How to Get Noticed at Work For a Promotion

You’ve arrived at this article today because you refuse to be static in your career. You are eager to take on more responsibilities. You want to operate using your full potential. If this sounds like you, it’s time to pursue a promotion. 

To set yourself up for a promotion, you need the approval of your peers and superiors. Drawing attention to your professional achievements can be challenging, regardless if you work remotely or not. To help your cause, the team at SnagAJob has researched and curated three super easy-to-implement strategies to help you get noticed at work. 

Behavioral Habits That Will Get You Noticed at Work

If you want to get noticed, you need to make lasting impressions. The first and easiest way to get noticed at work is through a behavioral approach: model outstanding character. Below are six effective traits that will grab the attention of your peers and supervisors. 

Be Honest

Honesty in the workplace is essential. Healthy, productive teams thrive on honesty to build trust, create safe spaces for collaboration, and make room for personal growth. Here are several ways you can demonstrate your genuine character at work.  

Be sincere. We usually save our bluntness and honesty for those closest to us. It can be a challenge to be sincere at work because you may not know your co-workers as intimately as your friends and family. You don’t want to hurt their feelings or make them uncomfortable.It is possible to be honest at work without offending your peers. To do this, really listen to what people are saying. Try to understand their perspective. If you don’t understand where they’re coming from, ask questions to clarify. 

Don’t respond by telling them what you think they want to hear. If your co-workers suspect you of being indifferent or inattentive, they will avoid you and you will thwart your chances for receiving a  higher-level role. Instead, give an honest, respectful response. Address your co-worker’s main points before addressing your opinions.

Own your mistakes. Successful professionals are well aware of their pitfalls. Rectify your mistakes as soon as you notice them. If you make a social blunder, apologize as soon as possible. Whichever offense you do, make sure you always make amends in person and in writing.

Being open about discussing your mistakes may feel uncomfortable, but it’s best to deal with these matters quickly. If you let your faults go unattended, they may turn into bigger problems that could hurt others or make work harder for yourself and others. 

Work with integrity. Demonstrate your solid work ethic by doing your best in everything you do. Don’t slack on your projects or assignments. Own your moral code and don’t let anyone or anything compromise it. Your peers appreciate your strong character and unwavering values, even if they disagree with you.

Be Humble 

If you wish to assume a position with more responsibility, you need to exercise your humility. Humility will give you the patience you need to be thoughtful, as well as the grace you need to lead a cohesive team.

Admit when you don’t know. Leaders should be confident in their skills, abilities, and limitations. If you want to show you’re ready for a promotion, don’t stress about not knowing the answer to every problem that comes your way. Successful leaders know when to take a step back, reassess the situation, and get help from an expert. 

Acknowledge your failures. Highlighting your failures isn’t an automatic response when we reflect on our success. But excellence does not come without effort. Failures and mishaps will be a normal part of your professional career. Use them to your advantage; use them as teachable moments for yourself and others. 

Welcome feedback. Wherever you are in your career, there is always room for improvement. Great leaders receive and apply feedback graciously. We recommend regularly asking your teammates and managers to assess your performance. This does not need to be a formal matter. You can casually ask for their opinions about your performance as a co-worker and how you can improve your collaboration.

Seek growth. There is always the opportunity to learn and grow. Expand your professional skills and broaden your horizons as an individual by taking courses, trying new hobbies, and going out of your comfort zone. 

Be Reliable

Reliability is the cornerstone of leadership and senior roles. You can signal your promotion readiness by practicing the following habits in reliability.  

Be punctual. Punctuality is more than showing up on time. A habit of timeliness is a reflection of how you value time for yourself and others. Furthermore, consistency is a cornerstone component of higher-level roles. Your manager will notice if you maintain a consistent clock-in and clock-out routine. 

Deliver on deadlines. Meeting deadlines signals to others that you are focused and driven. If you want to show others they can depend on you, be proactive. Don’t slack on your responsibilities. Instead, complete each task promptly and thoroughly. 

If you set out to complete a task by a certain date, see it through. If you run into an obstacle along the way that prevents you from completing it on time, reevaluate your strategy. Get the help you need, alert anyone who depends on you about the extension, and finish strong. 

Be a source of support. You need to learn how to listen to and accommodate others if your goal is to assume a more senior role. Become a source of support for your peers by offering your time to talk or your skills to problem-solve. Be receptive to try new things, even if you’re opposed to them initially. Your willingness to try new things will let others know you are fair, open-minded, and non-judgemental.   

Build Rapport

You should know a lot about the people you work with if you aim to get a promotion. Becoming familiar with more people at work will give you a better idea of the company culture. Being in tune with your company culture is vital in higher-level roles because you need to be aware of the diversity in backgrounds and ideas in your company. Knowing more about the diverse individuals in your workplace will help you better understand how to collaborate and utilize the resources available to help the company succeed.

Get to know your co-workers. Get to know your co-workers on a deeper level by listening to their ideas. You will gain their respect and trust if you show you are interested in their success and individuality. To do this, pick their brains on different subjects. Ask for their opinions on work-related and non-work-related topics. Learn about their hobbies and interests outside of work. 

