… said the boss – and the requested promotion or salary increase was a long time coming. In the following I would like to give some tips on how to put pressure on managers to act.

Consequences of lack of action by managers

The missing raise is according to a survey of 1000 employees the most common reason (34 percent) to quit. According to the study, only one in five respondents received an increase and it is hardly any different for promotions. Only 16 percent were promoted internally before they were given notice.

The consequence of a lack of action by executives is numerous layoffs and thus a loss of skilled workers.

Rational and Emotional Insights

I would like to limit the fact that my tips in this article only help if you are already doing a very good job and the manager would already promote you under rational reasons or would like to increase your salary but does not.

Reading tip: Become a senior

This state is called rational insight. You meet all criteria (internal guidelines) and do a good job. The following figure shows the two types of insight.

Rational insight has no consequence

You know it: we eat fast food, like to sit at the PC on the weekend or treat ourselves to a shisha. All of these things are harmful and we are rationally aware of that, but we do it anyway because we do not see it emotionally.

But why do so many people still do sports or eat consciously? This happens from emotional insight, which is often based on two factors:

• Psychological distress
• Positive perspective (hope)

So you have to see an emotional strain and a positive perspective when making an emotional decision. Now two questions arise:

• Is a position vacant for a long time or is a team without leadership because you have not been promoted (suffering)?
• Can you directly support the supervisor as a team leader and improve his department (positive perspective)?
• In a slightly different form, you should also make it clear what your level of suffering is when it comes to salary and what positive perspective there is.

It is now up to you to awaken these factors in your line manager. But how can that be achieved?

Reading tip: Become a manager

Find the positive perspective!

One thing is clear: it is not enough when you build up psychological stress. You should also present yourself as a believable positive perspective. I give you a few selected examples in the following table.

I have deliberately avoided the fact that in some organizations the threat of dismissal is often a means of promotion. However, I do not advocate that.

Conclusion: from awareness to action

As important as it is to arouse the stress of suffering and then to clarify the positive perspective, you have to keep asking whether your manager has already taken action.

My tip is to do your own research too. First, find out how a promotion or raise will be carried out. I often experience three types:

• Promotions or salaries are carried out irregularly: Often in medium-sized businesses due to growth or certain events.
• The boss has freedom: The boss can decide quite freely or set a generous framework.
• Promotions / salaries follow a fixed scheme: There are fixed plans and programs that you have to complete (e.g. corporations)

Now you accompany the manager in the process (ask about partial results, e.g. application already submitted to HR, etc.) and stick to it!

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• Small business (up to 9 employees)
• Small businesses (up to 49 employees)
• medium-sized companies (up to 249 employees)
• large companies (up to 1999 employees)
• Large companies / groups (from 2000 employees)

I know from my own experience that careers in small and large companies differ significantly. Therefore, in this article I would like to give tips on careers in roughly two types of company:

• Small and medium-sized companies (medium-sized companies – up to approx. 499 employees)
• Large companies and corporations (from 5000 employees)
• Companies with between 500 and 5000 employees are the so-called upper middle class and cannot be precisely classified. They are often a mix of both categories. Then take a close look: which processes and parts of the company are still category 1 and which are already category 2.

I believe, especially from my own experience, that there is a difference between the two size classes. Of course you can divide them up differently, but my experience is roughly these two categories. I am therefore giving you tips on both categories. Of course there are still startups, but I would like to exclude them.

Reading tip: Difference between corporations and medium-sized companies

Career in medium-sized companies

Medium-sized companies are the engine of the German economy. According to the Institute for SME Research 99.5% (approx. 3.4 million) of German companies are so-called small and medium-sized companies, also known colloquially as medium-sized companies. Medium-sized companies employ around 58% of all employees and are responsible for 60% of all sales in Germany.

Although medium-sized companies are defined as owner companies, this should not be differentiated here.

