Ask any employee. One of the foremost reasons why they are working so hard is because they want to obtain a promotion. After all, it would mean a salary increase, more benefits, and a chance of finding a much better job should they decide to leave an organization.

However, promotions don’t come that easy. Some stay in the company for years and never experience it. To ensure you do not get stuck in a position and learn to climb the ladder, here are seven things you can follow to obtain promotion:

1. Increase your learning.
Higher jobs are the most coveted, but they can also be the most challenging. Most of the managers will be very apprehensive of promoting you if they believe you cannot handle the tasks.

To prepare yourself for the hurdles, as well as to prove you have what it takes for the position, increase your learning. That does not mean you have to wait for in-house training. For one, you can take up master’s or PhD degrees if you are holding lower academic certifications. You can also attend workshops and seminars. Find a good mentor. It can be someone within your office or just a person you look up to.

2. Go the extra mile.
Management loves it when you do more without asking anything in return. It just goes to show how much you love the organization and your job. Economic-wise, companies tend to save on costs since it may mean they do not have to hire someone to do some jobs.

3. Avoid office politics and gossip.
Seriously, you cannot expect the higher-ups to promote someone who could possibly be stabbing them in the backs. Besides, gossips in the office are usually the causes of workplace conflicts, a typical source of headache among managers and business owners.

4. Be on time.
In fact, be early and skip absenteeism. Having a bad record when it comes to attendance means you are not taking your job seriously, you cannot handle the work, worse you are not a productive individual. Conversely, an employee who is always late or absent commonly gets booted out of the organization.

5. Stop asking for salary increase.
Good companies strive to give their employees as many benefits as they can. That includes an increase in the salary. It is normal for employees, though, to request for one. However, do not overdo it. Otherwise, the company will think that you’ll be asking for a lot more than they can afford should they decide to promote you.

6. Quantify the efforts.
A common reason why you get or should be promoted is because you are doing well — you are productive and effective. In times where you are up to a very tight competition for a position, numbers tend to matter. Keep tabs of your sales, quotas reached, scores from assessments, etc.

7. Contribute.
Some employees love to play it safe by keeping their peace most of the time. If you are eyeing for a promotion, this is not the way to do it. Leaders are risk takers, contributors, and team players. You should embody these attributes.