Why now is the time to start thinking about your promotion

Some thoughts on why now is a good time to develop your career and look towards that next promotion.

Happy in your job? Whichever way you answer this question you should be thinking about your next promotion. If you are happy with what you are doing it means that you are confident in what you do and this could be the means to the next step up. If you are not happy but like the Company you are working for then perhaps a promotion within the same department or to another department may be what is needed to satisfy your career needs.

It is not wrong to be looking for your next upwards career move even if you have just secured the job you are doing. Most promotions require a degree of experience and also may need some additional training or the acquisition of extra skill sets. by deciding that now is the right time to think about that next promotion you are taking the first step in working towards it. The longer you take to decide that now is the right time, the longer it takes to put a plan in place to secure that next promotion.

The first thing you need to do is design a PDP or personal development plan. Larger Companies with a good middle Management structure put PDPs in place for employees as a matter of course and work on these within monthly and annual appraisals. However, if you are not part of such a programme there is nothing stopping you designing your own PDP.

You should write down your PDP as a written plan does several things for you. Firstly, by writing down your plan it helps to fix the desire and the need into your mind. Also, writing down your plan also helps you to see the structure of what you need to do. You can then start to put timescale expectations into your plan taking into account availability of training courses, their start date and duration.

Work with your Manager as they will be able to help you find courses and they can then have you allocated to these courses, building attendance into the workload of the department you work within. A good Manager will encourage you in this as your success reflects upon their Management ability.

If your Company has a training department, contact them as they will be able to supply a list of courses and will also help you with your PDP.

So yes, now is the time to start thinking about that next promotion as the longer you wait to decide, the longer it will be before you can put a plan in place to make your next promotion a reality. In addition, a good Company recognises ambition, so your ambition will be noticed and this will enhance your standing within the Company you work for.