Latest / Enhance.training / 5 Steps To Ask For Your Next Promotion At Work (And Get It!)
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_00: The best time to start thinking about the steps to ask for your next promotion at work are as soon as you have got to grips with your current job.
- 0:08SPEAKER_00: To have a very good chance of getting the promotion when you ask for it, some sensible preparation is needed to position yourself as a good fit for the next role, and this takes a bit of time in planning.
- 0:19SPEAKER_00: If you've been in your current role for a while, these five steps to ask for your next promotion are just as valuable in getting that promotion.
- 0:27SPEAKER_00: Firstly, know the skills needed and fill the gaps.
- 0:31SPEAKER_00: Secondly, demonstrate suitability before asking.
- 0:34SPEAKER_00: Third, build your list of achievements and value add.
- 0:38SPEAKER_00: Fourth, position yourself to overcome objections.
- 0:41SPEAKER_00: And fifth, choose the best timing and book in a meeting.
- 0:45SPEAKER_00: In my career, I've been promoted eight times internally and gained promotion by moving companies five times.
- 0:52SPEAKER_00: I've gained promotion in corporates and household names through all the management ranks.
- 0:57SPEAKER_00: I'm passing on the most important steps to ask for your next promotion at work, the ones that make a real difference to getting a yes rather than getting a no or a not yet when going for a promotion at work.
- 1:10SPEAKER_00: Let's start.
- 1:11SPEAKER_00: The first step to ask for your next promotion is to know the skills needed and fill the gaps.
- 1:17SPEAKER_00: Getting a promotion is as much about reducing the risk factors in promoting you as demonstrating why you should be promoted.
- 1:24SPEAKER_00: Any boss wants to know that if they give you the promotion, you are very likely to do a good job and you'll put your all into doing a great job.
- 1:34SPEAKER_00: As soon as you know which role you would like to be promoted into, start finding out about the skills needed and the types of tasks, activities and responsibilities that role has on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis.
- 1:46SPEAKER_00: Five different methods to find out.
- 1:49SPEAKER_00: Firstly, observe people currently doing the role.
- 1:52SPEAKER_00: What activities do they need to be good at and what skills do they need to display.
- 1:57SPEAKER_00: Secondly, ask those already doing the job that you want to be promoted into to tell you about the pressures, the stresses and the rewards of their role as well as what they do.
- 2:07SPEAKER_00: Ask people in your business and those outside of your business.
- 2:11SPEAKER_00: Third, use your network to find and speak to people who have done the role or who interact with people doing the role that you want to be promoted into.
- 2:20SPEAKER_00: And fourth, ask for job descriptions, you know, research on the internet, in chat rooms and in interest groups.
- 2:26SPEAKER_00: This type of research can be very useful.
- 2:29SPEAKER_00: Don't rely on just doing this as you won't find out enough about the practicalities of doing the role.
- 2:34SPEAKER_00: And fifth, speak to your boss and get their views on what is needed for the role.
- 2:39SPEAKER_00: You are not asking for promotion at this point, but finding out about the role.
- 2:43SPEAKER_00: Your questions will also indicate your interest in the role to them.
- 2:48SPEAKER_00: When you understand the role, the skills needed and the level of skills needed, and how well you will need to operate in each of the areas of responsibility, you can work through comparing these to your skills and experience.
- 3:00SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself, firstly, what skills do I need to develop and to what level?
- 3:05SPEAKER_00: Secondly, what experience do I need to obtain so I can demonstrate I can do the role?
- 3:10SPEAKER_00: Third, how am I going to build my skills and experience with the opportunities available inside and outside of my workplace?
- 3:18SPEAKER_00: Start working on building your skills and experience one step at a time.
- 3:23SPEAKER_00: The sooner you start, the quicker you'll gain sufficient skills and experience to demonstrate that you can do the job.
- 3:29SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and if you're new here, Enhanced.training provides resources and courses for you to build management expertise and confidence to lead any team to their best performance.
- 3:39SPEAKER_00: Do visit us at Enhanced.training to build your management and leadership expertise a lot more quickly.
