Did you get the promotion you wanted? Now what?

Some people seem to be on a fast track in their career, collecting promotions at work and taking up greater responsibilities at a pace that most people can just dream of. When you look at them going from the sidelines, it seems that they must have found some secret formula of skills, connections, mindset and pure luck to pull off their quick ascend towards the top. And you are not so far away from the truth. There is definitely something going on with these high achievers that enables them to pull of these feats and secure their quick promotions: They actually know how to get promoted fast.

Here are some reasons why people are able to accelerate their careers:

• They know how to get promoted and have a plan for it
• They have made a clear commitment to advance their careers
• They take full ownership of their work and deliver great results
• They are always looking at the bigger picture
• They are always looking for growth and improvement
• They are constantly gathering more responsibilities
• They lead with their actions and set an example– even if they do not have a title for it
• They get connected
• They are constantly preparing themselves
• They will make the hard decisions and take decisive actions to get promoted

Promotions are not given – they are most often taken by those who know what they are doing and have prepared for them. This is a reason why those who are committed and know what they are doing have a huge advantage over everyone else. They are taking responsibility and initiative into their own hands while everyone else is waiting around, doing their jobs well, and just hoping to get a promotion at work some day for their efforts. There is no saying, that people would not get promoted without all of the above, as they surely are. However, these are things that the top achievers are putting together to advance their careers and get promotions at work with speeds that are sometimes hard to understand for colleagues watching them go. These people are simply doing everything they can to create undeniable reasons for their promotion and thus usually end up standing out as top candidates for every viable promotion opportunity.

Knowing how to prepare for promotions, how to ask for a promotion and how to get promoted at work in general are essential parts of your career management skills and should be given enough consideration if you want to advance your career as quickly and efficiently as possible.