5 Tips for Working Your Way to Manager

Sophia Belnap

For some individuals, the ability to move up the ranks within a company is essential when choosing a job. These eager and motivated people tend to want to land leadership roles, snag prestigious titles and earn more responsibility. More authority, better pay and other benefits can often accompany a managerial position. If you desire to become a manager, keep reading to learn some helpful tips for standing out in the applicant pool and working your way up the ranks.

1. Learn

Learning is an essential part of growth and development. For professional growth, one must continue to learn. It is a wonderful idea to take courses or learn skills related to your field of work. You can apply these skills and use them to demonstrate that you are serious about moving up in the company. Some helpful topics include communications, public speaking and effective negotiation training. One of your first steps should be to understand what a manager is responsible for and work to develop those skills. It would be beneficial to highlight tasks or skills you already possess in your current position or other related experience and how they would relate to a manager position.

2. Perform

One of the best ways to gain leadership's attention in your current company is to do your job very well. Going above and beyond, you demonstrate a strong work ethic, motivation and efficiency, all of which can signal you as a solid choice for promotions. It can be most helpful to take the initiative to learn more by pairing with a mentor in the company, as well as stating your intentions to become a manager eventually.

3. Speak Up 

Do not be afraid to speak up, especially in meetings or if you are able to get upper management’s ear. Use your words wisely and give input when asked for it. Examples of useful materials include ways to improve efficiency or production, ideas for expansion and any suggestions that will benefit the company, its profit, production or decrease wasted materials.

4. Demonstrate Worth

Show how valuable you are to the team by contributing ideas, pulling your fair share, going above and beyond and doing your best. If you have the chance to speak with management, highlight your accomplishments. However, demonstrating your worth through actions, results and implementation of improved methods or tactics that benefit the company is ideal. Other key skills to work on include preparation, time management, attention to detail and learning all you can about the product or service.

5. Seek Opportunity

A manager opening may not be available at the moment, but there are ways to get on leadership’s radar. Some ways to do this are to look for opportunities to step up, offer your skills and take some of the burdens off of the other leaders. By asking for more responsibility, volunteering to give a presentation or finding different ways to show that you are ready to step into a management position.

Volunteer for tasks whenever you can, even if they are slightly out of your comfort zone. This exposes you to duties you haven’t done before and increases your exposure to other teams and leaders. Be sure not to overextend yourself. Loading too many projects on your plate can leave you feeling stressed and overwhelmed, potentially leading to missed deadlines.

Final Thoughts

Companies want to fill their leadership roles with individuals who are motivated, take initiative, strive to be the best they can and who can lead others well. Effective communication is essential for most of these roles. Draw the attention to yourself by excelling in your work, volunteering for a variety of tasks, finding a mentor and showing your worth. Use your spare time to learn new skills or strengthen weaknesses so that you become a stronger applicant.