Characteristics of the middle class

The hierarchies in medium-sized companies are often flat and the mostly decentralized organizational structures offer the best career opportunities. Due to the often unbureaucratic decision-making processes, there are no direct criteria for advancement. As a graduate in medium-sized companies, you can often take on responsibility early on and get to know different areas.

Many medium-sized companies are world market leaders and rely on very sustainable growth and offer very flexible working models for the benefit of their employees.

Of course there are numerous medium-sized companies, which is why I want to focus on B2B consulting companies.

Tips for medium-sized businesses

The first ascent in medium-sized companies usually leads through technical skills up to, for example, senior consultant. Then you usually quickly take on responsibility for a customer and thus also for sales, or you set up an area. For me, a career in medium-sized companies means entrepreneurship and sales. Due to the small number of employees, there are usually few managers and no direct vacancies. So you have to build an area yourself.

Reading tip: Become a senior

There are good career opportunities in medium-sized companies, especially for doers. You have to make a difference and show initiative such as building a new location or customers for the company. Due to the flat hierarchies with short, unbureaucratic decision-making paths, these paths are often open to you quickly. If you can master the structure, then you have quickly climbed the hierarchy. So you grow with the company.

An important factor in advancement are good personal networks and partnerships with other service providers in order to win tenders from customers. They often have to work with other companies due to their small size. For example, as a service provider for CRM systems, you could offer a broader portfolio with management consulting. So it is important to have a large network outside the company and a long contact list in Xing. Of course, you should also know the employees of your own company well.

Note that it is important that the medium-sized company of your choice is currently growing strongly and is successful, otherwise you will not have a chance. So take a look around which medium-sized company is currently expanding strongly in your region. In medium-sized companies, I experience that the chances are getting smaller as the growth comes to an end, and people tend to change jobs every 5 years.

My tip for professionals: Often it can also be worthwhile to apply to the group with management experience. Due to the experience gained quickly in medium-sized companies, an attractive change could be worthwhile.

Summary

• Promotion in medium-sized companies is associated with building up a customer or area
• Advancement in the middle class demands doers and generalists
• Promotion in medium-sized companies means taking over sales
• Promotion in medium-sized companies requires external contacts

Career in the group

The 30 DAX companies are the pride of the German economy and especially our automobile manufacturers have a supremacy in the world despite some setbacks. It is the corporations that:

• the cars of the future,
• Tomorrow’s shoe
• Shaping the medicine of tomorrow and
• carry out many other major projects.

The projects in medium-sized companies tend to be smaller or support the corporations. Due to the size of the corporations, it is possible to try out numerous positions without having to leave the company.

Characteristics of the corporations

Corporations are very structured and have a large number of employees. Projects often have large dimensions and many stakeholders and the career takes place in programs. Furthermore, the specialization is very impressed. Internal know-how of the group-specific processes is also very important.

You often hear that you should only be the smallest bike in the company and that it is easy to go under. In such a pool, a career seems difficult for many. But it is corporations that build the cars of the future and carry out major projects. Medium-sized companies often support this as a supplier.

Tips on corporations

In fact, a career in the group is completely different from that of a medium-sized company. The first point is that you are now in a large ecosystem. Corporations are often as big as cities, so networking or trade fairs outside the company is no longer important, but only internal contacts and events. Xing and contact with service providers take a back seat, as there is usually an internal social network.

The second point is the specialization in the form of group experience but also in an activity such as Scrum Master or developer for JavaJEE on the company’s own middleware, so that you have a clear job profile for the group. Knowledge of group-specific processes is also very important.

The third point is that due to the size, the contact with superiors is often not as close as in medium-sized businesses. It is therefore advisable to pursue a real lighthouse project. Such a project is characterized by the fact that it has the absolute management attention of the superior. This way you stay in the memory and don’t disappear into the crowd.

