Social Strategies for Fast Career Advancement

You probably know people working in the same field as you who are not nearly as good at their job as you are, and yet they advance their career while your career is stalling. You might even have a couple such colleagues in the same office as you.

And you're probably wondering: "Why are these people getting ahead instead of me, when I'm clearly more competent than they are?"

I'll tell you why, based on several years of career coaching experience: Because being good at your job is only one part of getting ahead in the workplace. The other part, which is equally important if not more important, is to get yourself noticed and make yourself liked.

First of all, you can be the most competent employee on this planet. If your manager or other key people don't realize this, it won't do much for your career progress. And it's not enough to create results in order for other to see this clearly. You also must be able to actively communicate them and make them seen.

Second of all, we all have this tendency to reward and to want to work closer to persons we like. So if you know how to make people like you, you'll get ahead much faster than otherwise, as individuals who know how to do this prove.

Considering this, I'd like to share with you the social part of career advancement. I'm gonna give you a set of simple and powerful social strategies that you can apply to make fast progress in your career.

1. Be Friendly at Work

You want people to know you in the work place, and you want them to be fond of you. And the way to do this is learn how to be friendly and social, and be so regularly. Not just with your boss, but with colleagues from the same department, colleague from other departments, subordinates, clients and supplies as well.

If you're the type of person who sits at their desk all day long, doesn't ever participate in the office chat and doesn't ever start a conversation with someone at work out of the blue, this has got to change. I'm not saying you should gossip all day, but to try to be more gregarious in the workplace.

2. Build Strategic Relationships

Besides being social with everybody, you want to interact with some people in particular and build strategic relationships with them. These are the people who can play a crucial part in your career progress: your manager, their manager, other managers, the HR people, and so on.

Seek interactions with these people and try to make them your friends. With some you'll click instantly, with others you'll click more slowly, but you'll click with most of them if you just give it some time. And then you'll be able to get all sorts of insider info, recommendations and favors based on this.

If you have no friends at work, it means you have no true allies. And if you have friends, you have true allies. Which matters a lot.

3. Be Personal

When you chat with colleagues at work, don't just make work-related conversation. That is a good start, but at some point, be willing to also engage in conversation topics that relate to the personal side of life.

For instance, ask others about their hobbies and talk about your own hobbies as well. Talk about family, home or travelling experiences as well. The more people know you as a person overall, the more comfortable they are around you and the more they like you. Even if you are in the office environment.

4. Talk about Your Results

This applies particularly when discussing with key people such as your manager, other managers or HR people. Chances are they are so busy and they deal with so many employees that they have little knowledge about your contribution to the company.

So you want to clarify this for them by talking about your results. Don't boast though. Just talk about the projects you're involved in, the challenges they entail, the progress you're making, and casually mention results you create as well. They are sure to stand out, as well as help you stand out as a high performer.

5. Look the Part

Like it or not, people do judge you by the way you look. They don't judge you solely by the way you look, but it does play a role; especially when they don't know much else about you.

So if you want to be seen as a true professional, it's important to look like one. This involves two elements. One is the way you dress: always dress sharp and look like a successful business person; even if you have to invest a bit of money in your wardrobe.

The other is your body language: stand up straight, hold good eye contact, move with conviction, and remember to smile. This tells others in the workplace that you're confident in your person and your abilities, so they should be too.

Your career is in your hands. It can pretty much go wherever you want it to go. But you need to understand what creates career success and to apply this understanding consistently in your own professional life. And a big part of what creates career success is your social behavior.

So, pay attention to it.