The Hard-Core Realities of Getting Promoted

My friend Penelope Trunk has a clever little post to help you determine if you’re actually in line to get a promotion, or if it’s just wishful thinking.  Some of it echoes advice I’ve given on this subject, but I think much bears repeating, so here are some highlights of Penelope’s quiz:

1. Are you friends with your boss?  The hardest workers don’t get promoted, the most likeable ones do.  Here is the big test for you: Did that sentence make you angry? You lose one point. That’s because you are wishing that you did not have to be likable and you are mad that people who work less than you do get promoted ahead of you.

2. Are you working on high-profile projects?  Do you work on the project that everyone else wanted? Give yourself a point. Did you say to yourself, “Who knows? I don’t know what everyone else wanted.” You lose a point. How can you get yourself onto good projects if you are not in the middle of the fray finding out what’s available and what’s hot?

3. Are you paid at the high end of the range for your position?  Investigate the salary range for your job. Check PayScale. If you’re at the top of the range, give yourself a point.   If you’re at the low end, then you were not highly valued to begin with, so getting people to switch their opinion of you is going to be hard. You can do it by asking your boss to get you to the top of the range, and then back up your request by listing all the achievements you’ve made in your new position.

4. Do you work fewer hours than everyone else?  If you work fewer hours than everyone around you, your boss and colleagues are probably annoyed.  You should not be the hardest worker because that makes you look desperate, but you can’t work the fewest hours either, because then you look like you don’t care. If you find you have a lot of extra time because you’re a total genius and you finish everything early, spend more time networking at the office.

5. Do you feel like you are due a promotion because of your experience?  No promotion is set in stone, so you need to constantly campaign for yourself. Do you spend your days focusing on doing your job, or do you do a little extra so you can be considered a star performer?

Want to see if a promotion is coming your way or if you need to go back to the drawing board?  Take the full quiz over at Penelope’s blog.