Reading tip: Become a manager

The fourth point is that there is already one Federal Reserve Bank of New York study shows that you should have made it to management by 35. Of course, this is not absolute, but there is a clear trend. One reason is that the management career often takes place in programs that are largely designed for “young potentials”. In this program you are prepared for an assessment center and you have to take a few years. Allianz handles this, for example, through an assistance program for the board of directors or top managers. At VW, this is mapped through an internal academy.

My tip for professionals: If you already have some work experience in the group and are stuck, it can make sense to switch to medium-sized companies. I notice that service providers in your group especially like to make you a team leader and appreciate the group experience. Also the Wirtschaftswoche believes : Old hands instead of greenhorns: Experienced colleagues are increasingly valued.

Summary

• Advancement in the group requires internal contacts and knowledge of internal processes
• Advancement in the group is often associated with a high degree of specialization
• Advancement in the group means understanding the politics in the company
• Promotion in the group is linked to participation in a trainee program for managers

Conclusion: what suits you?

Now it is up to you to choose whether you are more suitable for medium-sized companies or corporations. If you like structure, large projects and prefer to build a network in a company, then you are at the right place in the group. If you are more of a generalist with a high startup spirit, then give it a try in medium-sized companies. Where do you prefer to work? tell me in the short poll.

Limitation: Of course, not every corporation and not every medium-sized company is the same. Even a small company can be slow and bureaucratic and a corporation can be fast and agile. It is up to you to make the decision individually. I am only giving my experiences here.

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Getting up is often not easy because, for example, as a team leader or project manager, different skills are important than when employed as an employee in day-to-day business. You may not know this and an experienced mentor can help you learn the unwritten laws. This will prevent you from working harder and faster and the promotion being a long way off.

Reading tip: Getting ahead professionally: Become a senior

What is mentoring?

Mentoring goes back to the historical roots of Homer’s Odyssey. When Odysseus had joined the campaign against Troy and left his home in Ithaca, he asked his friend Mentor to take over the education of his son Telemachus. This was one of the first historical mentions of mentoring.

According to the Google Mentoring is one: Advice and support from experienced specialists or managers.

Benefits of a mentor

A Survey among 4,000 executives from 1979 showed already that two thirds had mentors. Exactly these two thirds had higher salaries much earlier, pursued specific career plans more systematically at higher hierarchical levels and expressed greater job satisfaction.

Reading tip: Become a manager

There are also numerous individual examples : Ernest Rutherford was honored with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his outstanding scientific achievements. John Thomson, who had also received a Nobel Prize, acted as his mentor.

The advantages of mentoring in a nutshell:

• They learn the techniques of an experienced role model that will help them directly
• You get direct feedback and learn to assess yourself better.
• You hear exactly what is important during the ascent and it runs faster and more transparently.
• You benefit from the existing network of his mentor
• You are allowed to ask questions that you would otherwise not be able to ask, e.g. specific salary figures
• You get feedback, which companies or HR are often not allowed to give you due to labor law

Find a mentor for the career and process

The first thing to do is to have a rough idea of your career goals. Now look for someone in user groups, conferences or private contacts who has already achieved your professional goal. Examples are:

• A team leader (leadership)
• An IT architect (professional)
• A project manager (methodical)

If you can’t think of anyone, please ask contacts if you can “someone, someone knows who is XY” . Alternatively, you can also write to contacts on Xing.

Now speak to the mentor. For example, say the following: “You have a lot of experience and I would like to learn from you. Can we arrange to meet over coffee so that I can ask you a few questions?“After the meeting, ask that we could meet again in 1-2 months and report on the progress.

Now prepare the interview and write down 5-10 questions that you ask the mentor. They are welcome to be very open and ask the mentor to tell his story of how he got the position. Listen carefully and roughly agree on a topic for the next conversation.

Tip: Prepare the discussions by either reporting a specific situation and requesting feedback or by writing down specific questions.

I did it that way!

I myself have had specific goals for a long time and have almost always looked for a mentor for my many projects. In the course of time I got to know a wide variety of people who are my mentors to this day.

