High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to Get That Promotion You Want

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• How to Get That Promotion You Want:"Challenge yourself to list three reasons the responsibilities of the new role are better than your responsibilities now. If you can’t answer this, you have homework to do."

• Uncertainty is a Key to Success: "some of the world’s greatest thought leaders didn’t succeed because they were dead sure that they would; they succeeded because they wouldn’t allow doubt and fear of the unknown to keep them from succeeding. In other words, they embraced uncertainty."

• Why Good Leaders Delegate: "She worried that staffers might be overwhelmed by taking on work she had done, for example, handling the initial phone call with a prospective client."

• How to Make the Best of Failure: "Mentors, coaches and leaders are in a position to teach because they have made the mistakes. Failing their way through is what gave them the wisdom to lead others."
• 5 Questions to Make Sure You Want to Quite Your Job: "It’s easy to underestimate just how tightly the fabric of your daily life is knitted around your job. So, think about what you will lose and how it is likely to affect you."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: The Best Time to Ask for a Promotion

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• Here is the Best Time to Ask for a Promotion: "
  Visier discovered the ideal times, and circumstances, to receive a promotion. 
  If you’re waiting for cooler weather to ask for a promotion, think again. The research showed summer was the best season to ask for one
  ."

• 4 Steps Women Should Take When Considering a Career Transition: "Take stock of your skill set and what sets you apart. Be brutally honest with yourself about what you do well and where you have previously failed. Ask for feedback."

• Why You're Probably Networking Wrong (and what to do instead): "these tools automatically sync your communication history with your contacts across a variety of networks, and remind you when it's about time to reach out and rekindle those relationships."

• Do This One Thing During Vacation to Come Back Recharged: "When we are on vacation and feel some sense of distance from the hustle and bustle of our daily routine, Kadoch says, life feels good again and gives us the chance to come back to work with more energy and focus."
• 4 Things Leaders Bring With Them Every Day: "Humility opens the door to learning. It also allows you to defer to the person with the greatest subject matter expertise and context about the problem so it gets solved the best way possible."

Do These 5 Things After You Get Promoted

Let’s imagine a big day coming up when you receive the exciting news from your manager that you’re being promoted. Congratulations!

Now what do you do?

Don’t let that first day pass by without doing the following five things:

Be grateful. Let your manager know that you are appreciative of the opportunity and the recognition and that you intend to continue to do your best. If you feel like the promotion is overdue resist the urge to mention this. Simply be grateful for the opportunity that you’ve been provided at this moment.

Give thanks. Let your colleagues, friends, and mentors know about your promotion and be sure to thank them for the role they played in developing the skills and knowledge that brought you to this moment. You didn’t succeed alone, and you’ll continue to receive the support of these friends and colleagues if you recognize them for assisting your career.

Work hard. Resist the urge to leave work early to celebrate. Instead, continue to demonstrate your commitment to excellence by working hard while supporting and serving your colleagues as opportunities arise throughout the day. You likely will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment over your promotion, as you should, but do not let it impact your performance on the job.

Update your resume. Yes, you read that correctly. Now is a perfect time to update your resume with your new job title, along with a description of your new responsibilities, as you understand them. You don’t want to wait until moments of crisis in your career to scramble to get your resume updated. Do it now when you feel enthusiastic about your new position. Also, be sure to update your LinkedIn profile.

Celebrate. You definitely deserve to celebrate your accomplishment. Enjoy a night out with friends and family and be grateful for your new opportunity.

Handle your promotion more and there will be more to celebrate in the future.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to Ask for a Promotion

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• How to Ask for a Promotion: "How do you prepare for that conversation with your boss? What information should you have at the ready? And how exactly do you make your case?"

• 6 Tiny Habits That Will Make You Smarter, Confident, and More Productive: "When you're mentally sharp, you're not only growing and evolving at a faster pace in life, but you're also operating with more confidence."

• How to Make Money as a Stay-at-Home Mom: "While the majority of these ideas require computer and internet access, the majority of these suggestions have low to zero startup costs and require little to no additional schooling."

• 3 Valuable Strategies for Practicing Self-Respect: "A sense of self-worth built by and dependent upon the opinions of other people—conditional self-esteem—is a house of cards, liable to collapse at any moment."
• 9 Must-Watch TED Talks That Will Make You a Better Entrepreneur: "If you’re striving for business and personal success, check out these nine popular TED Talks. They’ll provide you with insights and strategies that can help you become a better entrepreneur."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 3 Rules for Turning Stress into Success

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• 3 Rules for Turning Stress into Success: "Always be on the alert for negative situations that can be dangerous to your health, personal safety, financial speculation and emotional relationships."

• How to Handle Conflict at Your Business: "Don’t shy away from conflict. Tackle it as soon as possible before it escalates. Avoiding conflict can be a bad thing. Tension might increase and the conflict can become worse."

