Promoting to a new employer
Introduction
Getting ready
You have decided you want a promotion
and you want it at another employer. That's great. There are times
in your career when it is necessary to make a - small - step up the
ladder.
It is not always possible to promote
at your current employer, and if you really want, need or have
earned that promotion there is little else to do but change
employers.
But before you quit your current job,
or, if you have already done so, you need to have things in order.
There is a logical method of working towards a promotion and it is a
good time to sit down and consider the facts.
The next is a short list of
necessities to have ready before you start looking for that new and
better job.
We will go through each of the above
steps one by one. At the end you should be able to assess whether
you are ready to submit your resume and start applying for that
better job.
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I've changed my mind and I want to look for
promotional possibilities at my current employer. |
Career Assessment
Before you dive headlong into job
databases you need to take a closer look at your career goals and
make a proper assessment of where you are coming from and where you
want to go with your career. What is the underlying reason for
wanting a promotion? Consider the following possibilities:
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I have been at my current employer
for years but there are no promotional possibilities here, and I
really deserve one.
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I have been at this job for years
but other people get promoted instead of me and now it's my turn.
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My employer has made it clear that
he wants me where I am and that he is not going to promote me.
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I have increased my skills and
education and I cannot promote where I am. I have spoken to my
employer and they have no openings.
Whatever your reason, promotion could
mean:
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More job responsibility.
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Responsibility over other people or
needing to manage other people.
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More money.
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The same pay but a more challenging
job.
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More hours at the job and less at
home.
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More travel.
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A higher level of knowledge.
Many people underestimate what a
promotion means. They just think they get more pay and that they can
now be boss over other people, for example. It's not that simple.
Consider the above points and decide for yourself whether any or all
have been considered and which ones are okay and which ones are
unacceptable.
Promotions may mean more money but
they also mean spending more. If you move into a managerial position
you may need to change or expand on your wardrobe, for example. You
may be required to pick up the lunch tab, but this time at a
restaurant rather than a sandwich shop.
So to make a good career assessment,
you need to make sure you are ready for that promotion, especially
when it involves managing other people.
Resume or CV
An important document to have ready
is the right resume or curriculum vitae. This important document not
only gives your prospective employer an overview of your career life
and goals, but the way the document is made can also give a positive
or negative insight to how you are and how you handle situations.
A good resume or CV can get you the
job over someone who is even higher qualified but has a badly
written one. And a bad resume or CV won't get you even invited to
the interview. The sad thing about resumes or CV's is that you only
know you have a good one when you get invited to an interview. You
hardly ever get feedback that it was your resume which was the
reason you weren't invited. So make sure!
Take a sidestep to our Resume or CV
section and compare your enthusiastically but non-essential resume
or CV to a professionally constructed one. For free, if you want
to.
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I want to see if my resume is a killer or a blank. |
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I want to know more about job interviews. |
The right qualifications
This essential subject will keep
coming back throughout our web site. It is important that you have
the skills to do a job right. And even if you don't have all the
qualifications necessary, many jobs are learned on the job
and not before.
But it is very important that you are
aware of your knowledge and skills. You may find out you know much
more than you thought. Or less. But in the search for a promotion it
is advantageous to have the right skills and knowledge before you
apply.
Promotions are often dependent on
skills, certification and experience. Preferably you have all three
and are willing to learn more.
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I want to see if my qualifications are good enough for the
promotion I want. |
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I want to have a look at some job databases to
see if my qualifications are good enough for the promotion I
am seeking. |
More pay, more
responsibility
Not happy with the pay or benefits you get for the
work you do? An excellent reason to seek promotion elsewhere. So
make sure your new job has all the pay and benefits you want, or, at
least, has a short term view to your goals.
If your future employer only mentions more pay
somewhere in the future, get it written in your new employment
contract. You may never see it otherwise. Promises are easily made,
hard to keep.
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I want to know more about pay scales and benefits so I know
what to bargain for when I promote. |
Lateral
promotions and work environments
A lateral promotion? What's that? Simple. A
lateral promotion, also known as a horizontal promotion, is where
you get more pay and responsibility but you do not promote to a
managerial position.
Not everyone is made out to be a manager or a
boss. The difference between being the boss and acting like one is
often misunderstood. In its basics it's very simple:
- When you are the boss you don't have to be
bossy
- Being bossy doesn't make you a boss.
Now that is simple, isn't it? Very. Too many
people think that because they are the boss or manager that they
need to know everything better than the people they manage.
This is wrong. Managing people has to do with the
knowledge of managing people foremost and the skills that these
people hold is secondary to this. Yes, it is good to have been
at the position of some of your "underlings" but a good
understanding of the subject matter is enough. They are best at what
they do, you be best at helping them be their best.
So when you want a promotion but are not
comfortable in having to handle people, and not everyone is suited
for this so do not be ashamed of saying so, there is the lateral
promotion.
The lateral promotion is where, because of your
increased knowledge, skills or experience, you earn more pay but do
not get a managerial position. Many companies have realised over the
past decade that one way to keep their personnel happy is not to
make them supervisor, manager, partner or vice president, but to pay
them better for being good at what they do. It's a simple way of
rewarding - and keeping - valuable employees without putting extra
strain or a new life on them.
So if this is what you're really looking for,
remember to mention it in your resume or curriculum vitae.
Travel issues
Traveling is an important part of work happiness.
Often the lack of having to travel to work provides more happiness.
Commuting is as old as civilisation with entertainment and office -
administration - workers usually having to travel the furthest.
Artisans and tradesmen often lived in or near their place of work.
It is no different today except that commuters now
number in the hundreds of millions worldwide and mass transit is
necessary to get us all to our place of work.
If travel is an issue, whether you want to travel
less or that you want more travel in your new job, make sure that
you are aware of the travel involved in getting there or that extra
- business - travel is needed.
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I am concerned about travel issues, the cost of travel and who
is to pay, and about work environments. |
At this point you should be aware of the possible
issues involved in making a promotion to a new employer. For more
and similar information, please read the page on
Changing Jobs To A New
Employer, which covers certain subjects discussed here in
more detail.
Final word
Make it clear in your actions, your discussions,
in your resume and especially in during your interviews, that it is
a promotion you are seeking, an improvement over your "old" job, and
not a replacement!
Be geared toward getting yourself a better job,
whether it is pay, position, location or environment you're after.
Be focused and it will work.
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