Job Duties and Advancement

4:4:8

2023-10-28

547

1- Talk to your boss if you’re doing extra work that you didn't sign on for. Sometimes the job you have is different from the job you applied for. If you are finding yourself taking on additional responsibility, or are doing tasks you do not feel qualified for, bring your concerns to your supervisor. Find a copy of the job description you were hired for and bring it to your boss to talk about it.

You could say, “Here is a copy of my job description, and here is all the work I am currently doing. I think we need to talk about the expectations for my position.”
You could use your additional responsibilities as leverage for a pay raise. You could say, “I think if you expect me to continue to do these additional responsibilities, it may be wise to talk about an increased salary.”

2- Look for additional training opportunities to advance your position. If you feel your job performance would improve with additional training or classes, be proactive in seeking out training you feel would be beneficial. Look for training within your company or in your community (perhaps in a community college or a university extension class), and bring the opportunity to your supervisor’s attention.

You could say, “I found this coding workshop that’s going on at the local college next month. I think this is exactly the kind of course I need to help take my performance to the next level and help me gain a greater understanding of my position. Would the company be able to sponsor me to attend this workshop? Here is the information on it.”
You could consider seeking out a mentor within your company to help you better understand your role.

3- Be open to feedback from your boss. Sometimes work problems can develop when you get little or no feedback on your performance. Take the initiative and ask your boss if they’d be willing to have a conversation with you on how you are doing in your position. Set a meeting for you and your boss to talk, and give them a sense of what you’d like to talk about.

For example, you could say, “I was curious to know how you felt about my performance over the last few months. I think I’ve been taking on more responsibilities, and I wanted to get some feedback on what I’ve done well and what needs improvement.”
Don’t beat yourself up over a bad performance review. Look at it as a learning opportunity, asking lots of questions so you can best understand how you can make changes. You could say, “I appreciate you bringing these concerns to my attention. Do you have any suggestions as to what I can do to improve my next review?”

4- Look into filing a complaint if you're being taken advantage of. If you feel you are being treated unfairly and your problem has not been solved or addressed, you can take steps to have the problem identified through a more formal procedure. If complaint procedures are not spelled out in your employee handbook, find out through management or HR what steps you need to take.

You could say, “John, I’ve taken all of the steps in the employee handbook to follow the chain of command at work, but my concerns are still not being addressed. I want to find out how to file a formal complaint within the company.”