Professional mentors help me advance my career. I wanted to get into top management very early on, so I looked for the following mentors:

• A board of directors of a company with 400 employees
• A division manager of a corporation
• An executive consulting manager

I have often asked the mentors how they got into top management and what I am still missing. We meet every 3 months for 3 hours to eat.

I have two academic mentors for my doctorate. They help me with words and deeds in the implementation of my academic projects and put me in touch with publishers. I hold regular meetings with them on a monthly basis. The mentors are:

• My doctoral supervisor
• A post-doc

I also have mentors for my side projects such as Projektify eV or my blog, whom I meet more or less regularly. The mentors are:

• A startup founder
• A chairman of the board
• A board member of a consulting company

Conclusion

A mentor can help you understand and quickly learn hidden rules and concepts for professional success. Scientific studies already show that success is often linked to a good mentor. I also recommend that you take this chance. I also use 4 hours a month to coordinate with my mentors.

My tip is: You should support other people as a mentor, but you should always have your own mentor. Reading tip: Become a mentor

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What is mentoring?

Mentoring goes back to the historical roots of Homer’s Odyssey. When Odysseus had joined the campaign against Troy and left his home in Ithaca, he asked his friend Mentor to take over the education of his son Telemachus. This was one of the first historical mentions of mentoring.

According to the Google Mentoring is one: Advice and support from experienced specialists or managers.

Benefits of being a mentor

The advantages of mentoring are manifold. I would like to name a few important ones that motivate me every day.

• Mentoring enables you to give something back. It creates a very good feeling and I believe in karma anyway (spiritual concept according to which every action inevitably has a consequence): If you do a lot of good, you get a lot of good in return.
• Mentoring trains you as a mentor. You can keep practicing listening actively rather than passively. This is a very important quality that will make you an even better leader.
• Mentoring increases your self-esteem. Especially in difficult times, you realize that you are important and needed.
• Mentoring strengthens your ability to enter into, develop and expand interpersonal relationships. You can improve even further by empathizing with others.
• Mentoring helps you reflect on your career. Why? On the one hand, the mentee asks you a lot of questions and, on the other hand, you encourage the tips you give the mentee. You bring a lot back to your mind.
• If you are not a manager, you can coach new employees and thereby improve your leadership skills and also use this as an argument in the employee appraisal.
  

Mentoring process

The mentoring usually works in such a way that you simply speak to the mentee in a relaxed atmosphere in the first few weeks. I always keep it very informal and the mentee can ask me their question. This usually helps immensely.

I tried the more structured variant with minutes and goals for the conversation, but found it stiff and forced. I always ask the mentee to know exactly what he wants to know. We usually go through the following phases:

• Define professional goals / direction (1-5 meetings)
• Recommend concrete steps to get there, try them out and reflect together (5-15 meetings) – accompanying the mentee
• Introduce important network partners (if necessary)

My Tip: Mentees should approach you. Just look for suitable candidates at professional events or in the office and offer mentoring indirectly.

I did it that way

I myself started actively as a mentor in 2015. I wanted to give something back and also reflect on myself. I had a lot of mentors myself and was very grateful. I have made up my mind to use 1 day, i.e. 8 hours, to give something back every month.

I started with students in a career program at my university. For one year I gave selected students tips on starting a career in consulting. I still do that today.

Effort: 2 hours of mentoring once a month in a cafe.

I then supervised numerous bachelor and master theses during my doctorate. So I coached numerous students, so to speak. Meanwhile I do too Phone appointments and help students continue. In this 1h coaching I help the students with a very specific problem. There are usually no follow-up appointments.

Effort: About 3 hours per week by phone

I have been a manager myself for 2 years and have recently started helping young managers with their first steps. I meet the young executives at business events and in the office.

