Scaling Your Way Up The Corporate Ladder February 15, 2017My BusinessOff

Climbing the corporate ladder is no easy task. Those eager to be a leader may prefer to opt for self-employment. However, self-employment also comes with drawbacks – from having to market oneself, manage one’s own taxes and pay insurance schemes. All of this is handled for you when working in a corporate environment. However, you also must work your way from the bottom in order to get to the top, which can be a tough and long ride. In order to fast-track your way to the top, here is what you will need to do.

Do your homework. Getting to the top of the corporate ladder involves thoroughly understanding the inner workings of that company. From here you can start to work your way up by finding faults and working intuitively to fix them (the next point). Research the company you’re working for through customer reviews, advice blogs and vlogs and previous media coverage. Find out when the company was started and how it grew to become the company it is today.

Whilst researching you may find things you don’t like about that particular company. Take action to try and change these or find another company elsewhere if you don’t like the company. Having a passion for the job and its ideals is important before you can make any plans to climb the ladder.

Think intuitively. By finding problems and solving them independently you will start to earn recognition from superiors. This is something you can do at any position on the career ladder. Not thinking intuitively will lead employers to think that you are coasting and will assume them to think that you aren’t motivated and don’t want a promotion. Going the extra miles to impress those higher than you will show you are keen for more responsibility.

Get educated. Whichever profession you find yourself in, there may be extra courses that you can do to fast-track your way to the top. For example, if you’re a nurse, a RN-BSN degree could help you take on more leadership roles. If you’re a teacher, a school leadership course could help improve your chances of becoming head of department. If you work in marketing, a SEO course might allow you to create a new role for yourself and help expand the business that you’re working for. Find the course that will excel your skill set and ask your employer if you can take time off to pursue it (some can be completed online in your spare time).

Work all hours. When trying to earn yourself a promotion, putting in the extra hours can show management that you’re passionate about making it to the next level. Voluntarily ask to work extra shifts to help complete a project or get a task done. If you’re eager to get out of the door at the end of the day, this shows your employer you’re not passionate about the job (it also proves to you that this job isn’t worth climbing the ladder for).

Dress for success. How you compose yourself for work can have a great impression on how motivated you come across to your employers. Make sure you’re abiding by the dress code and make an effort to iron your shirt and polish your shoes. Even if you haven’t got a strict uniform, there are many methods of dressing for success.

Get to know your boss. Whilst you shouldn’t have to suck up to your boss, befriending them could lead them to have a greater interest in you. As well as doing what your boss commands, ask your boss what other jobs you can be doing. Try to understand the business they are running – their company goals and concerns, and try to address these. Your boss will gradually put more trust in you and give you more responsibilities.

Be a team player. In some careers such as sales, climbing the ranks can be competitive. However, in many professions where teamwork is required, it’s not important not to let your own goals get in the way of your relationship with your colleagues. If you try to make other colleagues look bad to increase your chances of promotion or if you boss others around and create disharmony, good management will pick up on this and not consider you for a higher position. A good manager encourages harmony and allows individuals to play to their strengths. In essence, don’t try to appeal purely to your boss, but also try to appeal to your co-workers, as they are the ones you will be managing after all once you step onto the next rung.

Photo by Ienetstan | Shutterstock

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