- 3:46SPEAKER_00: Second, to be ready for a promotion at work, demonstrate suitability before asking for that promotion.
- 3:53SPEAKER_00: The best way to position yourself for promotion is to do as much of the job that you want to be promoted into to the right level before being promoted.
- 4:02SPEAKER_00: This approach is an investment which shows your capabilities and a great can-do positive attitude.
- 4:09SPEAKER_00: Taking this approach is also incredibly useful if you need to move companies to get the promotion you deserve.
- 4:15SPEAKER_00: You will have plenty to put on your CV and talk about in interviews.
- 4:19SPEAKER_00: The approach that led to my 13 promotions during my career, get the experience and skills first and the rest will follow.
- 4:27SPEAKER_00: Demonstrate to your bosses and peers that you can do the job that you want to get when you ask for your next promotion.
- 4:33SPEAKER_00: Demonstrate that you do, firstly, the tasks and activities of the role to the right level without mistakes, indecision, etc.
- 4:41SPEAKER_00: Secondly, show you take the level of responsibility to deliver results and achieve goals as would be expected in the role that you're aiming to get.
- 4:49SPEAKER_00: Third, demonstrate the right level of skills.
- 4:52SPEAKER_00: For example, you could be about making good decisions and running them past your boss before implementation.
- 4:58SPEAKER_00: Or it could be building good solutions to your problems or your team members' problems.
- 5:02SPEAKER_00: Think about all the different ways that you can demonstrate that you are doing as much as you can of the tasks, activities, decision making and problem solving of the role that you want to be promoted into, and you're doing them to the right levels.
- 5:15SPEAKER_00: This makes promoting you a very easy decision for any boss.
- 5:20SPEAKER_00: The third step to ask for your next promotion at work is to build your list of achievements and the value you add.
- 5:26SPEAKER_00: There are likely to be several people involved in the decision to promote you.
- 5:31SPEAKER_00: For instance, your boss might have to convince their boss, HR, and position you above people from other teams that your boss's peers want to promote.
- 5:40SPEAKER_00: The people who actually get promoted are usually the ones with the best promotion case and the best relationships with these groups.
- 5:48SPEAKER_00: To get promoted, you must work on both.
- 5:51SPEAKER_00: A great place to start is to build a list of your achievements.
- 5:55SPEAKER_00: List out all the initiatives that you have taken to increase revenue, reduce costs and reduce time or gain any other valuable outcome for the business.
- 6:04SPEAKER_00: These should all be positioned in terms of how you've helped the company achieve better results or more revenue or profit.
- 6:11SPEAKER_00: Always look to include realistic financial data to show the scale of your achievements and make it clear the value of those achievements to the business.
- 6:19SPEAKER_00: With your achievements, include the starting position, the end position, and give a short account of what you did to go from one to the other.
- 6:28SPEAKER_00: You can share this with your boss, and your boss can use your list of achievements to position you as the best person to gain the next available promotion.
- 6:37SPEAKER_00: Create a compelling list of achievements that are above and beyond the expected results from your current role.
- 6:43SPEAKER_00: Fourth, to get your next promotion at work, position yourself to overcome objections.
- 6:49SPEAKER_00: Getting a promotion is winning a competition.
- 6:52SPEAKER_00: You are competing against other people in the business who deserve a promotion and you are competing to gain more of the precious resources of the company.
- 7:01SPEAKER_00: There will be objections to your promotion, particularly from people who don't know you or who are protecting vested interests or their agenda.
- 7:10SPEAKER_00: Some of the objections I have heard or have had to overcome myself are things like I don't know Jess and I don't think he should get promoted ahead of James.
- 7:19SPEAKER_00: Or we don't have a position available.
- 7:22SPEAKER_00: Or we don't have the budget to give you a pay rise with a promotion.
- 7:26SPEAKER_00: Or we don't think you're ready for promotion just yet.
- 7:30SPEAKER_00: Think about all the other objections that might be used when asking for your next promotion.
- 7:35SPEAKER_00: The more you can do to mitigate the objections in advance or prepare a great response, the more likely you'll get promoted now rather than in six or twelve months' time.
