Are You Still in your Current Job, Blaming Management for not Promoting You?

There are many reasons why employees are not promoted to the next level. The primary reason is when one is really incompetent. However, there is also the situation when you are genuinely competent but have reached the phase where the next position in line is that of your boss and your boss is a career employee with many years to go before retirement.  

Another scenario is that of an employee who thinks that because he/she has been employed for many years, he has “seniority” therefore, a promotion must follow automatically. Candidates for promotion must be competent, talented, committed, have ownership, be fully responsible for their actions and loyal to the agency, corporation or organization they work for. No one should be entitled to promotion just because of seniority. 

However, those who are not identified with the above scenarios and do have the talent, commitment and potential to move forward, must start to develop the right skills for the jobs they are interested in pursuing.  If there are opportunities in the horizon, prepare for when the opportunity becomes available.

·  Think about it, how many positions do you think will become available with baby boomers retirements?

·  What are these boomers doing in you organization now that you can do?

·  Can you request mentoring from one of them, or do an internship?

·  Are degrees required for those positions, or could years of experience be an alternative?

·  How visible are you at work now? Are you involving yourself in those special projects no one wants to take on?

·  Are you an active participant at meetings or do you just sit, and pray for a quick end? 

 Maybe now is the time to take a good look at your resume. Make adjustments, and highlight your accomplishments and outcomes. It never hurts to register for coursework, or a certificate program that fits the elements of the projected positions you are looking for. Simply put, just be physically and mentally prepared for when that job that you would like to have is advertised. 

To get started, I will begin a series of posts related to employment such as key elements in your resume, cover letter, assessing your strengths and weaknesses and much more. Stay tuned!