Every year we all look forward to being elevated in our positions at work, as we seek to not just grow in rank and file but also in terms of personal growth, whether career-wise or financially.

Being promoted is not something that comes out of the blue. You have to be intentional and focused about it. If 2022 is the year you are looking for that promotion or upgrade at work, here are a few tips that can get you there.

Earn it

First of all, according to the Harvard Business Review, a promotion at work is easily earned when you stay the course and ensure that you plan and reflect on where you want to be and work towards getting there.

The first thing you need to do is to draw a roadmap for the year, towards where you want to be and stick to it. It is important to have a direction of where you want to be and specialize in that area. In doing so, you are likely to excel and your efforts noticed, thereby earning your befitting promotion.

Relevant experience

Experience matters a lot if you are looking for a promotion. Do something very well and excel at it and that is one way to position yourself for an elevation.

You must be prepared physically and mentally for the position you are targeting. This might mean showing the physical and mental ability to carry out a job. This also means that you should be qualified with relevant training and education.

Have a checklist of things you need to do to merit your targeted position and tick them off, one by one. In doing so, keep your options open because it is not necessarily your current employer that will notice.

When you have on-demand skills, your promotion could actually come from somewhere else- a competitor, a corporate entity or other employers who seek certain skills to do certain things.

Enroll for training, short courses, including online, read and research extensively about the position you are vying for and what it requires.

Be realistic

Sometimes we tend to overrate ourselves and believe we deserve a certain position because we do this and that. Often, we don’t even know what the employer is looking at but we choose to rate ourselves as the best.

To successfully earn a position or work towards one, you must be realistic to yourself and set achievable goals. Be flexible and don’t set unrealistic goals for yourself and in the end be frustrated.

Consider existing conditions

Many a time we seek or expect promotions or other work-related perks but realistically we don’t look at existing conditions to know if what we aspire for is possible or not.

For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, many companies struggled as business came to a standstill and many chose to put everything work or staff-related on hold to focus on just survival.

Normally, when we expect something, we tend not to consider whether existing conditions are favourable for us to achieve that.

How do you expect a company to promote you when they are struggling to stay afloat? Again, this goes to being realistic in our expectations.

Don’t be surprised if an employer decides to lay you off if you become a burden due to your expectations. Think of getting a sack instead of a promotion!

Stay focused on current job, have fun

Most times we tend to lose focus on what we have while concentrating on what we don’t have. Your current job or position is very key to your promotion. Focus on your current job, excel at it and it will open the door for the next opportunity.

It is very important to have fun in your current position and execute your duties with passion. Sulking and looking demotivated because you are tired of your current position could actually block your next opportunity. Good luck!