I have been working on the reception desk of a branding agency for over a year now. Initially, I applied for the position of junior account executive but was led to believe that if I accepted the reception job it might eventually lead to the other position. I was assured this was a logical progression and that I'd be considered in due course. How can I convince my bosses that I am ready for the move and how do I broach the subject?
If you were led to believe that your route to growing through the organisation was to start in reception then it's a perfectly valid question to ask. Sit down with your boss and say, "Ok what's the plan?" Explain that you've taken the first step, which is why you joined in the first place, and you want to find out if you are still on track. Is it still going to happen for you or has the company plan changed? When you move into a role, you can get left there because you're doing a good job. So it is important to bring yourself back into the focus of the person who took you on.
There's another angle to this. If I'd taken somebody on with the intention of them growing through the business and they just sat quietly in a job and never raised their head above the parapet or pushed me, I'd start thinking that maybe they weren't ready. Don't wait for an appraisal. Show initiative and set up a meeting. Say that there are other jobs you would like to do and you need to know what the plan is. Be prepared. Find out what skills are required for the junior exec role and ensure you have the training. You can then say 'I'm here, I'm ready, I'm trained and I've kept up my end of the bargain.' But you need to take into account the fact that by the end of that conversation you'll have told your boss that you're not likely to be in this position forever, so something is likely to happen, whether that's moving up in the organisation or it's a boss thinking he or she need to look for another receptionist. You need to be prepared for that.
Deborah Meaden is author of Common Sense Rules (Random House, £7.99). Read more advice from Deborah Meaden.
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