To Advance in Your Career Get to Know These Four People in Your Company

So, you got that new job and you're trying to better navigate the landscape and culture in order to set yourself up for success and a future promotion. There are a few people you'll want to get to know ... in addition to your boss and close colleagues and co-workers.

Take some time and set up meetings with the following people in your place of business. Go in with humility and curiosity to learn as much as you can and to be of service.

Your boss's boss. You want to understand how your company works, what the new initiatives are, who are your biggest competitors, and what are some of the biggest challenges to success, and developing a relationship with your boss's boss is a great way to gain some of this knowledge, while also demonstrating your knowledge, skills, and commitment to an important decision-maker and influencer.

Your Human Resources representative. Get to know how your Human Resources department works, how promotions are handled, and how and when they post new jobs by meeting your representative in the department. When you have a good relationship with your with HR you can be on the inside track for new job postings, and get detailed information about what skills a hiring manager is looking for. You also place yourself in a position to be first in mind when a position opens that you might be qualified for.

Your intern. Be sure to become a helpful resource to interns in your company. As they leave and take on jobs elsewhere they help to expand your network and can be an excellent source of information and resource about your industry. In addition, interns often have exit interviews with managers and HR and if they comment on your assistance during their time at the company this reflects positively on you to the leadership in your company.

Your IT support person. Things often go wrong when it comes to technology and by getting to know your tech support team you can often bypass some of the red tape and bureaucracy that can often come with getting help through the official channels. You can also get some patient hands-on training and instruction in some of the new technology that becomes part of your new processes and the quicker you become skilled at new technology the better off your prospects for promotion.

No matter how far along you are in your career you can benefit from getting to know the individuals in the four roles described above.