Preparing For Your Performance Review and Getting That Promotion

Your performance review is right around the corner and you feel you're ready for a promotion. Being prepared for the performance review with your manager is critical; especially if you are going to ask for a promotion.

Let's break down the best steps.

Write down key accomplishments that you have completed for the year. Do this at least a week in advance. You will want time to revise and review the list before you walk into your review. The list should contain pertinent information regarding accomplishments related to your job description and any extra work where you went above and beyond expectations. Where possible, use numbers, such as if you are in sales, how your sales numbers lined up compared to expectations (i.e.: Sales exceeded 20% of annual forecast); or, in the case of budgeting your time, how much time you saved by being more efficient (i.e.: Developed XYZ two weeks ahead of schedule).
Be prepared for what your manager might counter with. You know everything that you have done well, but your manager may have had other expectations of you that you may have not exceeded. Be cognizant of metrics that may be used to counter your accomplishments or as used to not give you the promotion. Some metrics might include training seminars that you have not yet attended, or 'soft' skills that your manager believes that you have not developed to the level the new position requires.
Ensure that you know the job description of the new position you are trying to get promoted into. With higher rank comes more responsibility. Some managers won't promote someone until the employee has already taken on most, if not all, of the job responsibilities of the new rank. Go out of your way, well before your performance review, to take on responsibilities that employees of the next rank take on; where possible. The best way to do this is to request the responsibilities from your manager.
Negotiate intelligently. There's a good chance that your manager simply doesn't feel you're ready, despite your metrics. Stay calm and focused. Ask your manager what they would like to see in order for you to be promoted and use your judgment to tie their words into actions you have already taken or have been undergoing.
Know when to back down. Sometimes, it's simply not the right time. Gracefully back down and encourage your manager to challenge you with the responsibilities of the next rank with the direction that you want to be ready when you have your next review.
If you don't get promoted, don't take it personally. If all else fails, go back to work and don't let the fact that you didn't get a promotion get to you. Keep working hard and keep communication lines open with your manager over the next review period.

Other Options: If you have been passed up several times and are starting to feel like there's a deeper issue with your manager's opinion of you, you might have to consider moving to another team, department, or even another company. Think it through before making a big decision. A good manager will want their employees to succeed.

Dave Bochichio is a coach/consultant and works with IT organizations to build stronger and higher performing teams. Dave also works with individuals looking to better their careers. Learn more here.

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Preparing For Your First Interview

With the financial crisis engulfing businesses worldwide, jobs are becoming hard to come by. Job axing as a measure to cut costs has been adopted globally by companies across sectors. In such a scenario, it has become all the more difficult for first time job seekers to get their first job. Gone are the times when companies used to visit campuses in hordes and graduates were spoilt for choices to start their career. In today's gloomy time, the number of companies hiring freshers has considerably reduced. Also, fresher jobs are being offered at lower salaries. However, these times are not permanent and industry experts believe that within two years the condition would improve considerably.

For freshers, the major step to landing their first job is the interview. Experienced professionals can still rely on the kind of work experience that they possess to get their next job. However, for a fresh graduate, interview is the only time to impress the recruiter because there is no past experience to fall back on. Apart from the educational qualifications, it is how one behaves in the interview that decides whether that fresher job would come his way or not.

First interview could be an intimidating experience for obvious reasons but a little prior preparation can help one cruise through comfortably. Remember for all jobs for freshers, there are many candidates for the same job. So, one has to really stand out in the interview to impress the interviewer. It is important to be mentally prepared well to be able to face the interviewer comfortably. One has to be alert, fit and be able to think on the feet to crack the interview.

When you get that much awaited call for your first interview while looking for a job, the first thing that you have to grab is the resume. The interviewer has selected you basis the resume that you submitted. So, ensure that you are thorough with the resume. Most questions asked to you during the interview would be based on the resume that you used. So, read and re-read your resume and be ready to back up any claim that you might have made on your resume. If you have mentioned extra skills or experience of having worked with communities, you might be asked to relate your experience to elucidate that claim. Also, all the personality traits that you have mentioned on your resume have to be substantiated with real examples to convince the recruiter.

Before the interview, take some time out to understand and plan how you want to project yourself. Once you have decided that, all that you do or the way you behave in your interview for that coveted fresher job will follow from there. Suppose you want to project yourself as an aggressive go getter, then you may want to dress up in darker colors. Also, the way you shake hands with the interviewer, the words that you choose to use to describe yourself and even the way you sit and move your hands should reflect that you are a go-getter and believe in the skill of your hand. Or, for instance you want to project yourself as a quiet but confident person who knows his work and mind, you may want to dress up in light colors, use less but succinct words to describe yourself and relate examples from your background that establish that you are a confident person.

Taking in an interview is like making a sales pitch. You have to put your best foot forward to convince the recruiter that you are the most suitable candidate for that job. Focus on your strengths and take the flow of the conversation in the direction that suits you. But it is important that you sound natural and not made up. You have to sound convincing and win the trust of the recruiter. He has to believe in what you say.

It is very important that you do a thorough research about the company that you are interviewing for. Know the profile of the job that you have applied for and be well-informed about other latest events pertaining to that company or the industry. This will give you a sure competitive edge and make the interviewer believe that you are focused and career oriented. So, read up as much as possible before going for the interview.

With these handy tips, you would be well-prepared for your first interview for that dream first job. It is just the beginning of your career and there might be many more interviews that you face in your professional journey but the first interview will always remain an experience to remember.

Geetiika Jain writes on behalf of FirstNaukri.com, a leading job portal for fresher jobs in India. FirstNaukri.com helps in searching Jobs for freshers, walk-ins interviews, interviews tips for freshers, career openings for freshers in top companies. With FirstNaukri you can easily post your resume and find your first dream job.

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