There’s always something to howl about.

Blogoff Post #89: How to get promoted when you work from home . . .

From the Problogger ‘How To…’ Group Writing Project, Home Office Blues offers thoughts on “How to get promoted when you work from home”:

One of the dangers of working from home is that it is more difficult to move your career forward. “Out of sight, Out of mind” often applies to telecommuters. What options are available to the upwardly mobile teleworker? How do you set yourself up for promotion when the odds are stacked against you?

I’m glad you asked. It turns out that the steps that are necessary to get promoted when you work from home are the same as those that are necessary to get promoted when you work in an office. Like everything else however, the telecommuter must work smarter.

Here are the 3 steps to getting promoted:

1. Be valuable.
This is obvious. You must do good work, have a good work ethic, and be a real value to your company. Most people stop here assuming that their work speaks for itself. Don’t make that mistake. You must proceed to step two.

2. Be visible.
You must market yourself and your work. You must make your presence felt by making sure you are working on visible projects. And finally, you must network and build relationships across the organization (and beyond). Know what other people are working on and be sure they know what you are doing.

3. Ask for the promotion.
You are doing good work; people know it and you have paid your dues. Don’t stop there. If you want to be promoted, you have to ask for it. This is where most people drop the ball. For some reason people are afraid to ask for what they want.

Even though this is about the world of corporate advancement, I found it valuable for two reasons: Realtors working from home suffer the same kind of invisibility from the Mother Ship. And, in essence, our true employers, home sellers and buyers, only see us working when we’re working directly with them. We need to make the same kinds of efforts to make our efforts known…

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