• 3 Simple Steps to Boost Productivity Now: "Productivity starts with accountability. The simplest yet most effective way to boost your productivity is to create a to-do list. However, this list has to be treated as a set of attainable goals."

• 11 Productivity Hacks for Work-from-Home Newbies: "The secret to working from home is knowing the best time of day to work. This will ensure that you’re not only productive, but that you can do more quality work."
• A Millennials Guide to Asking for a Promotion: "Understanding the timing, what to present to your supervisor, and creating a plan if it doesn’t pan out is essential."

How to Measure Success in Your Career

It can be discouraging to look around and compare your career standing with that of successful entrepreneurs and career experts touting their accolades and wisdom on social media. You might even be tempted to compare your situation to that of some of your colleagues.

Resist the temptation!

When it comes to your career success you should only look to yourself and measure your success based on the following factors.

Your opportunities to advance or develop in your career. You’ll experience your career as successful if you have opportunities to move up in the company, earn a job promotion, and continue to expand your range of influence. 

 

Your opportunities to develop new skills. A successful career is one that changes and avoids stagnation. It is one where you are able to learn new skills, develop in new areas, and be part of the innovations in your chosen field.

Your opportunities to live a healthy and well-balanced life. A successful career is one in which your career does not prevent you from making healthy choices, getting enough sleep, eating well, spending meaningful time with your family, being physically fit, and enjoying some recreation and leisure time.

Your opportunities to earn a liveable wage. You don’t need to be rich and famous. Resist the desire to base your career success on your paycheck and to compare your things with the things your neighbor owns. Instead focus on ensuring that you can meet your financial obligations and purchase items of value that you need and enjoy.

Your opportunities to live your values. If you are doing meaningful work that is consistent with your values and provides a sense of purpose you will likely feel a sense of deep satisfaction in your work. Strive to find work that brings value to your community and to the world and you will be a success in your career.

When you evaluate your career success don’t focus on status, titles, and salary. Instead, take a look at whether you have opportunities to advance, develop new skills, experience work-life balance, earn enough to live on, and are fulfilling your purpose.

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.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 6 Things Millennials Need to Know About the Modern Workplace

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career and life development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

The video below from Entrepreneur presents six things that millennials should know about the contemporary workplace, including the understanding that promotions and advancing in a career takes patience, hard work, and time.

4 Things to Do Once You've Been Promoted

So, you got the big news: all the hard work has paid off and you've been promoted to that job you've been coveting and working toward for months. Now what? This isn't a time to kick back and relax.

Take the following steps to continue your career momentum:

1. Celebrate and be grateful. Yes, you certainly deserve to celebrate your accomplishment. Enjoy that night out with friends and family and be grateful. And then be grateful every day. You'll want to remember the importance of being thankful on those days you question if you really all the responsibility of this new job.

2. Listen and Learn. Begin to listen to others you'll be working with and for. Hear their frustrations in the job, along with the things they enjoy and the processes that are going well. Begin to understand your role and how you can best support those around you, in addition to considering how to best apply your strengths and knowledge to the new position. Learn as much as you can from others and seek to serve those you work with, particularly those who report to you.

3. Find an ally. Often when a promotion occurs it means that at least one other person you'll work closely with was passed over for the job. These can be tricky situations and so it's important to find someone to discuss issues and concerns with. Find an ally and a mentor to help you move through the transition to your new role, especially in those early months when emotions are raw and everyone is still finding there way around the new structure.

4. Give yourself some slack. You'll make mistakes. That is a given. You'll need to learn how to quickly move on from your mistakes, own them responsibly, and learn from them. Learning from mistakes does not mean that you spend hours dwelling on them in an attempt to get things right. A good leader knows that you need to let your decisions go and move on.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: To Get Promoted, Get Feedback from Your Critics

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• To Get Promoted, Get Feedback from Your Critics: "Find adversaries who are critical, pinpoint specifics, and are nitpicky. But rather than having them point out your deficiencies, ask them to identify your strengths, and show them you’re committed to improving."

• 10 Things Job Seekers Are Tired of Hearing From Family and Friends: "To someone who isn't engaged in the daily slog of a job search, this question can sound innocent, but it can be exhausting to have to explain repeatedly that no, that job didn't come through."

• 5 Things Being a Marine Taught Me About Being an Entrepreneur: "Show up early. Do your homework. Take the extra time to do it right. These are things that are good advice no matter what your profession, but they are especially important when you are running a business."

• 5 Things Freelancers Do to Supercharge Their Careers: "Companies don’t always invest in sending employees to conferences, which is where they can network to advance in their field. (Many that do go are busy representing their company at the event and less focused on making connections to propel their own careers.)"
• 10 Job Skills Veterans are Great For: "LinkedIn analyzed the profiles of 1.1 million veterans in the workforce and found skills that they’re more likely to have compared with average LinkedIn users."

