4 Simple Ways to Improve your Chances of a Promotion

Think it’s about time your boss offered you a promotion?

Researched, written by Amber & The Team
Updated on December 16, 2022

Found in Healthy Solutions • Work & Career

// We recommend helpful products in our articles. Read our full disclosure here.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful!

Think it’s about time your boss offered you a promotion? Sometimes, no matter how hard you work, or how much you think your efforts are standing out, you’ll still struggle to get the new opportunities you deserve.

The good news is that while nothing can completely guarantee you’ll end up with the promotion of your dreams, there are ways you can improve your chances of success. While you could approach your boss and ask for the promotion, this could lead to problems if you’re not as prepared as you thought you were for new challenges. Here are some top tips to improve your chances of a promotion the right way.

Go Above and Beyond in Your Job

The first step to getting the role and responsibilities you want most, is to show your boss you can handle them. You are not going to be able to simply make more money and be given a promotion, you’ll have to earn both.

Start by going above and beyond to showcase your value at work. This could mean you’re the first to volunteer for any new project, or that you’re always happy to say yes when everyone else refuses to take on an extra shift. If you can’t say yes to everything and maintain your wellbeing, ask yourself what’s most important to grab the attention of your boss.

Although it can be exhausting to consistently go above and beyond, this shows your boss you’re committed to delivering excellent results for the business. It’s particularly helpful to take advantage of any opportunities that might allow you to show your skills in the position a promotion would give you. For instance, taking advantage of leadership opportunities is almost always a good idea.

Cup With Motivational Work Quote

Upgrade Your Education

If you have your ideal promotion in mind already, you should be able to find a job description for that role with a little bit of basic research. To improve your chances of positioning yourself as the perfect candidate for that role, compare your current resume to the job description in question, and ask yourself if you’re missing out on any specific skills or qualifications.

If you don’t have all the education required for a certain job, committing to seeking those skills out can be an important step in ensuring you get the right attention from your boss. You can consider taking out private student loans in order to pay for college if you need to go back and get a new degree and speak to your boss about adjusting your hours accordingly.

Certificate Of Graduation

Ask What You Can Do

Finally, one of the best ways to put yourself in the best possible position for a promotion in any role, is to speak to your boss about what you need to do to excel in that new role. If there’s a position opening up and your boss hasn’t offered it to you yet, let them know you’d be interested in taking on a similar position in the future. Ask your boss what you can do differently to make yourself worthy of consideration for either that role, or a similar promotion in the months or years to come.

The Great Resignation and Reshuffle

If you have picked up a newspaper, or simply turned on your local news in the past several months, you undoubtedly have heard about the ‘great resignation’ and the ‘great reshuffle’. Each of these terms refers to the vast amount of job vacancies that have been piling up since the pandemic began. Employees, now fed up with their job constraints, have realized they wield far more power than ever before.
If you don’t like the pay, you were passed up for promotion, or have been unable to transition into a remote role, you can actually do something about it! Employers are scrambling to increase their minimum base pay, or transition more rigid roles into remote positions. Perhaps they are offering retention bonuses, or other creative benefits, but the end goal is to gain new employees while keeping the ones they already have. While this tip may not seem like one at all, it is actually one of the most powerful tools you can utilize. Employers are afraid of the cost of turnover. Use this to your advantage!