Effort: approx. 3 hours per month

Conclusion

The big advantage is that you learn a lot of skills through mentoring and also reflect a lot on yourself. You learn to be even more stable in your own role and also appear more confident in everyday life and thus also rise faster yourself. I myself invest around 8 hours a month in mentoring, which is exactly 1 working day. I think this is a good guide.

My tip is: You should support other people as a mentor, but you should always have your own mentor. Reading tip: Find a mentor

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• almost 60% have already attended a recruiting event
• 30% are considering attending a recruiting event
• 10% are unsure or reject such events

Use recruiting events as feedback

Of course, the advantages of such recruiting events are that you stand out from the crowd, get to know the employer better and maybe even secure points of sympathy for yourself.

However, I see another useful advantage. Even if you are active in the job, you should attend recruiting events for two reasons:

Reason 1: expand your personal network

On the one hand, you often meet decision-makers and important company employees at the events. My tip: talk to employees in a relaxed atmosphere and then network (e.g. Xing). Such contacts are often worth their weight in gold. You will also receive internal information such as which customers the company has and what are the following plans. So you build up internal knowledge of the industry. In conversations with other companies, you will quickly be seen as a real insider in the industry. Important: Never give company names and be careful with internal information. I often ask if I can pass this information on. The companies are often proud of their successes.

Reason 2: sharpen your profile and get feedback

Another important point is that you can ask: Which skills do you need and which experiences do you value? This information can be used specifically to sharpen your own profile.

example : If you are at 3 events that talk about Big Data or Kubernetes, then it certainly makes sense if you read up on knowledge about this area. You can then take the new knowledge with you directly to your job and benefit from it there or position yourself for the future.

Reading tip: Build up the T-shape profile

Concrete example 1: For example, you work in the public sector and are an industry expert there, for example as an internal employee. At recruiting events with, for example, IT service providers, you will find out that your industry experience is very valuable. The company tells them: with a little IT skills, you could become an IT consultant for the public sector and join directly as a senior consultant. You can read the skills in a few weeks and the company will train you for the rest. The new job will bring you more salary and opportunities.

Concrete example 2: You are currently a developer and now want to become an IT architect. At events like this, you can find out which additional skills are required so that you would get the job and whether there might be a chance at the company and you as a “talent” are already getting into this position as an assistant architect.

Conclusion

Recruiting events are also useful if you do not want to change, as you can evaluate your profile and learn about new skills and market trends. You get out of your company and collect new impressions from the outside. It can definitely make sense, also in the context of your own job security. You can evaluate: Am I still attractive for the job market? I recommend always using this opportunity and ultimately expanding your personal network.

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To this day, the job description of software developers has changed completely. As early as 2016, numerous magazines such as Computerwoche asked: What do software developers have to be able to do? . If you look at the current description of the Job description of the Federal Employment Agency there is more than just the pure development according to specifications:

• analyze,
• conceptualize,
• to plan,
• develop and
• operate information technology applications

The activities of a software developer have meanwhile moved from the mere development to the entire cycle of a software incl. Requirements analysis, project management and leadership have grown. There are also numerous specializations such as UX design, backend developers, middleware JEE, FullStack developers and web developers.

My insight: Scrum and flat hierarchies are making developers more and more responsible! The advancing digitization ensures more and more specializations but also generalization.

Reading tip : Everyone has their specialty but can also work in any other area: T-Shaped Professional .

A lot of developers are wanted, but they shouldn’t develop

I have recently seen that in large consultancies such as Accenture / Capgemini as well as in corporations and medium-sized companies, most of the job advertisements are software developers.

My experience: I actively asked about recruiting myself. I asked HR about positions as a project manager and she told me that none are currently being sought. But she told me that developers for Java are wanted. As a developer, I would have great opportunities, such as developing myself in the direction of project management and leading the team as a product owner, for example. I couldn’t get over a smile: She was looking for a project manager! She just didn’t know!

