By Laurie Glasser, CHRP

Doing a good job isn’t always enough to get a promotion – you need to be strategic.

Most people spend the best part of their life working.  Yet the majority haven’t stepped back and looked at the big picture of how their interests, qualifications and attributes can be aligned with goals and opportunities to get the results they desire.  Invest time thinking about your future; planning career path options is time well spent.

Prepare for Advancement Opportunities
Working for a living consumes about one-third of our lives and is often our main or only source of income.  Let’s face it—many of us accept a job (not necessarily the one we really want), and coast along tolerating it or staying within our comfort zone.  The alternative? Consider what is to be gained by preparing for opportunities: job satisfaction, the feeling of accomplishment (the greater the challenge, the greater the reward), as well as higher wages, more perks, and more flexibility—just to name a few.

If you are going to work, why not enjoy what you’re doing and make it worth it by planning and setting career goals?  Here are six steps for moving in the right direction:

• Review your qualifications and be vigilant about identifying qualification gaps.  Set career goals and timelines.  Seize opportunities to take on higher-level responsibilities and develop marketable skills. If opportunities to develop new skills are scarce, consider volunteering at a non-profit organization.
• Consider your preferred industries and sizes of organizations in terms of employment prospects;ach size has pros and cons.  A small company can provide a broader range of experiences and can provide a good foundation for your career; if they grow, you may grow with it.
  A larger company has more specialized positions, more positions with room to grow and supports education expenses.  However, in larger companies they may post internally to retain their talent through promotional opportunities.  Tip:  If you want upward movement with a large company, consider applying early in your career or be prepared to take a step back in order to have opportunity to promote into the higher-level positions.
• Put in a full day and produce consistently solid work.  Become aware of your career-related deficiencies and focus on improving them.
• Talk to people about what their job entails—the good, the bad and the ugly.  Identify desirable positions and determine qualifications, then seek training or responsibilities to develop skills that prepare you for opportunities.
• Look for suitable occasions to let others know of your key accomplishments, as well as your interest in professional growth opportunities.  If you’re unsuccessful in a job posting, learn from it: reflect, re-evaluate and remedy.
• Although it won’t be openly discussed, be aware of incompatible management styles/philosophies, discrimination and nepotism.  Sometimes changing companies is the most effective method of advancing your career.  If you’re at a dead end, don’t waste your time;take your talents and ambitions, and move on.

Manage Your Time
For many people, this skill is inherent – they can plan, schedule and multi-task;  for others, it takes learning how to improve your skills and self-discipline

• Answer phone and email messages within 24 hours; work efficiently; learn to skim-read.
• Be committed to excellence while balancing productivity with quality results
• Avoid paper clutter, paper shuffling and procrastination.  Do not put off difficult or unpleasant tasks. Don’t let ‘wait time’ be ‘wasted time’ – have something to read or work on.
• If appropriate, learn to empower people and delegate effectively.
• Schedule personal downtime and look after yourself – be mindful of work-life balance, family commitments, diet and exercise.

Become an Expert
Advice from Chris Langan (reported by some media resources as ‘the smartest man in America’) is to specialize and become an expert in your chosen field

• Ensure you have the appropriate education—and keep current with new developments through reading and courses.  Use your knowledge and skills to establish an area of expertise.
• Seek a mentor.It is one of the best ways to help guide your career path, invigorate your work life, or boost your job search.  A mentor can help guide you through common problems and make recommendations on how to improve your job performance.  If your company or association does not offer a formal program, use your LinkedIn or other media contacts to identify and reach out to a suitable mentor.
• Actively engage in professional associations and networks.
• Enthusiastically seek speaking and presentation opportunities.  If this strikes fear in you, join Toastmasters (or equivalent), and gain a competitive edge as a proficient speaker.
• Pursue ways to get published.

Develop Leadership Skills
Everyone yearns for a great boss.  However, becoming known as a great leader and manager doesn’t just happen;it evolves through one’s desire, self-awareness, knowledge and,most importantly, application.

• Earn respect:  Be trustworthy, resilient, friendly, helpful and steady.  Be credible and inspire the best of people.  Become aware of other’s talents and help them succeed.
• Increase your awareness of the organization:  Seek to understand the business – the org chart and key players, the culture, operations, economical/environmental threats and impacts, and annual reports.
• Be visionary:  Think ‘futuristic and big picture – possibilities and innovation.’  Take calculated risks – analyze what’s required and potential consequences. Without action, nothing happens; articulate your vision so others can help bring it into reality. If you believe in it, be tenacious.
• Be visible:  Get to know people – managers are more likely to promote people that they know or others have favorably mentioned.  Get involved with task forces.  Network and take initiative to introduce yourself.
• Empower people:  Build teams and delegate work.  Be pleasant, assertive and decisive.  Give clear expectations of outcomes and timelines, provide adequate guidance, and share credit.  Balance excellence with letting go of perfection.  Give feedback; listen attentively and don’t interrupt or over-talk.  When things go wrong, take accountability for the team; evaluate the reasons and deem what to do different next time.
• Be decisive:  Gather information to base sound judgment upon; assess alternatives, then reach your decision and act on it.
• Become adept at problem solving:  Define problems, gather data, evaluate options and pursue the best solution.

Create a Good Impression
Most of us are people watchers. We have engrained cultural and social norms whereby we constantly assess people—and are assessed.   We don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.

• Visual:  Develop a professional appearance through good grooming and a suitable wardrobe as well as conduct.  Notice upward leadership’s example while developing your own personal style.
  • Be aware of body language: your facial expressions, eye contact, posture, gestures, movements, and use of personal space
• Verbal:  Learn how to enhance your speech through varied pitch and appropriate volume and pace.  People who speak too quickly are perceived as nervous or untrustworthy.  Those who speak slowly may be perceived as unintelligent or indecisive.  Avoid meaningless interjections (ahs and ums….)
• Manners and Courtesy:  Use common courtesies and good etiquette both on and off the job.  Be pleasant and genuine; greet others upon arrival and say good night when leaving; say please and thank you.  Be ethical, acknowledge others contributions, treat others and property with respect.  Don’t gossip and avoid being negative.

Advancement opportunities will manifest themselves when you identify what you want, and combine a GPS (Goals, Plans and Strategies) model to guide your way through your career.  I’d wish you good luck, but I’ll leave you with a quote instead:

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”  Darrell Royal

Laurie Glasser, CHRP, is the owner of Kelowna Human Resources Consulting. She offers more than 20 years of diverse HR expertise and is a graduate of the University of Calgary’s Management Development/HR program. The thrust of her business focuses on handling the HR needs of small businesses, providing all the benefits of an in-house HR department without the payroll cost. More information can be found on her website at www.kelownahr.com.