When you want to move up to the next level of responsibility, spend time with yourself mustering courage and self-confidence.
Follow these steps to freedom from the entry-level rut:

Prepare two advancement-value files to record your qualifications that merit advancement.
Use the first one to store documentation of newly acquired skills, knowledge and experience.
Stumped? Stimulate recognition by glancing over listings of skills found in many career-advancement books.

Create a second advancement-value file of your accomplishments and positive performance reviews or verbal compliments from peers, customers and supervisors. These files document your ability to do the quality of work required in a higher-level position.

Working from job descriptions and interviews with people who do the job you want, create a document that compares the content of your two advancement-value files with the requirements of the position you want.

Anticipate how you will plug any gaps you discover with training or self-study.

Find a friend who is willing to suffer through your negotiating practice sessions using your advancement comparison document and give you feedback. If management won't let you do the job you want immediately, be able, at least, to "talk the job" so your name will pop to mind when a vacancy occurs.

The next step in your pursuit of promotion is to identify role models in your company who have been moved up to the level of the position you want. Observe and ask questions. Pay attention to how they...

• get attention
• network
• involve themselves in decision-making
• forward ideas and suggestions
• showcase skills
• handle stress
• reflect company goals
• dress, speak, and behave
• implement a work ethic
• show a good attitude
• communicate and listen

Back off a few degrees from copycatting, but it makes sense to pattern yourself in the winning directions.
Dress the part
Show enthusiasm
Get trained
Proactively measure your performance
Don’t be a quitter


Dress the part
If you want to get ahead in an organisation, dress as if you work at the level you hope to reach next. This is not always possible, but at the very least be clean and presentable. Wear clothes that fit well and look good on you. Copy the clothing styles of others in the organisation who are successful. Even when your co-workers see you away from work, present the image you want for yourself at work.
Another good tip is to get to work early each day. Use this time to list what you plan to get done that day. At the end of the day, leave at least a few minutes after quitting time. Let the boss know that you are willing to stay late to meet an important deadline. If you do stay late, let the boss know! Some employers may not want you to work beyond your regular hours. They fear problems with governmental agencies that may force them to pay overtime wages. If this is so, do what your employer wants you to do, but make it clear that you are willing to help in any way needed.

Show enthusiasm

Go out of your way to find ways to enjoy your job. Tell others what you like about it, particularly those you work with. Emphasise those parts of your job that you like to do and do well. Share this enthusiasm even in conversations with your friends. Go out of your way to tell your supervisor what you like about your job. This will help you focus on the parts of your job you do best and want to develop. It also will help others notice that you do those things well.
Be willing to take on more responsibility. Let the boss know you want to move up. As soon as you begin a new job, look for ways to learn new things. Volunteer to help out in ways you feel will make you more valuable to the organisation. And ask for advice about what you can do to be more valuable to the organisation.
In your first week on the job, ask your supervisor to see you for about thirty minutes of private time. When you have his or her attention, say that you want to be more valuable to the organisation. Ask what you can do to get a raise within a reasonable amount of time. Request special assignments to help develop your skills. Before you leave, ask for a specific future date to go over your progress. Make sure you know what you have to do to get the raise. Ask the boss to give you feedback on your progress from time to time.

Get trained

Get as much training as possible! Take any training that is available from your employer. Even if it is not in your area of responsibility, it may help you gain new skills in other areas. Define what training you need to do your job better. If it is not available through your employer, explain to your supervisor how the training will help the organisation. Ask for help in finding the best training source.
Decide what you need to learn to get ahead-or to get the job you want. Take evening classes. Instead of watching TV at home, read books and magazines on related subjects. Stay up with what is going on in your field.
Computer skills and the use of new technologies are very important. If your job does not require you to develop these skills, it is most important that you go out and learn them outside of your job. Then look for ways to use these new technologies and skills in your present job.

Proactively measure your performance

You won't get much positive attention unless you do more than is expected of you. Look for projects you think you can do well, and would benefit the organisation in some clear way. Don't promise too much, and keep a low profile while you do the work. If no one expects too much, it is easier to be seen as successful, even if your results are not as good as you had hoped.
Look for some way to measure the results of your work. Keep records of what you do. Compare your results to past performance or the average performance of others in similar situations. If your results look good, send a report to your supervisor. For example, if the number of orders went up 40 percent over the same month last year with no increase in staff, that's a big accomplishment.
Monitor your influence on:

• Money saved
• Percent of increased sales
• Number of persons served
• Number of units processed
• Size of budget

Don’t be a quitter

Sometimes a job just doesn't work out. Maybe you feel that you won't get ahead there. It is often better to begin looking for another job than to allow yourself to get negative. But ask for a job change within the organisation before you give up. Or be more assertive in asking your boss for more responsibility or different assignments.
If you do decide to leave, begin looking for a job but don't share this with co-workers. Make every effort to do your job and be positive. When you find another job, give thirty days notice if at all possible. Remember that your next employer will want to contact your previous ones, so do be as friendly and as productive as possible in your final days.