We touched on this topic briefly last month in my post ‘Could A Promotion Be Imminent?’ in which we discussed your Performance Reviews and the Performance Review Panel’s decision on your listed goals for your firm’s next period.

Today, I would like to share some tips on how to ‘Prepare for a Promotion’ by providing some steps you can follow to encourage a successful outcome in your quest to move up the corporate ladder.

We all know that when a firm has an open or newly created position, they will look from within their organization first before advertising, or seeking out the services of a professional placement agency for assistance.

In order for you to prepare yourself effectively for a challenging new role, you must first be ready from a psychological standpoint, as this is a crucial stepping-stone in your career advancement. You do not want to be coming from an ‘emotional’ state of mind when contemplating this move. To avoid any misgivings, or feelings of insecurity and uncertainty, it is important you ‘research the role’ you are interested in, whether within your firm, or making a fresh start elsewhere. For the purposes of this post, we will assume that you are going to embark on this new role from within your firm.

The first and most important task you can begin with is establishing clarity by sitting down in a quiet area with pen and paper and analyzing what you think you want, what your expectations are, and how ‘prepared’ you truly feel about this move. Do you really have what it takes on the ‘skills’ side, what about  your ‘communications’ style and personality profile’ - list all of the ‘pros and cons’, as well as any and all thoughts that come into your mind.

It is important to take as much time as you need to work through this process of ‘self-analysis’, be gentle with yourself, and very honest and 'realistic' about what you can bring to the new role. The good news in this scenario is that you are in control of the time-line, so there is no rush or pressure to make your decision. When you feel convinced that you are ready to move forward, you may want to consider the following steps:

Make sure you keep up-to-date on company activities that include potential mergers and acquisitions, and research accordingly;

• If you are ‘replacing’ someone in another division, OR, ‘joining’ a new division, be sure to seek out as much information on the division as possible - once again the company portal should assist you with this;
• In the case of replacing an employee, ask the departing party out for lunch or at least a coffee or two, and ask direct questions relating to the job requirements, staff, expectations, etc.;
• If you are ‘joining’ a new division, ask one of the staff members out for lunch to talk about their role in the division - you can learn a lot from this meeting;
• Research this new role by job title on the Internet and learn the functions of this role in other companies;
• To make this process even more interesting, you could conduct ‘informational interviews’ with individuals in the position you are striving for;
• If you learn the new division uses applications that you are not familiar with, find free training courses to take at home, or if not possible, use a few of your lunch hours to work on them, or perhaps stay behind after work hours;
• Do NOT discuss you plans with anyone - not even a ‘buddy’, inside or outside of the office;
• Keep your own information on the company portal up-to-date, adding new projects you have completed, new programs learned, new corporate memberships, volunteer work, etc.;
• Attend as many meetings and join Committees hosted by the new group as time permits;
• Remember to take full advantage of your company portal, and look up staff Resumes on your target group; this will give you an edge, as you will know individual career and educational backgrounds. The document database holds proposals and other documents the division in question have submitted, along with client lists, etc. Review as much material on your own as possible - this is ‘your due diligence’. Assuming all goes well, your efforts will be applauded in the not too distant future.

Writing down your goals and giving self feedback on your progress over the course of a set period can be a challenging exercise, and certainly one that requires your full attention and contemplation. Coming up with a list of goals in and of itself, is a difficult task, particularly if your goals are on-going, such as computer training or upgrading.

In setting your career goals, you may want to consider what tasks you perform in your current position that you truly enjoy, as well as areas that you know need improvement, whether on a professional or personal level.

This could look like taking more of your time to learn a computer program through available office training, or perhaps distance learning at home. On a personal level, your goal may be to become more involved in Social Committees, or other Committees that would welcome your participation.

As we discussed previously, joining Committees does require a time commitment on your part, and you must be confident that you do have the time to dedicate and actively participate in your chosen Committee.

I have just provided you with a potential of two goals to write down on your list, and suggest that you give them serious consideration. Both of these potential goals could be excellent stepping-stones to your advancement within your firm.

If your computer skills are top notch, and your schedule does not permit becoming involved with one of your firm’s Committees, I would suggest you give thought to where you want to be this time next year in terms of your career growth, and target your efforts to advancement as a major, ongoing goal.

Your Team Leader should be supporting you with this exercise, and will likely meet with you to review your previous goals, and discuss your proposed new goals for this next period. Keep in mind that your Team Leader also has to perform this task and therefore, will likely anticipate any frustrations or difficulties you may be having in preparing more goals to add to your own review.

The Team Leader will also provide guidance to you in terms of how to write your goals so that they are clear, directed, and concise. The guidance you receive on how to present your goals should be followed and adhered to, as your Team Leader most likely has more experience in this area. Keep in mind that your review will be under scrutiny with the Performance Review Panel.

Marketing - Creating Your 'Portfolio'

Creating your own portfolio may sound like a daunting task at first, but trust me; it can be very enjoyable and satisfying. Allow me to elaborate on exactly what I mean by portfolio.

If you review some of the project work that you have produced, you will no doubt come across terrific charts created with Excel, excellent PowerPoint presentations, perhaps report writing, and various other forms of documentation created and/or authored by yourself. Where are these documents stored? I suspect that they are not in a nice new binder or casing with page protectors to keep them neat and clean, but rather, on your computer or network where they lay dormant. This is not good news for you if you want to market your particular talents. This then begs the question, how are these dormant pieces of creativity helping you to prepare for an upcoming interview for promotion - whether the interview is a directive or self-imposed? If you do not take action, they remain virtually useless to your marketing efforts and do not produce the other desired result, which, in my experience, is building your self-confidence and giving yourself an edge.

Therefore, I would suggest that you take your time to go through your projects, and strategically select the most appealing and impactful pieces to begin building your portfolio. In my own career, I have used a portfolio for the past several years, and am always delighted at the response it prompts. I must admit, in hectic times, it is easy to forget to include a very good piece and end up realizing that the opportunity has been missed. I sincerely hope that you do not find yourself in a similar situation.

My own portfolio includes excel charts, creative graphics, marketing and advertising materials I have authored, letters of appreciation, etc. Do not forget to include all your kudos for your great jobs, and going the extra mile when needed! I can guarantee you that your portfolio will prove to be an invaluable tool in your own career growth. Be selective with your pieces!

Source: http://www.corporatesecrets-adminpro.blogspot.com