but in the hectic business world this may not always work so find opportunities to let others know what your aspirations are by:
Having established what your organisation is looking for assess your performance against these criteria. Where do you feel you meet the requirements, exceed them even, and where do you feel there is progress to be made? You may already have a regular 360 report embedded in the appraisal process you can refer to. If not, ask your manager for feedback in your next meeting. Also ask some colleagues and peers in other teams you regularly interact with either over coffee or lunch, or by using one of the many online questionnaires you can write yourself which also allow anonymity if desired.
Have you started to ‘act up’ in your current role?
Have you asked to take on additional responsibilities which will develop your experience and knowledge? Perhaps your manager might delegate attendance of meetings he/she regularly attends to give you greater exposure, or reports that he/she is used to writing which you take on to give them more time for other matters. Are their people you could offer to mentor or support to show your interest in the development of others as well as gaining experience of how best to do this? The more you can do at a promotion interview to show you already work at the next level wherever possible, the better. When I worked in banking this was called the ‘Elephant Test’, in other words ‘if it looks like an elephant, it must be an elephant’!
Do you regularly use your initiative?
Are there ways to change or improve the way in which you or the team works which will save time, money, or improve the ‘value added’ from your efforts? It may be something simple you can implement immediately, showing your manager the gains made. If it’s a bigger issue talk to those who’ll be affected to gain support for your idea, then propose the change outlining the advantages to be gained and suggest a pilot project is set up to see if your proposal is feasible. Staying in touch with professional developments, industry news and new technologies shows you are interested in the business as a whole. Combining this with a track record of initiatives proposed and delivered will impress when you are interviewed for promotion.
Do you have any champions?
Are there people in the organisation who know your capabilities, your key strengths and skills and what you’ve delivered in each of your roles? Do you have a mentor or two who’ve seen you grow in the organisation and found you rewarding to mentor? The more people who are aware of your contribution, who you’ve helped to deliver projects, who’ve found you a supportive colleague, the more likely they are to be willing to support your promotion to the next level.
TAKE AWAY
When interviewing people for promotion, whatever the organisation or exact role, senior managers will be keen to know if you have accurately assessed your skills and experience and how you are developing any gaps identified. They’ll want to know about any initiatives you’ve taken to drive the business forward and whether you already step up and assume more senior duties whenever possible. Finally, they’ll be interested to know what other senior managers are supporting your candidature and why. So, get ahead of the competition and address these points as you plan for that next move.
Have you let it be known you are interested in progressing to the next level?
Making people aware of your desires, ambitions, interests, is no bad thing. Many people work very diligently hoping their talent and effort will be spotted but in the hectic business world this may not always work so find opportunities to let others know what your aspirations are by:
- Discussing this at your appraisal
- Contacting HR to asking their advice about progression and key skills and behaviours needed
- Finding a mentor who can support your development
Having established what your organisation is looking for assess your performance against these criteria. Where do you feel you meet the requirements, exceed them even, and where do you feel there is progress to be made? You may already have a regular 360 report embedded in the appraisal process you can refer to. If not, ask your manager for feedback in your next meeting. Also ask some colleagues and peers in other teams you regularly interact with either over coffee or lunch, or by using one of the many online questionnaires you can write yourself which also allow anonymity if desired.
Have you started to ‘act up’ in your current role?
Have you asked to take on additional responsibilities which will develop your experience and knowledge? Perhaps your manager might delegate attendance of meetings he/she regularly attends to give you greater exposure, or reports that he/she is used to writing which you take on to give them more time for other matters. Are their people you could offer to mentor or support to show your interest in the development of others as well as gaining experience of how best to do this? The more you can do at a promotion interview to show you already work at the next level wherever possible, the better. When I worked in banking this was called the ‘Elephant Test’, in other words ‘if it looks like an elephant, it must be an elephant’!
Do you regularly use your initiative?
Are there ways to change or improve the way in which you or the team works which will save time, money, or improve the ‘value added’ from your efforts? It may be something simple you can implement immediately, showing your manager the gains made. If it’s a bigger issue talk to those who’ll be affected to gain support for your idea, then propose the change outlining the advantages to be gained and suggest a pilot project is set up to see if your proposal is feasible. Staying in touch with professional developments, industry news and new technologies shows you are interested in the business as a whole. Combining this with a track record of initiatives proposed and delivered will impress when you are interviewed for promotion.
Do you have any champions?
Are there people in the organisation who know your capabilities, your key strengths and skills and what you’ve delivered in each of your roles? Do you have a mentor or two who’ve seen you grow in the organisation and found you rewarding to mentor? The more people who are aware of your contribution, who you’ve helped to deliver projects, who’ve found you a supportive colleague, the more likely they are to be willing to support your promotion to the next level.
TAKE AWAY
When interviewing people for promotion, whatever the organisation or exact role, senior managers will be keen to know if you have accurately assessed your skills and experience and how you are developing any gaps identified. They’ll want to know about any initiatives you’ve taken to drive the business forward and whether you already step up and assume more senior duties whenever possible. Finally, they’ll be interested to know what other senior managers are supporting your candidature and why. So, get ahead of the competition and address these points as you plan for that next move.