The following is the third in a series of 10 tips to help you become more promotable in your job.

3. Speak up.

During meetings, always weigh in on the topics discussed. Don’t leave a meeting without having an opinion about something or you will quickly get a reputation for being “wishy-washy” or not concerned with the company’s success. If you’re in a meeting and the discussion turns to something you’re unfamiliar with or is not part of your department’s duties, look engaged anyway. Always remember that the people above you are watching you, and everything you do – or don’t do – counts.

The following is the second in a series of 10 tips to help you become more promotable in your job.

2. Build your confidence.

Contrary to popular belief, confidence is not about self-esteem or self-worth. In fact, someone can have a low level of self-esteem and still become a high-level executive, as the person’s low self-esteem could be driving them to succeed. True confidence is simply the belief that you can do things well. If you doubt your ability to do things well, simply look back at your record of accomplishment. Use those past successes as a way to build your confidence so it’s apparent to others as well.

The following is the first in a series of 10 tips to help you become more promotable in your job.

Any successful executive will tell you that there’s a game in business. If you’re not willing to play the game, you can’t win at it. So while many people aspire to reach the executive level in their company, they won’t. In fact, most people don’t make it past the $80,000 per year income level simply because they don’t play the game.

Why won’t they play? “I hate business politics,” they say. But who said “business politics” had to be a negative thing? For example, if your boss does something commendable in the company, invents something new, or makes a great speech, it’s okay to congratulate him or her. That’s not being political or a “kiss up”; it’s called being gracious and having decorum – two things that will help you climb the corporate ladder.

Aside from your technical skills or job-specific abilities, other big components of the game include your comportment, how you look, how you speak, your attitude, and your daily habits.

1. Claim your space.

When you’re walking in the office, you need to look purposeful and centered. Scurrying, looking harried, or trying to blend into the background will make you appear as though you lack confidence. Instead, walk with your full height and claim the space around you. People need to view you as someone on a mission – a mission to the top.

The four magic words are: “I want the job.”

If you’ve done all your research on the company and you like the person interviewing you and you know you want to work there, then you have to speak up and say so. Don’t end the interview by saying, “I think this would be a great place to work. Thanks for the wonderful interview.” That’s too weak. You have come right out and say, “Thank you for the interview. I want the job. What are the next steps?”

As you do so, leave the door open so you can follow up with them rather than them having to follow up with you. You could say, “I’ll follow up with you in a week.” Chances are that because they’re interviewing many people and are overwhelmed, they’ll tell you not to follow up – that they’ll take care of it. But follow up anyway. You’ll never know what’s happening on a job’s status unless you follow up with the person.

Don’t take salary advice from family members and well-meaning friends.

Never say to a potential employer, “My husband said I’m worth this much money,” or “My mother said I should be making this level of salary.” Truth be told, the people who are telling you what you should be paid don’t know the market. The bottom line is that you’re going to get paid what you’re worth in the current marketplace. Unless someone purposefully takes advantage of you (which is not common), then you’re going to get paid fairly.

The key is that you need to do some real research on what you’re worth. As you do so, take into account your education level, years of experience, industry, size company you’re interviewing with, and even your geographic location. After all, a job for a small company in Yulee, Florida will pay a lot less than that same job for large company in Manhattan.

You can find realistic salary information from local temporary services, job posting boards, and even websites like salary.com. Use the information you find out as a starting guide and adjust the figure up or down based on your specific circumstances.

If you don’t know what you want, how can you find it? The floundering that job seekers do in terms of not knowing what they really want to do in life takes them off on some time-consuming tangents. If you don’t know what you’re good at or what you want to do “when you grow up,” then get tested. Many state unemployment offices and colleges offer career testing so you can know what fields might be a good match for you.

If you’re one of those people who applies to any job you can find, you’re never really going to find what you want. Rather, you have to go with a clear cut goal of what you’re looking for. Think of it like digging for oil. If you know the oil is there and you dig five wells that are shallow, you’re probably not going to get to your goal no matter how many holes you dig. But if you take that same energy and dig one really deep well, then you’re going to hit black gold.

