Here are 10 GREAT impressions you should be making before you ask for a promotion or a raise.
Alright Gen Zs, time for some honest self-reflection.
A whopping 75% of your generation expect a promotion within the first year of starting a job (InsideOut Development), and 53% expect their first salary increase at a new job to be in the first nine months or less (State of Gen Z Report). Aggressive, but not totally unrealistic goals.
Two studies, one truth. Y'all are eager for your hard work to be validated.
However, the word you need to be careful using here is expect. When you expect something you are either anticipating it to happen or feel entitled to it. And as a Millennial myself, trust me when I saw you want to stay as far away as you can from being labeled entitled. Anticipation is simply hopeful, and entitled is deserving. Both are counterproductive and won't get you very far.
Try swapping out "expect" for "want to earn". You want to earn a promotion within the first year of starting a job. You want to earn a salary increase. Simple mindset shift, major impacts. Because when you decide that you want to earn something, the next questions you ask are "how am I going to earn it" or "am I earning it?"
Simply meeting expectations and completing your daily responsibilities is not enough. Doing what’s on your job description does not in and of itself warrant a promotion or a salary increase. Especially in the short time frame you are aiming for.
So how can you earn it? What should you be doing to increase your chances of achieving this fairly aggressive, but not completely unrealistic goal?
It's all about what's not on your job description. It's about the impressions you make and how willing you are to go above and beyond. Are you giving off "future leader" vibes?
Here are 10 GREAT impressions you should be making to earn respect and trust with senior leadership, get on the right radars and show the world you hungry for growth and worth taking a chance on.
I recently asked Jolynda Ash, former SVP of HR for Gold's Gym, what qualities, skills or traits make someone stand out as top talent to senior leadership and she said, "I love meeting somebody with a spark in their eye. You just cannot hide that. Somebody who is self-motivated, self-driven, that really wants to make a difference in the company and not just for their own career."
Making great impressions creates that spark. That "it" factor.
When I was 25 years old, I started working for a Hospitality Management company in Dallas, TX in an entry level administrative assistant position for a brand new training department. Did I have prior work experience in a support role? Yes. But did I know anything about Hospitality, building a new department, or working in a corporate environment? Nope.
I earned my first raise in less than 6 months and my first promotion around my one year work anniversary. I never once expected either. In fact, I was completely caught off guard, truly humbled and forever grateful that these great leaders were taking a chance on me.
I worked my a** off, put in extra hours but more than that, I was very intentional about making great impressions. But I didn't do it for a promotion, and I didn't do it for a pay raise. My motivation was always rooted in an insecurity that people wouldn't take me seriously because of my age. I knew what the world was saying about Millennials and at every opportunity I could, I would try and change that universal perception one interaction at a time. I also genuinely cared about making a difference in my organization.
I am not telling you this to toot my own horn. I am just saying that it worked for me and it very well might just work for you too.
And what I didn't know then that I certainly have learned throughout my years as a learning & development professional and leadership coach is that senior leadership is looking for what's not on the job description.
They are looking for that spark.
Those "future leader" vibes.
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