3 Things To Do When You've Been Passed Over For a Promotion

Several years ago I was passed over for a promotion I had been expecting and preparing for over the previous few years. My supervisor had made it clear that she intended for me to replace her.

However, after she left, and I went through the interview process a surprising thing happened. I did not get the promotion.

Unfortunately, my response to getting passed over was not helpful and soon after I left the company for a new position. It turned out to be a bad career and personal decision.

So here are three things you can do differently if you are passed over for a job promotion:

1. Allow yourself to feel ... angry, frustrated, sad, and any other emotion you experience. However, only allow yourself to focus on these feelings for a limited period of time, say 48 hours, and then move on. Dwelling on those feelings will have you experiencing bitterness and make it more difficult for you to make a good decision about the future of your work.

2. Ask, listen, and fully understand. Seek out a meeting with the manager who made the decision about the promotion. Do your best to go into the meeting with an attitude of curiosity and a genuine desire to understand why you did not get the promotion. Listen carefully and say very little. Do not attempt to persuade the manager that he or she made a mistake. Do not attempt to defend yourself against any shortcomings the manager identifies. Leave the meeting on good terms with the manager.

3. Humbly apply what you've learned. If the manager provided you with some specific and concrete ways to improve your performance and develop skills to make you more qualified for a promotion develop a plan to meet the objection identified. If you take a serious approach to dealing with any shortcomings identified you will likely find that another opportunity for a promotion will make itself available.

And then you will be ready for it.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 5 Steps to Get Promoted Faster

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• 5 Steps to Get Promoted Faster: "If you want to get promoted, then associate with those in your field who have been promoted. They’ve done something right. Habits rub off."


• 5 Ways to Amplify the Good Life: "Really think about and visualize what you’re grateful for. If you write down 'my spouse,' for example, remember a great meal or activity you shared together recently."


• A Simple Formula for Changing Our Behavior: "Practicing a new behavior, showing up in a new way, or acting differently, feels inauthentic. Changing a dance that’s been danced many times before will never feel natural."


• How Successful People Keep Track of Their Best Ideas: "I have a seven-second rule in my home ... I have to be able to reach a working pen and notepad or I risk being distracted and forgetting."


• 5 Mistakes to Avoid as an Entrepreneur: "Customers should be treated with honor and respect, but sometimes they are just wrong."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to Network Your Way to a Job Promotion

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• How to Network Your Way to a Job Promotion: "Your goal should be to get your boss to endorse your career advancement plan and actively help you find the next level role."


• 6 Techniques to Connect With Influential People: "Be good to everyone and when you need a connection, you might be surprised who will come to your aid."


• 11 Steps to Happiness at Work: "A key to being happy at work is to let go of grudges."


• The Surprising Truth About Passion, Purpose, and Fulfillment: "Start being in service to yourself by taking care of yourself and start serving others with your talents."


• Avoiding Six Common Job Interview Mistakes: "Your answers should be like concise mini-essays with a clear beginning, middle and end. Too short and it looks like you have little to say, too lengthy and you’ve probably babbled and missed the point."

4 Reasons to Avoid Taking that Promotion Now

You have an opportunity for a promotion and so, of course, you should take it, right? Well, not so fast. There might be several reasons why it's not best to take that promotion at this time.

Let's consider 4 reasons why it's best to avoid taking a promotion now.

1. Stress. That job might sound great on paper and you might like the new title and salary but are you prepared for the additional stress and demands that it will make? If not, you might consider staying out.

2. New colleagues/boss. Let's face it, some teams and areas in a company have a better reputation
than others. Some teams are social and everyone gets along and hangs out together after work. If that's you and you move to a new position with colleagues who barely speak to one another are you going to feel comfortable? Or maybe the new team or supervisor is known for negativity. That might not be a situation you want to put yourself in.

3. Travel. In many companies a move up the ladder requires more significant work travel. Now if you're someone who likes to get away than this might be ideal. But what if you have young children at home or simply prefer to stay around town? The added travel just might bring unwanted stress and anxiety that is not offset by the exciting new career possibilities.

4. New title and increased salary. If the only appeal of the promotion is the opportunity for more income or a more significant title than this might not be the promotion for you.

Before accepting a promotion consider the factors described above to help make a decision that is the best for your career now and into the future.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 3 Tips to Identify Your Life Purpose

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• 3 Tips to Identify Your Life Purpose: "Look for a unifying thread or pattern that's consistent throughout your past experience that's also consistent with your passion and skills."


• How to Follow Your Dreams and Pay the Bills: "Whichever path you end up taking, make sure you make an informed decision and understand the short- and long-term financial implications. Choosing a career for its intrinsic reward is fine – as long as you can repay your debt and cover your bills."


