Networking is indirectly defined as follows (Urban Dictionary): “Regardless of your skills, intelligence, or education, if you are not good at networking you will always earn minimum wage and live in a trailer park.”One thing I’ve learned since entering the work force is that, in addition to all assigned job tasks, I have to manage my career in order to get ahead, as alluded to above. Several adjectives and/or synonyms of networking are career management, brown nosing, sucking up, being a teacher’s pet, socializing, etc. I think that overt attempts such as picking up the boss’s dry cleaning and getting him coffee are sickening when you see someone else doing them and downright degrading when having to actually perform them. However, subtle acts of career management can be much more effective in accomplishing the same thing.
Recently, I’ve done some sly career management with better than expected results because I want a promotion this year since I just spent 1029 days of my life working to finish 2 Master degrees. In January, the company management decided to reorganize the entire reporting structure and to redo the entire management chain. Essentially, I now have two managers. One manager is in corporate and is in control of my raises and promotions while the other is assigning and directing the day to day operations at the program level. I will see the corporate manager only a few times a year while I see the local manager everyday.
Since I want the promotion, I needed to make sure that my corporate manager (the one in control of promotions and pay raises) knows who I am. I sent him a short biography about myself including my recent accomplishment of finishing my Master degrees. Thankfully, he wrote back indicating that several of his other employees are interested in the program and he will send them my way. Then, my local manager stopped by today and indicated that he is in contact with my corporate manager and they are putting me in for the promotion! Now I just need to beat out the other candidates to get the promotion…
Recently, I’ve done some sly career management with better than expected results because I want a promotion this year since I just spent 1029 days of my life working to finish 2 Master degrees. In January, the company management decided to reorganize the entire reporting structure and to redo the entire management chain. Essentially, I now have two managers. One manager is in corporate and is in control of my raises and promotions while the other is assigning and directing the day to day operations at the program level. I will see the corporate manager only a few times a year while I see the local manager everyday.
Since I want the promotion, I needed to make sure that my corporate manager (the one in control of promotions and pay raises) knows who I am. I sent him a short biography about myself including my recent accomplishment of finishing my Master degrees. Thankfully, he wrote back indicating that several of his other employees are interested in the program and he will send them my way. Then, my local manager stopped by today and indicated that he is in contact with my corporate manager and they are putting me in for the promotion! Now I just need to beat out the other candidates to get the promotion…