I’ve always been ambitious,” says Christine Watts, vice‑president of marketing at Zebra Technologies. “But I’ve hopefully been promoted because of the results of my work, rather than any deliberate attempt to get noticed.”
It’s a typically British attitude. Even to marketers, the idea of self-marketing can be at best uncomfortable and at worst abhorrent. But getting noticed in order to get promoted is no bad thing and only ever works when it’s backed up with success anyway.
“Managing the perception of others is vital to getting promoted,” believes John Lees, author of Take Control of Your Career. He suggests getting feedback on how you appear to others, as well as making sure you use opportunities when you’re in the public eye, such as team meetings and presentations, to perform at your best.
“Seek advice from mentors – these should be senior people who can decode the organisation, and pathfinders – people who have been promoted in the last two years,” he suggests.
Hard work, says Lees, simply isn’t enough. “Work hard, for sure, but focus on the things that really matter to your organisation and boss. What are the key areas for business performance? How can you spot the quick wins that help you and your employer?”
You’ll also increase your chances of getting noticed if you act, look and sound the part. “Dress and behave as if you’ve already achieved the promotion you seek,” advises Lees. “Invest in clothes that make you look good. Sound positive without saying ‘yes’ to everything and, above all, avoid getting drawn into cynical conversations.” Even in the current climate? Especially so, he says.
The very fact that you’ve chosen a career in marketing means you probably already have the strategic skills necessary to promote yourself innovatively. It’s your job to think about what makes a product, service or brand different and how you can increase its value – now you need to think about what makes you different and how you can add value to the business, says Gill Kelley, specialist in personal development and owner of Coach2u.
“Don’t be shy about marketing yourself,” she insists. “Be a confident marketer. Don’t be in awe of job titles or status and remember that people are people.”
Anyone who wants a serious chance of being considered for promotion needs to understand themselves, she adds. Know what you’re good at, the skills you use best, and put together a list of what you have achieved at work in the past 12 months. Plan to improve areas of weakness too. If you’ve done some training or gained a qualification – or plan to do so shortly – much the better. “On-the-job training is crucial, and the more interactive the better,” says Jon White, PR & marketing manager at Webcredible. “Whether we like to admit it or not, there are parts of the job that we are better at than others and it is important to know where you need to brush up your skills – and then put this into practice.”
Even one-day workshops and courses, covering your problem area, whether that’s account management and planning, writing for the web or negotiation skills, can be invaluable. The Institute offers a range of courses and qualifications, as well as a continuing professional development (CPD) programme that can eventually lead to chartered marketer status.
“Completion of The Institute’s CPD programme gives formal recognition of commitment to improving knowledge and skills, as well as commitment to the profession,” says Jennifer Scott, a chartered marketer and manager of The Institute’s chartered CPD programme. “Reputation and credibility depend on skills, knowledge and experience. An ongoing involvement in CPD verified by the leading international professional marketing body demonstrates this.”
Chartered marketer status, she adds, is effectively the pinnacle of that journey, whereby an individual’s combined qualifications, professional experience and up-to-date knowledge are an indication of reduced risk to an employer. “Not taking part in a formal CPD process means leaving your career to chance,” she believes.
Many marketers assume leadership skills are the be-all and end-all when it comes to achieving promotion. But while these can certainly help, remember it’s a question of what the role you’re after actually requires. There are many exciting roles that don’t involve leading and a sideways move into an interesting and growing area that rapidly enhances your skills and knowledge is often the key to success.
Whatever your desired role, make sure you can cope with it if you get it, cautions Colin Fish, business manager for Reed Marketing & Creative, who reports that some people work so hard for the promotion that they forget how they’ll manage once they achieve it.
Meanwhile, Kevan Lawton, chief marketing officer at Kyp Systems, cautions people not to depend on the old adage that it’s who you know, not what you know. “I once worked with a colleague who was very socially oriented,” he recalls. “He was a good tennis player and discovered the MD was too. Before long he was regularly playing tennis and attending related social events with him. I think he believed the personal relationship would secure his advancement in the company. He was stunned, therefore, when he was passed over for promotion. The MD had instead chosen a more capable colleague.”
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