Cody - The Corporate Cynic

Cody - The Corporate Cynic
Being Cautious is Being a Cynic

Monday, February 4, 2008

Finding The Right Channel To Acquire New Skills To Get Promoted


Think about yourself as a spare tire and your company as a car. To get yourself promoted out of the trunk to being attached to the axle, you need to have a better rim, well-defined threads, and unqualified conformity with the terrain that the vehicle you are attached to is traveling on. The most important ace-up-your-sleeve when aspiring for promotion is to be on the cutting edge of the industry or the function that you are presently holding. And there is no other way of doing this than acquiring new skills every chance you get.


Indeed in today's tightly competitive corporate environment, being good at what you are currently doing isn't enough to get you up the corporate ladder. Always remember that getting to the top means more tasks and responsibilities; therefore, you need to continuously learn new skills so that you're prepared and more preferable for that office in the corner than the common cubicle. So just where and how will you seek to learn new skills to get promoted?


Sign Up For Volunteer Work


So you have been working on the same job for so many years and all you can do is file reports alphabetically and chronologically. In short, you aren't learning new skills on the job and therefore you have no added value for the company. The best thing that you can do to seek out new skills is to sign up for volunteer work. Most non-profit organizations, like religious chapters and homeowners' associations among others, are more than willing to welcome you into their fold; while filling in volunteer work, you have a better opportunity of learning new skills which you can apply at work to impress your boss.


Sign Up For Substitute Roles


If you have extra time, you can apply for substitute responsibilities within or outside your company. Filling up other's shoes can greatly enhance your learning capacity. As you are exposed to different tasks, you leverage your search for new skills by expanding your experience in other functions.


Sign Up For Classes


Schools are the best source for new skills; it is their job to impart knowledge and to keep abreast with what is new in the corporate environment. Attending continuing education programs in schools will provide you not only with new skills but a wider network of other professionals as well. While you don't necessarily need to get a second Bachelor's degree, short courses or programs offered by schools will definitely add value to you as an employee aspiring for a promotion.


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