Fluttering around dilutes your energy. And energy management is so important when looking for a job because job hunting is depleting of your psychic and your physical energy, particularly if you have a family and you’re depending on that income.

Build a Resume that Stands Out

No matter what kind of position you’re applying for – from entry level to executive level – the resume is important. These days a resume can be either hard copy or electronic. Which you send depends on what the company has asked for in their employment ad. Whether they say to email or mail a resume, or to apply online, do exactly as they say. And when you do apply online, be sure you fill out every box and complete every field. Do every single thing the prospective employer asks for. If you don’t, you’ll get automatically disqualified because the potential employer will think you can’t follow directions. In fact, that’s the number one first test of many employers – “Do they follow instructions?”

If you’re mailing in a resume, pick a white or off-white paper. Unless you’re in the arts, don’t do anything wild with your resume. Make sure your font choice is readable both on and off screen. Font that is too tiny or too elaborate will not get read. Finally, there is never any excuse for an error on your resume. So if you’re not good at proofing, find someone who is…and then find someone else who’ll proof it again. You just can’t be too cautious.

Dear Jean,

I’m a salesperson for a large company.  I feel that my sales manager overlooks and doesn’t monitor people who over exaggerate their numbers just to reach their quotas.  I feel I am being punished because I am being honest.  What should I do?

Reply:

It depends on your motives.  Are you concerned for the welfare of the company, or are you concerned that your bonuses won’t be as big as your co-workers’?  If you are truly concerned for the welfare of the company, blowing the whistle is certainly an option.  It does have its drawbacks; I’m sure you know what they are.

If you are concerned about your numbers and bonuses as they compare to your co-workers’, stop.  There is nothing you can do about someone else’s behavior on the job.  Don’t give much thought to telling anyone else at this point.  The boss will find out sooner or later, so just keep your mind on your job and be honest in reporting your quotas.

Dear Jean,

I have a full-time job during the week and my boss is wanting me to work on weekends as well as do double shifts at night.  I have a new baby, and I don’t want to be at work that much.  How do I go about telling him that I don’t want to work any more overtime?

Reply:

Your family has to come first.  Sometimes it takes years to know how much, but working weekends and double shifts will affect your family.  If your budget isn’t demanding that you work these hours, then talk with your boss and tell him exactly what you can and can’t do with a new baby.  Then he will tell you if he can or can’t accommodate you.  The final word will of course, be his.

Phrases like “manage your time” and “do more with less” have become the buzzwords for this decade. The idea is that if you can manage your time well, you’ll be more productive in all areas of life. The only flaw in this thinking is that time is finite. In other words, you can manage time all you want and continually push yourself to get more done. But all this managing and pushing tires your brain, drains your spirit, and disengages your soul. That’s when mistakes occur and burnout ensues. The key, then, is not to simply manage your time, but also to manage your energy.

Unlike time, energy is restorable. And when you manage your energy well, you’ll have more energy for your priorities, whether they are personal or professional in nature. If you don’t manage your energy, you can’t manage your time. Sure, you can think about all the things you need to do and you can schedule them, but if you don’t have the energy to do the tasks, you won’t be able to accomplish them appropriately.

Realize, too, that managing your energy goes beyond work/life balance. While many people talk about work/life balance (devoting ample time to all areas of your life), few address those things that make life rich and fun. With so many things competing for your attention daily, you need to give attention to energy replenishment so you can devote the time your life’s priorities demand. This is why it’s important to manage your energy before you manage your time.

The Three Pillars of Energy Management

Keeping your energy in check means giving attention to your brain, your spirit, and your soul. Think of it like a three-legged stool. For the stool to be useful, you need all three legs. Remove one leg from the equation, and the stool topples over and is useless. The same is true for your energy. Therefore, to keep your energy replenished, implement the following suggestions into your daily life.