• 5 Habits of People Who Always Get Promoted: "A large part of any business is helping people work together well. Super-employees make that a top priority. They look at relationships as something that’s critical to success in the business."


• You Don't Need a Promotion to Grow at Work: "Expanding your influence through actively mentoring others, building internal communities of practice, or stepping up to represent your organization with external bodies can forge satisfying new frontiers without changing roles."


• 10 Steps to Millennial Financial Success: "The biggest monthly expenses that most millennials have are rent and transportation. Making some sacrifices to keep those bills as low as possible can have a huge impact."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Promote Yourself, Networking, and LinkedIn

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• How to Give Yourself a Promotion: "No matter what your job title is, you can get creative, choose to see your role differently, take on new tasks, and make a huge positive impression on customers, prospects, colleagues, and bosses."


• Simplify Networking: Apply the 70-20-10 Rule: "First of all, we should enter with the right frame of mind - calming our nerves - and approaching networking as a huge conference where we control the invited guests. Secondly, to impose order, we could apply the 70-20-10 rule."


• Simple Techniques to Increase Your Likeability at Work: "Every behavior in a human interaction is a moving toward, neutral, or moving away behavior. A moving toward behavior increases the bond between you and your conversation partner."


• 8 Mistakes You Should Never Make on LinkedIn: "If you leave a networking event with a handful of business cards, intending to follow up on LinkedIn, it’s much harder for you to remember who’s who without pictures. A missing photo can easily lead to missed connections."


• 5 Ways You're Doing Yourself a Disservice on LinkedIn: "The more hits you get on the terms used by recruiters to source candidates, the higher volume of traffic your Profile will receive – and the more likely you are to be contacted for an opportunity." 

Five Skills You Must Develop if You Want to Become a Manager

I have talked to several customers this week who have stable, well-paying jobs in very popular industries. However, no matter how good their job may be, they want to do "more" with their careers. If you are feeling stagnant in your career and want to move forward into a leadership role there are several steps you must take.

The first of these steps is to let your goals become known. Ensure your manager and human resources knows of your aspirations so they can help you develop a plan of action. Show the leadership team of your company that you are serious about your goals by developing your skills in these key areas.

Communication and Listening
No matter how good you are at managing tasks or projects, if you can't communicate effectively with people, you can only go so far in your career. A good manager must be able to interact effectively with all members of their team. You need to be able to communicate with your employees, your customers and your own manager. You must be flexible and adaptable enough to know how to change your own style of communication to connect with everyone at all levels.

Effective managers must emphasize listening as much as talking. No matter how important you become, a manager's job is much more than telling people what to do. The art of listening - both to what is said and what is not - is critical to knowing what is really going on around you.

Training and Coaching
Ask for opportunities to mentor and coach new employees. This is an excellent way to gain experience in training and will allow you to demonstrate that you have the skills to develop new employees - an important skill for being an effective manager. If these opportunities do not exist within your organization, consider joining an professional organization that will match you with someone you can mentor.

Initiative
Taking initiative is another way to demonstrate your value to the organization. Look for inefficiencies or opportunities for improvement in your organization. Put together a comprehensive plan for overcoming these obstacles and ask your manager for permission to present and implement your ideas. Try to anticipate your manager's needs and take care of the details of your current job without ever being asked.

Problem Solving
Managers are most often problem solvers and "firefighters" resolving the issues of customers, team members, and higher leadership. Show your ability to determine the source of issues and be proactive in resolving not only the problem, but the underlying root cause.

Leadership and Management
People often use these words interchangeably, but they are not necessarily the same thing. Managers plan, organize, and coordinate while leaders inspire and motivate people to follow them. Managers focus on the short-term priorities where leaders have their eye on the long-term goals of where the organization is headed next. You must be able to do both - especially in today's economy where companies try to do more with less.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• 5 Daily Rituals to Manage Work Stress: "Try to get up a few minutes earlier than the rest of the household. Upon awakening, take a few deep breaths before beginning your day. Before the TV goes on, or you hit the e-mail, listen to some relaxing music or read an inspirational passage to start your day on a positive note."


• How Your Parents Could Cost You a Promotion: "Find the high-visibility extra duties that get you face time. That face time with the boss is crucial. Go to office parties, even if they're lame. Dress like you already have the job you want. Put your name on everything you do. Volunteer."


• Life's Work 2012: HBR Interviews 10 Intriguing People: "Don't burn bridges, because you just don't know when you're going to need to cross them."


• How Being Obsessed with Football Can Help You Ace Your Next Job Interview: "Work can, however, provide an array of meaningful experiences, even though many employees do not enjoy those in their current job. So, what are the sources of meaningful experiences at work?"


• Why Aren't You Getting Job Interviews: "Hiring managers don't care much that you held a string of jobs; they care what you accomplished there, and your resume needs to show them that."