You’ve been working for a fortune 500 Company for two years. You have informed your boss that you’re interested in a leadership position.
Finally, your boss calls you into the office to make you aware of the upcoming opportunities within your department. Of course, you’re enthused that your boss mentioned this to you, which usually means he/she considers you as a possible candidate. Remember, this does not guarantee you anything not even an interview. However, there are steps you can take to increase your chances of promotion.
Ensure that you keep the information that you received quiet. Often in office politics if you’re told something in private the leadership team may want to see if you can uphold discretion (Possibly just your manager). If you socialize with your coworkers specifically in your office you must cease or at the very least limit that behavior immediately. That doesn’t mean you have to be rude but limit conversations as much as possible. If you don’t there is a possibility you won’t be promoted because “you have too many friends in the department.” The management team will think you’ll have a difficult time invoking disciplinary actions, when necessary. It will be difficult and a bit uncomfortable at first but it will all fall into place.
Be sure to volunteer to take on projects or extra work. Volunteering your assistance indicates that you have the willingness to help and you can handle multiple tasks. When you become a manager you’ll never just have one thing to do. There always seems to be some sort of “To do list” for managers which, does not include the contingent work that appears in addition to your list, almost on a daily basis. Keep your personal opinions especially regarding topics that are non-work related to yourself! It doesn’t matter who started the conversation, you don’t want to give anyone a reason to prevent you from being promoted or at the very least getting an interview.
Be sure that your social media sites do not have your work information linked to any of your profiles. If you are friends with any of your peers on social media make sure you limit what they can view or what they can access on the site. These steps may seem drastic or harsh but these are things you would want to do once you’re promoted anyway so, think of this as a head start.
Update your resume and cover letter. It’s a good idea to have your newly updated resume and cover letter available via email as well as hard copies on resume paper. Search for interview tips and review your company’s vision, mission statements, and core values. Usually, company websites provide guides on what to expect during an interview and also provide other preparation documentation. Be positive, polite, and confident.
Good luck on your transition into leadership.
These all sound like good tips, but one of your tips makes me wonder about office friendships. You could probably write another posts about it. You mention not telling coworkers (even the ones you socialize with) and limiting access to peers and friends at work via social media. Do you think it’s possible to maintain work friendships? Just curious on your thoughts.
I do think it’s possible to maintain friendships it really depends upon your work culture/environment and the person. You know who your friends are and you know the people that you just socialize with. So, I would suggest telling your friend or friends when you’re outside of work and let them knoe that things may be a little different due to the goals you’re trying to reach.