Make More of Your Promotion

Though a large portion of this blog is dedicated to showing you how to take your career to the next level, I also cannot stress enough the importance of knowing what to do once you get that promotion.  It’s obvious that making a move upward is a great opportunity, but it’s important that you don’t make some frequent mistakes that can take the luster off of the shiny new role.

The following are some basic rules that can be applied to anyone who just got a raise or promotion.  If you follow these rules, you can make sure that your career advancement continues instead of stalling after one good push.

• Be grateful – Any time you get a raise or promotion, you should take the time to thank the people who helped you get there, and this doesn’t just mean the person who made the decision.  Writing a thank-you note to each of the people who helped you on the path to success will generate an enormous amount of goodwill and establish you as the type of person willing to share the credit for your success.  Remember, thanking people never has a downside.
• Celebrate…but only a little – It’s important to take some time to savor your latest career success, but do it in private and outside of the work environment.  Remember, if you just got the raise or promotion, it most likely means that someone else was turned down.  Any on-site display of celebration would be insensitive to people whose support you may need in your new role.
• Save the money – It’s always a good thing to reward yourself for the hard work that has finally paid off.  Upping your standard of living will help motivate you to keep pushing for the next level of personal achievement. However, it would be a mistake to spend the whole raise.  A pay increase is a perfect opportunity to increase your retirement savings (a move that will greatly reduce your stress later in your career) without feeling any pain. If you’re not maxing out your 401k, put half the raise there. Not only is it a quick way to save, but a chance to keep yourself in a lower tax bracket.
• Help someone else succeed – Each time you move up, you have become an expert on what it takes to achieve.  You should realize that there are people beneath you in the organization who will value your guidance on the topic, as they’re looking to do the same thing for themselves.  Helping someone else move up will not only make you feel good, it will help you build a network and will keep your good career-advancement karma going.

Comments

[J]

These are all great tips, I personally follow the "put half in 401K" rule and it really is the way to go. That way you get to enjoy some extra income and also painlessly increase your savings. Don't forget to always at least contribute the minimum required to maximize any employer match, otherwise you're missing out on "free" money!

[Hunter Arnold]

J-

Thanks for the comment! You make an excellent point regarding 401k contribution. Once you have entered a point in your career where you are living below your means, you have no excuse not to make the most of what your employer is contributing.