I also asked about the specific tasks of a software developer at the stands and quickly realized that:

• The job developer C # is also a Scrum Master
• The position as a software developer (m / f / d) is also a project manager
• The position as a full stack developer (PHP) is also a product owner

Incidentally, it is also very similar to the job of an IT consultant.

Job crafting in IT

For me, jobcrafting means designing work in such a way that it is enjoyable for me (employee) and as profitable as possible for the company.

The job of the software developer shows most clearly that professions are becoming more and more blurred and that every employee can also shape their own job a little. You can choose your role yourself in the flexible Scrum Team and rather take on the organization or the conception or development of the software.

Flat hierarchies blur job titles

Due to flat hierarchies, it is no longer important to define the job precisely in advance, as the job now changes almost monthly. So it is important to start with confidence and simply design the job the way you want it (jobcrafting).

I believe that the flat hierarchies in particular are pushing for a uniform job title. Basically, in some companies you could simply name each employee just an employee. what the employee then makes of it is up to him.

Conclusion: are we all going to be developers soon?

The question can be answered in the negative. Of course we won’t all be software developers soon, but there is a clear trend towards job crafting.

Flat hierarchies and autonomous Scrum Teams (jobcrafting) make it harder and harder to really describe jobs correctly. The choice then fell on the IT position of software developer (m / f / d). The subsequent job can now be designed flexibly.

In summary: No, we won’t all be developers, but the hierarchies are becoming flatter and job titles are becoming less and less important. You notice it most clearly in the job of the software developer. What is important is what you do with your job yourself.

My tip: Make use of this flexibility and simply apply for such a position as a developer with the wish to take over the organization as a project manager.

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“I work hard but can’t get any further!”

I often hear from my readers that they work very hard and receive a lot of praise, but do not get the desired promotion or professional recognition, e.g. senior consultant or staff position.

The problem is, you’re just like that character in the hamster wheel. You work harder and harder and run faster and faster. But that is exactly what will usually never get you any further. This is also shown by a recent study by McKinsey: Fair promotion only exists in theory .

T-Shaped Professional and the lighthouse theme

At the beginning of your job you will usually become a generalist and get a taste of numerous topics. Now it is important to move forward and become a technical expert.

My thesis: Employees are often very good generalists or have been working on a topic for many years, but are not fully integrated into it.

It is important that you make a name for yourself with a flagship topic in the company, small talk or other opportunity. A senior consultant always has a special topic that he can do very well. The advantage of such a topic is:

• You can get people excited about you at conferences
• In job interviews, hardly anyone can hold a candle to you on this topic
• This will help you distinguish yourself in the company and set an example for others

It is important to really understand a topic correctly and “unfortunately” you usually do that in your free time. So the first step is to find a topic and plan a few Sundays.

Reading tip: How to find a topic

Now collect literature on the subject trying to understand the subject in depth. You will also get to know the most varied of perspectives on the topic, e.g. cloud in knowledge work, production or agility as a skill, skill or mindset. Be the Expert! When you have read enough, you should exchange ideas with other experts and write specialist articles and give lectures.

I was able to find my topic easily through my doctorate and I still deal with it today. This type of generalization with a special topic is called T-Shaped Professional.

The horizontal crossbar stands for that Broad knowledge , i.e. areas and skills to the right and left of your subject area, which extends in different directions or different areas. For example, I am very familiar with various areas of software development and infrastructure.

The main pillar, i.e. the vertical line at the T, stands for Special knowledge . The knowledge in this area is solidly anchored and goes in depth. That cost me a lot of reading, user group visits and discussions with experts.

My experience: You usually don’t learn your T-shape at work, but have to pull yourself up and that also costs some free time.

My advice: Download the template down and build your own T-shape.

Conclusion

My personal conclusion is: You have to break out of the hamster wheel yourself! You will get stuck if you keep doing the same thing over and over, only better and faster. A promotion also has noisy a survey of 1000 employees rarely to do with good work. You should break new ground and gain further qualifications. A specialization can be a great way to get promoted and make you the figurehead for a topic.