Note that it’s a good idea to connect with co-workers in other teams and departments. Socializing with more people at work will increase your support network and increase your popularity within the company. 

Be Positive

Optimism is contagious and good for everyone in the workplace. Your workmates will remember you if you maintain a positive attitude. A cheery demeanor will uplift the people around you. Demonstrate your excellent leadership skills by attracting others with an optimistic aura while encouraging them to be determined and resilient. 

Be Original 

Your co-workers will look forward to your presence if you enliven their day with out-of-the-box thinking. Invite imagination and creativity on your team by trying different problem-solving approaches. Your courage to stand out will inspire others to be their authentic selves and at their unique flair to the workplace.  

Work Ethic Habits That Will Get You Noticed For a Promotion

The next approach for standing out at work has to do with your work ethic. If you’re out of ideas on what kind of work to do to get you noticed, we’ve got a few for you. 

Speak Up During Meetings

Company and team meetings are the perfect time to share your intellect and motivation with others. To leverage meetings for a promotion, plan your ideas and questions. This may mean performing research and organizing materials beforehand. 

Coming to meetings with pre-planned topics and resources will show your co-workers you want to take advantage of your time together. Demonstrate your desire to solve problems efficiently by raising your concerns, proposing solutions, and asking thoughtful questions.  

Work on Interesting and Useful Projects

Show you are ready for more responsibilities with a personal project. Take the initiative to improve your workplace by embarking on projects that interest you. Your self-direction will impress your supervisors and co-workers alike. Here are several ideas for starting a project today. 

Tackle a long-standing problem. On every team, there are usually a few large tasks that no one wants to do. These problems are often time-consuming, research-heavy, or mentally exhausting. Use these unpopular problems as an opportunity to model your resolve. You can be an example and show your workmates that issues should be dealt with and not swept under the rug.

Find simpler solutions to existing processes. Chances are there are several complicated processes at work. They may waste resources, take too much time, or cause confusion. If there’s a procedure that bothers you, think about how you can simplify it. The solution may be something as obvious as changing around the people, time, or tools used to complete the job. Share your improvised method with others. If your method has measurable results, record and shares them with your supervisors. 

Invite others to join your project. Starting a project that interests others is a fantastic way to distinguish yourself for a promotion. Persuading others to participate in your project is a great way to evidence your persuasion, reasoning, and planning skills. 

Attract others to collaborate with you by telling them how a current problem hinders their productivity. You can convince them to join your mission by telling them how your solution will not only enable better productivity but multiply job satisfaction. 

Pitch your ideas to your manager first. While it’s fun to surprise everyone with an improvement, it may not serve your efforts to get promoted. If anything, it may raise your manager’s and co-workers’ expectations for you to perform higher without an increase in pay or position. 

Before you start any work on a self-directed project, tell your manager about it. Ask for their input; they might have some really useful tips or resources for you. 

Organize Team Events

Show others your desire to strengthen your company’s culture and talents by organizing team-building events. Schedule cultural team-building events like ice cream socials, cooperative games, recreational classes, and off-site community events. You can foster talent team-building events by hosting lunch-and-learns, taking courses together, and having innovation parties. 

Be proactive and persistent with planning your event. Send out company emails, print and post fliers, create calendar events, and talk to your co-workers about your upcoming event. A successful event is one with high attendance and happy co-workers. To get yourself noticed, aim for an event that will leave your co-workers feeling refreshed and excited for the next thing you plan. 

Ask For Client Feedback

Client reviews are a clever way to show off your promotion-readiness to your superiors. Whenever you serve a satisfied client, ask them to leave a positive review. A written review is best because you can present them during a meeting with your supervisor, but verbal reviews work just as well. 

Become an Expert

It’s ok to be competitive at work; it shows you care about your performance and the company’s success. Find something at work you are good at and strive to become the best at it. You are likely to get promoted if people recognize or reference you as the go-to person for a particular problem. 

The Best Way to Get Noticed at Work For a Promotion

All of the above actions are excellent ways to make others aware of your usefulness at work. But if you want a promotion, there’s only one thing you can do to get that process started. 

Be Your Advocate

If you want a promotion, you need to be your number-one advocate. You can work as hard as you can, solve one hundred problems, or coordinate team-building activities every Monday and still be overlooked. No one can ever know your intentions, so be straightforward in your efforts to earn a promotion. 

Let your co-workers know you want a promotion. Talk to your co-workers if you feel you deserve a raise. Share your efforts and goals with them. Letting them know you aspire to achieve a higher position will allow them to reflect on your work ethic. After giving them time to observe your hard work, they will be supportive and respectful of your promotional pursuits. Who knows, they may even want you to become their superior. 

Let your manager know you’re working towards a promotion. Don’t let your manager assume you are content with where you are in your career. Set the expectation that you intend to earn a promotion. During your one-on-one meetings, discuss your career goals and ask them for their input. They know the requirements for the role you’re pursuing and can give you information on how to achieve the results you want. Don’t forget to celebrate and discuss your achievements with them so they don’t forget what you’re working towards.

Get in Motion For a Promotion

Take control of your professional path today. If you follow this guide, a promotion is closer in reach than you think.