These Five Traits Can Help You Get That Promotion

Whether you're hoping to climb the ladder of success at your current place of employment or looking for advancement opportunities with another firm, your personality plays a major role in the hiring manager's decision. If you have your eye on a promotion, make sure you're displaying these top five helpful traits.

1. Decisiveness

If you're up for a promotion in a supervisory role, hiring managers want to know that you're a decision-maker who can think quickly on your feet. Prove yourself by demonstrating your ability to focus on strategy. Take on leadership roles to hone your skills, and demonstrate your ability to delegate tasks to other team members and provide constructive feedback to your subordinates.

2. Flexibility

Companies want to promote employees who adapt easily, whether to changes in the work environment, variations in staffing, policy revisions or new job duties. Show that you are intelligent by enthusiastically taking on any task that comes your way, and handle adversity with grace. Regardless of how far you have to stretch, however, never compromise your ethics. Demonstrate your integrity by sticking to your morals.

3. Confidence

Showing that you're confident can go a long way when proving your worthiness for a promotion. Even if your skills and experience are limited in one area, you can still play up your value as an employee by showing off those areas where you do excel. Demonstrate your eagerness to take on new challenges, and establish yourself as a self-assured employee with good judgment.

4. Connected

When it comes to getting a promotion, sometimes it really is about who you know. Strive to be a people person, even it means stepping outside of your comfort zone. Be pleasant in your interactions, and maintain professional relationships with superiors, subordinates, colleagues and even clients. When you have strong ties with well-respected professionals in the industry, you can rely on their positive recommendations to carry you far in your quest for a promotion.

5. Efficient

Proving that you're an efficient employee lets the organization know exactly how you add value. Get noticed at your current place of employment by looking for ways to improve business operations. Illustrate how your ideas for speeding up productivity or reducing the use of resources can increase the company's profits. If you're banking on a promotion with an outside firm, research a problem the company is facing, and send a proposal for how to solve the issue.

When it comes to earning a promotion, hard work, dedication and a proven track record pay off, but even the most trustworthy employee may be overlooked if he doesn't have the right personality for the job. Evaluate yourself to determine if you possess the five traits employers look for in promotion candidates.

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