If you’ve been toiling away in your current role for a fair few years now, you might be looking to take the next leap up the career ladder. Securing a promotion can be a tricky beast to slay especially if you’ve not had an interview for a while, you’re a tad rusty on application forms, or you haven’t undertaken any professional development for some time. Before you even consider applying for any new role, you need to make sure you stand the best chance of being viewed as a viable candidate. Competition for jobs is fierce, and you need to do everything in your power to ensure you stand head and shoulders above your rivals. Take a look at these three easy ways to secure that all-important promotion.
Secure the skills
It doesn’t matter how long you have been working in the marketing department of your company, if you have no experience of managing even the smallest group of people or you don’t have the relevant institute memberships, you won’t stand a chance of moving into a managerial position. Make a list of all the things you need to see on your CV to progress to the next tier in your career and then spend the next six months trying to achieve them. You may need to become a master lean practitioner, enrol on an MBA or complete some software specific training. Obtaining the skills and qualifications you need will ensure that anybody looking at your CV will shortlist your application.
Confidence
Everyone is nervous when they apply for a new role and secure that elusive interview. If you haven’t had the pleasure of partaking in a formal interview for a few years, it might be a good idea to have a mock one. This can ease your nerves and get you familiar with the process. You need to dress the part – a pencil skirt, modest dress, a blazer and a pair of power shoes can give you that all-important confidence boost. If you can hold down your nerves and put forward an air of confidence, you will be a strong candidate.
The interview itself
The tendency to waffle and go off on a tangent is all too real when you are in a formal interview setting. Some questions may have multiple parts to answer, and it can be hard to keep track when your brain is whirring at a hundred miles an hour. Take in a notepad and write down key parts to the questions. Formulate your answers using a STAR approach, focusing on the Situation, Task, Action and Result of any scenario. This will keep your answers nuanced and concise rather than long, waffly and irrelevant. Remember to shake the interviewers’ hands, smile and try to enjoy the experience.
It can be difficult putting yourself out there once again in a professional sense after so many years in the same job. However, with the right preparation, determination and skill set, you can secure that all-important promotion.