English
Who among us wouldn't want to get a promotion – to earn more money, take on new responsibilities and simply try out an exciting position without leaving the company we already know? But it's not that simple!
Firstly, you must ask for a promotion wisely, and not because one morning you decided you wanted one. You must thoroughly prepare for it, find arguments, and even rehearse your speech. Secondly, to get a promotion, you must have achievements that show your value to the company and your team. Thirdly, something can still go wrong even if you prepare yourself to the best of your ability. In today's article, we will tell you about just such cases: our heroes asked for a promotion, expecting to get at least an additional 10% of their salary, but found themselves at the centre of a scandal or an unpleasant case for their reputation. Read their stories so you don't repeat them in your life!
I became the cause of a scandal between two competing companies
The hero of this story is Igor, a developer with high qualifications and excellent skills. He works with several programming languages, knows how to communicate with marketing teams and has a lot of experience interacting with virtual financial products. Therefore, Igor received a salary that exceeded the market average. He could count on almost endless bonuses, long holidays, pleasant "perks", and other benefits of working in a company that depended on his professional skills. However, he wanted to develop and work on international projects, which was impossible in the bank where he worked. So, Igor decided to look for a new job or ask for a promotion: he knew that specialists from a related department make decisions related to opening new branches in other countries, and he was eager to try his hand at a new job.
Igor was almost instantly recruited: the news of a specialist of this level entering the market spread quickly among HR managers. He negotiated with several companies and chose the one that interested him the most. However, he did not say anything at work about the fact that he was looking for a new position, and his colleagues were unaware of it. As it happened, Igor almost agreed to the offer from the new company but never spoke to the HR department at the organisation where he was still working. The HR person who hired him and the person assigned to his department at the employing company happened to know each other. One shared with the other the news that he had hired a fantastic developer. The other asked his name and was unpleasantly surprised.
At that moment, Igor went on annual leave to rest before asking for a promotion or moving to a new job. By the time he returned, the two companies were arguing about who Igor should work for. The promotion was out of the question, although Igor wanted to use the offer he received as an argument for a raise and a new position. Igor had to stay in his post: the new company saw him as a disloyal employee who could run away at any time. Later, Igor moved to work in a new industry, where he still achieved the desired level of success.
What did Igor do wrong?
If we were Igor, we would advise you to be more precise in your statements. Not sure if you will choose an offer from this company? Be honest with the recruiter, but always keep yourself and your benefit in mind. Don't promise what you can't deliver. To learn how to speak loudly and confidently about yourself and your needs, come to Lectera - we teach public speaking and how to throw arguments at the "opponent".
I got a promotion, but it wasn't monetary. Then I burnt out
Maria's company, which was in the construction business, rarely promoted employees. Money was scarce, and the company was going through numerous crises, so the employers did their best: instead of a raise, they offered to pay for courses, extra days off, and office parties. Maria finally got tired of it. She wanted to get more money, not pizza and soda on Fridays as an incentive. So she started improving her skills while looking for a way to ask for a promotion. After months of taking courses, leading new projects, and endless professional development, Maria finally approached her manager about options to improve her pay. She wanted to take on new responsibilities while remaining in the same position and receive an increased salary. After reading numerous articles on how to ask for a raise properly, Maria went to talk to her supervisor.
She was promoted, but not in money. The company could only offer additional "perks," and even they were scarce. For example, Maria could not count on insurance, payment for medical services, complex operations and dentistry, or the price of holiday tickets. Maria got more duties, although she was not motivated to work with the new tasks. After about three months, Maria realised she had finally burnt out and could no longer perform her functions. She left the company, went on an extended holiday, and afterwards found a job in a related industry with a salary twice as high as the previous one.
What could Maria have done differently?
She could have immediately identified her priorities and turned down a non-monetary promotion, new duties, and higher levels of responsibility. Nevertheless, Maria didn't do that, hoping her choices would reap long-term benefits. In all this, she forgot to consider her internal resources and needs, which led to a sharp burnout, from which she managed to get out only through a change of industry. To avoid a similar situation, check out Lectera's courses - we have many free programmes to improve your soft skills and boost your career!
I didn't get a promotion. Quite the opposite: I was demoted and then sacked
Ilya had been working at the company for about a year when he first thought about asking for a promotion. He was simply looking for more money and, perhaps, to change his speciality. He was still studying, so he could count on an easy and quick career change. Even though he had read a couple of articles on how to ask for a promotion, made a list of his skills, and worked on his speech, all of that got forgotten when he went to ask for a promotion. Ilya didn't memorize the speech, didn't anticipate the questions he might be asked, or planned for how to handle objections. He was a rather truculent person, although he did everything required of him on time. Ilya did not like to help any of his colleagues because he worked only for money. He didn't want to build a career in this organisation - he just wanted to exist in the world of capitalism, which put a requirement on him in the form of a job and doing what he enjoyed. Making short videos, creating electronic music, taking photographs and so on. As a result, Ilya did not have a clear understanding of his own motivation.
The manager, who remembered that Ilya did his work in a hurry, barely reached the targets set for him, performed tasks half-heartedly and liked to argue with his colleagues, did not even think about promoting him. Instead, Ilya got demoted, and a more experienced and motivated employee was invited to take his place. A few months later, they told Ilya they would give him about two weeks to find a new job. All this time, Ilya did not attempt to improve his situation: he did what he was interested in and worked part-time to have money to rent equipment.
What could have been done differently in Ilya's shoes?
Find the work you actually enjoy or develop another career parallel to the one that brings money. Although it may seem challenging, the task is actually quite simple to accomplish. If, of course, you want to grow in a new direction. Then Ilya wouldn't even have to ask for a promotion! He would have been promoted without it and quickly and almost guaranteed. How do you do it? Come to Lectera's courses to learn the secrets of increasing professional efficiency, self-learning and motivation! By the way, some of them are free - there's plenty to choose from. Reserve your spot now!
