Help with getting to the next level in my organisation

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified)
in
Career Management

Hi,

BLUF : A friend in my company is needing help with getting to the next level in our organization. I want to help her.

This person is in a different part of my organization to me and deals with different people and departments. Whenever I have worked with her I have found her to be very efficient and effective. She is not at a managerial level.

I have suggested listening to various of the MT/CT podcasts on networks, told her to listen to the appraisal podcasts as she has her one coming up soon and let her boss know her ambitions.

She has had a few interviews withing the company and did not get the positions. I have also suggested the interview series.  She is worried that "her face does not fit".

Are there any other suggestions on what she could do?

Thanks for any help!

Cheers,

Stuart.

Submitted by Steven Martin on Thursday January 14th, 2010 11:17 pm

I wondered what "her face does not fit" meant too.
My advice would be too make sure she is getting results, meeting commitments and looking for opportunities to add value to the company.  These are just the basics, there is not quick fix.  Also she needs to show her support to those above her, she needs to make her manager look good, that will pay dividends.

Submitted by John Hack on Friday January 15th, 2010 11:18 am

Age and professional level also matter...sometimes, folks can be impatient.  
Promotions are tough to come by these days, as most companies are retrenched. 
Finally, don't forget to focus on behavior.  "her face does not fit" is not behavior;  although, as mentioned above, it would be helpful to know what that means. 
John Hack

Submitted by stuart mcmorrow on Friday January 15th, 2010 2:21 pm

Her face does not fit is what she said to me. She thinks her boss does not rate her - even though she has had good reviews. She is based remotely and people that seem to be the getting promotions are based at head office. As far as I am aware she gets good results and performs well. I cannot really comment on how good she is at her job as I don't work with her or really know about her field. When I have had dealings with her she was very good and helped me get the information I needed or towards the results I wanted. She has been in the organization for 3 1/2 years and is late 20's (I think?).
Sorry I can't be more specific but as I don't work in her area this is as much as I know. Hopefully she will start listening to MT/CT then I know she will learn how to move forwards.
Thanks for the comment so far.
Cheers,
Stuart.

Submitted by Ronene Bowes on Monday January 18th, 2010 8:10 am

Hey  its me the girl who's face doesnt fit!  My friend from work has advised me to register with Manager Tools to give me some help and support.
I work remotely from my boss, who is based at our Head Office.  I have worked for the company for 3.5 years.  I get excellent  feedback from the managers that I work with in my remote area and regularly receive emails from them saying that I have done a really good job and that they really appreciate the hard work I put in. 
I do work hard and have to travel around alot and work long hours.  The problem that I have is that I never seem to be noticed by my boss at Head Office.   I feel as I do my job well and the better I get, the more I am protecting "my boss " from the issues in my region, so she never really gets to see all the various types of difficult issues I have to deal with.  As long as they are dealt with then that seems to be all that matters. 
My regional managres ( whom I have a dotted line too) recognise the work that I do and are really supportive and I know that as often as they can  ( without making it awkward) they give good feedack to my boss.
I have gone for 2 promotions and didnt get either.   My regional bosses were shocked that I didnt get them.  Both jobs were given to people based at or near Head Office, both similar ages to me.
For the 2nd promotion interview I made up a pack with all the results and cases that turned out really well that I had worked on, and also made sure I followed up on the feedback ( which in itself was very limited)  from 1st promotion interview. 
Has anyone got any advice how I can move up the ladder?  I am getting really frustrated and demotivated. 

Submitted by William Collins on Tuesday January 19th, 2010 12:01 am

I have a few ideas for you, but first you should probably avoid saying things like you think your face doesn't fit with the company. It is completely understandable that you are frustrated, but your statement implies that you think you are being discriminated against in some way when that probably isn't the case. The more likely reason you didn't get the promotion is that you are a remote worker and it is just harder to get your good work recognized when you are far away. Now on to the ideas.
One idea is to give your boss weekly status reports to let him know about all the issues you are solving. Just send a short note every Friday with a list of the weeks accomplishments. Eventually he'll start to take notice if you're doing good work.
Another idea is to find a way to get more face time at the head office. Maybe you could work in the office a few days per week even if it isn't entirely convenient. You could find a mentor at the head office who can give you guidance about how your organization works, and also give you a reason to go into the office. Maybe you could give some type of technical presentation at the head office that helps educate others or share knowledge.
You could also find ways to take on more responsibility. Identify an organizational need and propose an initiative to address the need. Volunteer to lead the initiative, and deliver great results. Find ways to demonstrate that you can already to the job you what to get promoted into.
Those are just a few ideas. Stay focused on what you can do to help the organization, and not on things you can't control. Good luck.