by Karen Yvonne

Created on: January 16, 2009   Last Updated: October 26, 2010

Many people just starting out in their careers are eager to "prove" themselves and climb as many rungs on that corporate ladder as they can. They frequently become frustrated with waiting and don't understand why promotions may not come as quickly as they would like.

Sometimes the who and when of promotions doesn't appear to follow any logical rules. Hard work doesn't always get you there. The gossip mills run 24/7 and emotions run high when people don't understand what management could possibly be thinking by promoting Susie, who has only been with the company for six months and barely knows her way around. More often than not, there has been a plan in place and you simply aren't aware of it.

An employee's potential for promotion is something that companies frequently evaluate even before you are hired. They may consider how you advanced in prior jobs, or what roles you had in organizations you belonged to. For instance, if you are fresh out of college, you may not have a solid employment record, but you may have been president of your class or held some other office in your school or community. This could indicate leadership ability. They may also consider your education and background, adaptability, creativity, problem-solving potential, ability to influence others and how you present yourself.

If you fit the profile the company has in mind for its managers and leaders, you may be fast-tracked or put into a management training program. Fast-tracking an employee might be something the employee is not even aware of initially. Most companies will wait to see if their interview assumptions are in fact true before they act on them.

If you aren't one of the people considered on a fast-track from the day you are hired, that doesn't mean you can't be promoted. It just means that you will have to demonstrate promotion potential on the job, and that will take some time.

People seldom get promoted before they have demonstrated they can do the job they are being promoted into. If you want to have the job your manager has, you need to do the things your manager does and be seen, by others, as competent to do them. If you have a good manager that coaches and encourages you, this will be easier. However, if you work in a small company and the only way to advance is if your manager leaves or is promoted, you may in for a long wait. This is a dilemma for both companies and their eager-to-be-promoted employees, and is a major reason those employees look elsewhere.

If you

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