Reading tip: Become a manager

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Reading tip: Become a senior professionally

Company events as unpaid working time

Relaxing with colleagues over a beer after work or at company events – career boost or annoying overtime? To understand this better I would like to a survey by the job portal Karriere.at briefly point out. The results of the more than 500 interviewed employees on the topic of after-work beer with colleagues and company events are:

• Just over 30% find company events annoying and do not attend them at all
• Just under 30% limit their visits to company events to “mandatory events” such as the Christmas party
• Another 30% go to such events spontaneously from time to time
• Only 10% think company events are important and regularly meet colleagues for a beer after work

Fact: The majority (60%) find such events annoying and only 10% actively attend them.

In the same survey, more than 160 executives were also interviewed. The results differ massively and are as follows:

• Only 10% of those surveyed do not attend company events
• Around 40% limit their attendance at company events to “compulsory events” such as the Christmas party
• Over 50% of managers rate such events as very important and attend them regularly or spontaneously.

Executives seem to classify such events as much more sensible. The study gives reasons such as employee loyalty, motivation and networks. So are company events a career boost or what can be the reasons for the differences?

Use company events cleverly

You can use such company events specifically to build a good relationship with the managers and colleagues of your company. While you usually only discuss small talk or business topics, you now have the opportunity to build a kind of personal relationship with your boss. This usually helps a lot with the promotion and shows that you strongly identify with the company.

At such events, for example after work beer in the pub, there is often exciting information on topics in the company. You could find out there, for example, that a position as a team leader will soon be vacant and proactively inquire before everyone else. I would like to give two examples of this in the following.

Example: Christmas party

The company Christmas party is a must for many employees. The job portal Karriere.at surveyed over 500 employees. Two thirds have no direct desire for the Christmas party and rate it as a compulsory event.

Just under 15% of those surveyed said they were looking forward to the Christmas party. The Christmas party has an important meaning for your visibility and perception for the executives of your company. It offers space for good conversations and relaxed get-togethers away from everyday work. It is also the perfect opportunity to get to know the important managers better and to draw attention to yourself in a relaxed atmosphere. Also, good parties connect people.

Tip: Address executives and important personalities in a targeted manner. Draw attention to yourself!

Example: after-work drink

The after-work drink is an often spontaneous event with a changing group of participants in a bar / pub near the company. You sit together in a cozy atmosphere and get to know each other better privately. A kind of friendship can significantly improve the way we work together in everyday working life.

After a few drinks, exciting internal information is also often exchanged, which can help you further. For example, you could find out there that a position as a team leader will soon be available and apply proactively before everyone else.

Tip: Take a close look at the group of participants (managers, etc.) of the after-work drink and then decide whether you will be there.

I would like to give you a personal tip. If a senior manager or your boss is there for the after-work drink, then cancel everything that has already been planned for the evening. Take the chance!

Conclusion

Based on the survey results shown, you will notice that hardly any employees really want to go to company events and that there are often only small groups over a beer after work. This is exactly your chance to stand out.

Reading tip: Become a manager

Such events in particular help you to build up an internal network and personal relationships with the company’s decision-makers. As is already known: professional advancement is often associated with an extra mile (e.g. overtime). Corporate events can be such an extra mile and a career boost.

Final tip: External user groups are also a good addition to your career.

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Reading tip: Generation management

Professionally successful through status: Generation X

Generation X were born between 1965 and 1980 and are considered to be conscientious, status-oriented and demand a separation of private and professional life. So what could success mean for this generation? Studies and the current facts show that status and symbols are very important.

Imagine: You drive to work in your big car in the morning and you are the head (manager) of a department. Being a manager is very important to you and you recently got a very high new salary (more than your colleague). In the evening you eat together with your family in your big house (bigger than your neighbor’s).

I believe that status and wealth can contribute to happiness and that makes you feel happy every day. So if you define status as happiness, then vertical advancement is for you.