- 7:45SPEAKER_00: Some of the ways to handle the previously mentioned objections could be firstly map out who is likely to be involved in the decision to promote you and build relationships with them so they know you, the work you do, and the value you add.
- 8:00SPEAKER_00: Secondly, when the position availability is the objection, ask your company to create a new position, a halfway house, or change something to recognise the progress you have made and the value you have added.
- 8:11SPEAKER_00: If they're not prepared to do this, get a job offer from another company as a bargaining chip or to move into.
- 8:18SPEAKER_00: Third, if budget is the objection, point out the cost of hiring a new person in terms of the recruitment costs, market rate salaries, the time to recruit and the time to get them up to speed.
- 8:30SPEAKER_00: This will be many, many times any sensible pay rise cost for your promotion.
- 8:35SPEAKER_00: Fourth, when skills and experience is the objection, educate the objector by taking them through the skills and experience you have been demonstrating and how they match what is needed for the new position.
- 8:45SPEAKER_00: Do the same with your achievements.
- 8:48SPEAKER_00: The more preparation you do to handle objections, the quicker you'll be promoted.
- 8:52SPEAKER_00: The fifth step to ask for your next promotion is to choose the right timing and book in a meeting.
- 8:59SPEAKER_00: There is probably never a good time to ask for a promotion.
- 9:02SPEAKER_00: There are definitely bad times to ask for a promotion, such as just after job cuts in the company, or a downturn in trading, or soon after getting your last promotion, or when your boss is really stressed and pressurised.
- 9:15SPEAKER_00: Choose when to ask for a promotion that will maximize your boss listening to you and taking your request to be promoted as seriously as possible.
- 9:23SPEAKER_00: Book in a meeting with your boss.
- 9:25SPEAKER_00: I would indicate what the meeting is about so your boss can mentally prepare and consider the merits of your request.
- 9:31SPEAKER_00: It might also be useful for you to send over your list of achievements or better still, put together a short business case along with your achievements list.
- 9:40SPEAKER_00: During the meeting, talk through why you deserve the promotion and what the company will gain from promoting you.
- 9:46SPEAKER_00: At the end of your discussion, ask your boss for the promotion you want.
- 9:51SPEAKER_00: Don't expect your boss to give you a yes or no answer during the meeting.
- 9:55SPEAKER_00: If your boss starts listing out reasons why promotion is unlikely, take note of each reason given and then respond to each of them using your objections preparation.
- 10:06SPEAKER_00: You need your boss on site because they will need to convince a number of other stakeholders before you'll be promoted.
- 10:12SPEAKER_00: When you have demonstrated your skills and ability to do most of the role that you want to be promoted into, convincing your boss to support the promotion is usually a fairly easy task.
- 10:22SPEAKER_00: When you've built relationships with the other stakeholders deciding on your promotion, you make your boss's chances of getting a yes from them a lot easier.
- 10:31SPEAKER_00: While you're waiting to get an answer, keep speaking to and building support for your promotion with all the stakeholders to the promotion decision.
- 10:40SPEAKER_00: Good luck.
- 10:42SPEAKER_00: So in summary, take these five steps to ask for your next promotion and you'll massively increase your chances of getting a promotion and getting that promotion quickly.
- 10:51SPEAKER_00: You'll have competition for promotion opportunities and to take more resources the company has.
- 10:57SPEAKER_00: When you demonstrate that promoting you will be a very good investment for the company and better than the other options, plus the people promoting you know you and like you, you will get promoted quickly when going for promotion at work.
- 11:09SPEAKER_00: A lot of getting a promotion is the preparation you do before asking for a promotion.
- 11:15SPEAKER_00: So to recap, the five steps to ask for your next promotion at work are firstly know the skills needed and fill the gaps.
- 11:23SPEAKER_00: Secondly, demonstrate suitability before asking.
- 11:26SPEAKER_00: Third, build your list of achievements and value add.
- 11:29SPEAKER_00: Fourth, position yourself to overcome objections, and fifth, choose the best timing and book a meeting in.
- 11:37SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions on five steps to ask for your next promotion at work, please email me at support at enhance.training and I'll get back to you.
- 11:47SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.