Want a Promotion? Executives Say You Should Have These Qualities

By Mindy on August 27, 2009

Do you dream of ruling the world from a corner office someday? If so, you should read this post at JobMob by job search coach Rita Ashely. In an attempt to provide better advice to her clients, Ashley interviews top executives about qualities they look for in "direct reports" that get promoted to executive status. As she says, she like to get her information "right from the horse's mouth."

When queried, executives said that the following qualities were essential for employees being considered for top-level positions:

• Volunteer for more responsibilities
• Do what you can to stay visible
• Learn all you can
• Cooperate with other departments
• Stay up to date on the market and your area of expertise

Ashley interviewed El, a senior director of technology. He looks for a variety of qualities in employees he promotes, including the ability to get things done without needing extra incentives"

He also places a high value on those direct reports who come to him with solutions rather than problems. In his eyes, anyone can whine or complain and point out problems, but only a true leader acknowledges and accepts challenges by proposing solutions for discussion. The proposal need not even be right; to EI it is the approach that defines the prospective executive from the manager.

The post has more advice on how to approach your career like an executive- check it out. Also, for a cool story of a woman who's climbed the ladder, read this interview at The GlassHammer with Gayle Tait, a 32-year-old General Manager at L'Oreal.

Plenty to see and do with The Links today:

Careerealism Tweets About How to Handle Interviews Involving Business Scenarios: This job seeker is facing a different kind of interview- "I was sent a document detailing a business scenario that will be further discussed during the interview. The interview panel would like me to think about answers or recommendations for this scenario." Job experts offer their tips, like recording and reviewing your ideas for practice.

The New York Times Reports that Law Students Are Facing Tough Job Market: Even though it looks as though employers are getting more optimistic, law firms are still recovering from this past year. "For students now, the promise of the big law firm career — and its paychecks — is slipping through their fingers, forcing them to look at lesser firms in smaller markets as well as opportunities in government or with public interest groups, law school faculty and students say."

The Newser Finds that a 4-Day Workweek Has Plenty of Benefits (And a Three-Day Weekend, to Boot): Last year, the governor of Utah instituted a four-day workweek program for thousands of state employees. Now, after reviewing the program, it looks like having a three-day weekend could be good for you and your company. One perk: "82% of workers like the new schedule more than the five-day scheme and “show decreased health complaints, less stress, and fewer sick days.”"

BullsEyeResumes Lists 50 Tried-And-True Resume Writing Tips: If you've done your research, you've probably heard many of these "hot tips" before. But there are plenty of oldy-but-goodies, as well as some fresh material, to help your resume. "Get others to proof read your resume – be open to criticism."

Cube Rules Has Another Idea on How to Write Your Resume: In an increasingly competitive job market, it's essential that you "Show and Tell" your value on your resume. Don't just list your experience, prove that what you did made an impact. Cube Rules offers this three step formula: write an action verb; write a result; write a benefit to the business.

Risesmart Discusses the Right Way to Approach Social Networking in Your Job Hunt: This blogger cautions against using social media with an agenda in mind. In other words, don't just join Twitter or LinkedIn and immediately start hounding new contacts for a job. The post quotes several social media experts that all say the same thing- the key to online networking is to contribute- "on social networks, you reap what you sow."

Get Rich Slowly Gives Advice on Picking the Right Bank Account for College: J.D. Roth has some recommendations to help you pick out an account that will be good to you. He lists four different types of accounts and what you should use them for. What not to do: pick your bank based on who's giving out the best free goodies at orientation.

"La Defense" courtesy ricardo.martins via Flickr Creative Commons