A Harvard career coach’s “unspoken rules” for getting promoted | Gorick Ng for Big Think+

How do people actually get promoted? According to Harvard career coach Gorick Ng, it’s all about knowing the unspoken rules for success.

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The workplace isn’t a level playing field for a number of reasons. When you aren’t in a position of privilege, how do you get ahead and score that coveted promotion? According to Harvard career coach Gorick Ng, it’s all about knowing the unspoken rules for success.

Keeping your head down will only get you so far, Ng believes. What sets the rising stars apart from the stagnant are the relationships they build, the impact they make, and their clear desire to understand their manager’s objectives even when they aren’t made overtly explicit.

Ng shares tips for how to make your mark in your workplace and achieve your professional growth goals.

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About Gorick Ng:

Gorick Ng is the Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right, one of Thinkers50’s top 10 management books. Harvard Business School gifted it to every MBA student to give them an edge in the professional world. A widely-requested speaker across the world’s most recognized institutions from Stanford to IBM, Ng helps employers build an ownership mindset within their teams and empowers educators to improve career readiness among their students.

Ng is a career adviser at Harvard College, specializing in coaching FGLI (first-generation, low-income) students. He is also on the faculty at UC Berkeley, where he teaches the unspoken rules of career navigation, now available as an online course on his website. He has been featured in The New York Times, TED, CNBC, Financial Times, Fast Company, Fortune, Forbes, and The Today Show. Ng, a first-gen college student, is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. Each week, Ng shares career strategies through “Did You Know?,” a newsletter deconstructing the untold paths to success — of people (and things) you know.

[typorter-pplh]

Every single worthwhile job I ever landed was the result of having a positive connection with somebody already working at that company. Sometimes it was somebody I had never met, a friend of a co-worker, who had heard good things about my attitude and work ethic. Most often it was a former co-worker who now worked at the new company and put in a good word for me. I must emphasize this wasn’t “I want to do a favor for a friend.” This was “I want to work with somebody who is good at his job and is a good co-worker.” You never know who in your career will open a door for you in the future.

[corujariousa]

Excellent points raised. I'd like to add that are other complexities like: 1) Each work place is different and general rules would vary in intensity/importance so one needs to recognize and adapt; 2) Some environments can be very toxic, if you do not get accepted from start you'll never get anywhere. Recognizing when to leave is very important for success and even health reasons.

[raatrani]

Tangibles this guy seems to be communicating:
- Bring in as much business as you can
- Be memorable for your competence
- Be easy to work with
- Connect people within and outside the company (i.e. don’t just network; be a builder of networks)
- Mentor winners (i.e. people who will also bring in business and are seen as competent)
- Be good at managing up and building consensus around solutions (i.e. make your boss’ job easier to do, especially when you’re encountering bigger problems that require attention from people in charge)

[paulpease]

I love the recognition between insiders and outsiders. Has taken me a long time to figure things out coming from a blue collar family and spending a long time in academia.

[Chilos]

I literally got nothing out of this video. A true corp talk! Bravo 👏🏼

[undefinedvariable]

In addition to being "heard" and "seen" you've got to be willing to take risks and the responsibilities that come along with that. Own a problem and drive a solution. But also be aware that not all problems are meaningful and worth solving, be careful not to fall into these traps because your time is precious.

[deersakamoto]

Every career YouTubers tell us that switching jobs with an average 15% salary bump is way better than getting a promotion where sometimes the only change is the job title

[AvastarBin]

Somehow the 6 mins are too long for the amount of information inthis video.
Basically : understand the motivations for a task given to you and respond to these motivations rather than what's asked in the task. This will show you understand the company's objectives and know how to reach them.

[AmsterdamEats]

in order of importance: luck > network/connections > interview skills/selling yourself > experience > degree

luck and connections get you an interview, selling yourself gets you the job, having the experience to do said job makes sure you don't get fired after x months.

[dingomatic]

And then there's the wildcard of your manager. Sometimes, you can play all of your cards right but have a lackluster manager that gets in your way.

[willjensen]

I understand his point and that in a six minute video, it's hard to convey complexity. But Gorick basically repeated the same thing endlessly in this video. It could've been half as long and just as "impactful."

[Adam-uiyn]

Essentially to get ahead in a system compromised of humans, don't make the mistake of valuing technical skill over charisma. Other humans are responsible for your promotion so you must appeal to their needs, biases, and attention.

Thats why whole marketing departments exist. If we only cared about the technical objective properties of products they would sell themselves. It's akin to how we can appreciate a musical piece that's very technical and complex but at the end of the day we give most our attention to songs with simple catchy melodies.

[julianalexanderfranco]

An emotional connection is so so crucial in all aspects of our lives. Ofc this should include work.

[JacksOLantern]

That was so many words for such little advice

[arboghast]

If your workspace overly emphasizes relationships, and you find yourself being an "outsider", struggling to join a "bro club" or an "inner cycle", do yourself a favour and just quit, it's a toxic working environment.

[parkmannate]

As someone with bad social anxiety (to the point where its medicated) I long ago learned it would not matter how hard I worked or how good a job I did or even how much money I made the company, I would never advance because I can't make friends and socially interact effectively.
This is a problem in the economy.

[Twiggithy]

Maybe at the highest, 1% levels, but for the rest of us, the only way to get "promoted" is to find a better paying company than where you are currently. You can work hard and play the corporate social game, but the best you'll get is more work and a "I don't know what we'd do without you." Let them figure that out after you're hired at a higher paying company.

[Traek]

Its the same principle of it's not what you know; It's who you know. Make friends with people and doors will open to you because of your reputation

[harrietschack]

There are a few general rules such as: Networking, don't be irreplaceable in your current position, sign up for the important tasks and leave the organization of birthday parties to others. You have to sell your work, so learn storytelling. The advancement opportunities for specialists are limited, so decide consciously whether you want to become a specialist or a generalist.

[JakeSmith-jykx]

When I’ve gotten promotions, it’s been at times when I’ve flipped from doing my assigned tasks at an acceptable level to stepping back, looking at the situation, and then taking ownership of the business. That means I start doing my assigned work better and faster, with more care, and then I also find the unassigned areas that are lacking and take those on as well. If you can show that you can be a project manager by taking the initiative to do that planning while doing your regular work, your boss will notice. If you schedule meetings that matter and run them well, it will get noticed. If your data analysis goes beyond and actually presents itself, it will get noticed. It’s not complicated even if it is hard.