I often speak with people who would like to be promoted. They are hardworking employees who feel that much of what they are doing is going unnoticed. And, they’re right. The truth of the matter is your boss will likely see 20 to 30 percent of the work you accomplish each day, and that’s if they’re paying attention.
Yet, we can’t blame the boss for what they didn’t see if we didn’t find a way to show them. The people that tend to get promoted the quickest are the ones that know how to self-promote. They make a habit of not only doing good work, but reporting up their accomplishments on a regular basis.
The best upward reports are the ones that can be written in ten minutes and read in four. Along with your accomplishments, make sure to include key information to keep your manager in the loop, and give credit when due to those that helped you achieved the reported results. Before you hit send, sit back and read what you’re written. Let it sink in. Acknowledgement of your accomplishments starts with you. The rest is icing on your sooner-than-later promotion.