Reading tip: Become a manager

Professionally successful through freedom: Generation Y

What good is 1 million euros in our account if we don’t see the world and sit in the office 80 hours a week? Generation Y dreams of a free life and flexible time management. One keyword is New Work: The decoupling of place and time of work execution.

Imagine: You work on your laptop while lying in a hammock on the beach, surfing through the Maldives during your lunch break or living normally in Germany but you have no problems simply having brunch at 11 a.m. or going to the craftsman in the home office of 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. waiting?

For Generation Y, success at work means the freedom to realize their own dreams and be able to work flexibly. So if you define free time (freedom) as success, then you’ve come to the right place. It is important that you are professionally fit.

Reading tip: Advance professionally

Professionally successful through perfection: Generation Z

Generation Z should return to old values and look for perfection. One of the drivers of this is social networks. If we open Instagram and see the perfect lives and lunches and daily routines of others every day, then we quickly feel small when we look at our lives. Profession, fitness, property and job title must form a perfect unit.

Imagine: In the morning in the gym, during the day in the perfect loft office and in the evening with a nice after-work with Skyview. Of course, the perfect day also has to be online as an Insta story.

For Generation Z, success at work means a perfect overall picture, which looks harmonious on the outside and presents itself as a high performer. I think that’s true for now, but it can still change a lot. Generation Z is still young and everything can change. That’s why I give you a reading tip to help you find your professional topic.

Reading tip: How to find your professional topic

Conclusion

You notice: Success is not always success. I think every category is great. I believe that you have to choose for yourself. I fit myself into Generation Y: freedom is success. How is it for you Tell me in the little poll.

[yop_poll id=”41″]

Image source: Background photo created by jcomp – de.freepik.com

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Der Beitrag What does professional success actually mean in the digital age? #newwork erschien zuerst auf agile Companies.

Today I want to blog something about a very special subgroup of influencers / topic ambassadors. It is about topic ambassadors who are employed in their own company and who represent a topic externally on a completely voluntary basis (e.g. do not earn any money with it). Imagine: an influencer would work for you in your company.

What is a topic ambassador?

The tasks of a theme ambassador are primarily in the area of sales and marketing. The ambassador has a topic such as agility or leadership and represents this externally through books, lectures, specialist articles or other actions. He is considered an expert on this subject in the scene.

A topic ambassador is the mouthpiece of a self-selected topic, which it represents with passion and expertise without financial interests.

Own definition

How can such topic ambassadors help a company?

Many companies encourage their employees and send them to conferences or help with the writing of independent specialist articles. I think that’s right and good. It is authentic when an employee reports about an agile transformation or digitization himself and often even without sales intent.

What are the advantages? If you have such a topic ambassador in your company, your company’s image, for example as an agile company, will benefit. You can then look forward to numerous applications from key specialists.

You will notice that this gives your company a real push in the perception of the scene and the best thing for you, as the employer, is that you only have to leave the employee “alone” and release them for important conferences.

The theme ambassador presents your company to the public as an innovative company full of bright minds.

Benefits of the theme ambassador

What are examples of theme ambassadors?

Two current examples for me are Marcus Raitner, who represents the agility of BMW externally, and also Udo Wiegärtner from my home in Nuremberg. You will also find examples from DB Systel and Rewe Digital employees. The companies now have such a high level of awareness in the agile scene that they should hardly complain about too few applications. I am also often asked which company I work for.

Conclusion

I think that every company should try to train or employ such an ambassador within its own ranks. As an SME in particular, you can create a big name for yourself and recruit skilled workers through visibility.

If you want to make a name for yourself in the long term as an innovative company full of bright minds, then you should look out for such a topic ambassador.

Image source: Business photo created by lifeforstock – www.freepik.com

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Der Beitrag When employees voluntarily become topic ambassadors – what are the benefits? erschien zuerst auf agile Companies.