• Stimulate Your Brain

The human brain likes control and certainty, and it’s very good at predicting the next thing that is likely to happen based on the information it has. That’s why you often feel better when you perceive you have control over a situation and feel stressed if you think you have no control over events. Additionally, the brain is programmed to fear. This is a good thing, though, because the inborn fear is what has allowed our species to evolve. The only drawback to this natural fear is that the brain will take three pieces of information and make a story out of it—usually a negative one. This negative story becomes your reality until you get another piece of data. Talk about an energy drain on your brain!

In order to replenish your brain’s energy, do the following:

• Since your brain is part of your body, it needs to be fed the right food for optimum health. Eat three nutritious meals a day, exercise to increase the oxygen flow to your brain, and drink plenty of water to keep hydrated.
• Reconstruct your stories. You have to purposefully stop the story and seek out the missing pieces of information. For example, if you get an email from your boss telling you not to take part in a task you volunteered for, with no explanation why, you would likely think your boss doesn’t believe you’re capable of the task. In reality, your boss may need you for another task, he or she may think the task is not challenging enough for you, or your boss may simply not need any assistance on the task any longer. But you’ll never know (and never stop the negative story) until you ask.
• Analyze what helps and hurts your thinking ability. For instance, do 200 emails staring at you first thing in the morning make you exhausted before you even start the day? If so, then don’t do that task first thing. Do the most important things when you’re alert and at your best, as those tasks will actually energize you so you can handle the stressful tasks later.
• Give yourself two hours a day for focused attention on a key project—the earlier in the day the better. No multi-tasking during this time! Whether you are a night or a morning person, the fact is that your brain is rested after your sleep, so this is the key time for focused attention and productivity.

• Awaken Your Spirit

The human spirit yearns to soar. The spirit enjoys lofty goals and challenging tasks to accomplish. How spirited someone is often relates to how purposeful he or she is. In fact, it’s common that when people lose their purpose in life, they feel deflated and even depressed. Hence the phrase: “Her spirit was broken.”

An energized spirit is what catapults you out of the mundane and into a new and exciting endeavor. In order to replenish your spirit’s energy, do the following:

• Do one thing every day that makes your spirit soar. Whether it’s reading poetry or listening to music, if you feel your spirit is fed by that, do it.
• Think about what you want to do in your life. Dream big! Give planned time to your future in order to nurture your spirit.
• Read things that stretch your mind. Your spirit wants to reach for the next best thing. Unleash the power of your spirit by exposing your mind to new things—even things that you feel are impossible to accomplish right now.
• Take time each day to think and concentrate. Many people are in knowledge-oriented jobs and need some degree of quiet time. So even though a particular task must get done, that task often requires planning and thinking. Your spirit can’t gain energy to tackle big goals unless it has some quiet time to prepare. So let people know that you require quiet thinking time, and actually put this time in your schedule. If others know your needs and intentions, they will respect them.

• Feed Your Soul

The human soul likes the familiar, the deep, and the poignant. The soul likes ritual, doing the same thing at the same time every day. It also enjoys the simple things in life, beauty, and nature. The soul is what connects you to life and to what is deeply meaningful to you.

In order to replenish your soul’s energy, do the following:

• Clarify your intentions and plan what you want your tomorrow to be like before you go to bed. This allows your subconscious to work on your challenges and big decisions while you sleep.
• Take time for enchantment. Linger through a museum. Enjoy preparing a simple elegant meal. Go outside regularly and really look at nature. Your soul loves beauty and wants a connection with the earth.
• Experience the present fully. Focus on the things around you—the colors and textures. Be mindful of your current surroundings and activities rather than always trying to multi-task. Really engage in life in the moment. Feel yourself breathe.
• Build rituals for yourself and your family. Even something as simple as eating dinner at the same time every day is a ritual. Both your soul and your brain crave ritual and gain energy from it.

Energize!

By focusing on these three areas of your life—your brain, your spirit, and your soul—you’ll gain the much needed energy to tackle life with enthusiasm and zest. With your energy fully replenished, time will no longer be an issue. You’ll feel ready to handle anything that comes your way with ease…and you’ll do it much faster. So make it a habit to stimulate your brain, awaken your spirit, and feed your soul. It’s one investment in yourself you can’t afford not to make.