How to get yourself promoted in marketing

Ambitious marketers will have their eye on promotion opportunities from day one in a new job. Others – perhaps the more realistic in the marketing world – will realise that much must be proved to the marketing director before the career ladder can be climbed.

These days promotions are not a given. It used to be that marketing professionals progressed along specific career paths during their careers, but the impact of technology, globalisation, and flatter organisational structures, has taken away that guarantee.

It’s more likely today for employees to be managing their own career paths and that means creating your own opportunities to progress. It also means that moving up the marketing career ladder will require jobs across several different companies. In today’s tough business environment you may need to make a lateral move to position yourself for a later upward move.

Here are ten ways to put your career progression into action:

1. Actively develop influential relationships

One recent study found that in four out of five promotions, those promoted had a mentoring relationship with someone higher in the company who helped by advocating their skills and abilities. You might get some internal help with this as some large companies have formal mentoring programmes. However if your company does not, there are still ways you can build relationships with people in higher positions in the company. Mentors can also be great sources for information and career guidance.

2. Practice self-promotion

If no-one knows how great you are, you simply won’t get ahead. So it makes sense to actively promote yourself and become a known quantity. If you have had major accomplishments or created new or award-winning campaigns, make sure influential people within the company know about them. This means you must sell yourself – starting with letting it be known that you are seeking a promotion. This could take the form of regular informal chats with your boss, well planned out discussions in appraisals and meetings, or even a regular email to your line manager of the marketing director with updates on your achievements.

3. Quantify results of your work

Promotions are not necessarily based on your past performance, but you can certainly make a much better case for a promotion by showing detailed information about your past and ongoing successes. In marketing it is easy to quantify results – so make sure you are tracking the success of your campaigns – whether they be email shots, social media marketing projects, event marketing or brand advertising. Ideas count in marketing, so make sure no-one else in the team is stealing your thunder! Don’t let your personal achievements get lost in the overall ebb and flow of the marketing department.

4. Establish a genuine bond with your boss

It will be wise to use professional settings to seek advice from your boss, show you want to get more involved in the company, and stress your interest in staying with a particular brand. Use performance appraisals not just to go over your accomplishments, but to talk with your boss about potential roadblocks to a promotion, and how to overcome those roadblocks.

It’s always worthwhile being as friendly as possible with the boss, for instance discussing common interests when the opportunity arises. Don’t go too far and become irritating though!

5. Build the relevant knowledge and skills

It goes without saying that one of the best ways to succeed in getting a promotion within marketing is to expand your knowledge and skills sets in areas that are critical to the organisation. As technology and other environmental forces change rapidly, you need an ever-increasing skill set not only to perform your job, but to stay marketable. Become an expert in social media if this will help the company, for example. Attend conferences so that you are fully engaged in the industry your product or service is a part of. Understand the latest marketing techniques as they come through.

Experts also suggest that employees who want to get ahead should not only keep current with industry news and events, but to also pay attention to trends and events outside their speciality.

6. Extend your network

The more people who know you, and appreciate your strengths and abilities, know your value to the organisation, and recognize your ambitions, the more likely your name will be discussed when opportunities arise. You can use social media here, though be careful not to look as though you are job-hunting beyond your employer.

A key benefit of internal networking is that you will learn much more about the company if you network with people in other areas of the business.

7. Ask to have your responsibilities broadened

Volunteering to help out other departments or teams or simply asking for more responsibilities certainly increases your value within the organisation. Asking for more work shows your interest and desire to help your department and company to succeed.

8. Act like a manager before you are one

Earn a reputation for being dependable, professional, and cooperative. If you look like manager material you are more likely to be considered for management posts that come up. If it helps, volunteer to do presentations that are unpopular, speak at events or take on extra projects. So try and dress professionally, take the initiative whenever you can. Don’t get yourself a reputation as a clock watcher of someone who always complains. It will help to have a positive outlook and a ‘can do’ attitude even when times in the office are challenging.

Try in particular to be a problem-solver. If a difficult situation arises, be sure to come up with at least one solution before seeking your boss’s blessing for dealing with the situation. Problem-solvers are more likely than complainers to land a promotion.

9. Work hard as a team player

Because so much of work is now accomplished through teams – either departmental or cross-functional – it becomes even more important to share successes with your team and to avoid pointing your finger when there are failures.

By proving yourself as a pivotal team player, you will build your reputation and increase your value to the organisation.

10. Generate opportunities for yourself

At work, if you see an area that has been neglected and you have key marketing skills in that area why not write a proposal for a new position?

And even if the company does not go for the new position, you have again shown your initiative, creativity, and value to the firm — and these things can only help you the next time you request a promotion.

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