By Jeff Altman, The Big GameHunter
The classic advice about how to get ahead in your job is to work hard, do what they tell you to do, not to rock the boat or cause waves, make your boss look good, and keep your mouth shut.
Personally, I’m a big fan of hard work but some people get ahead without doing hard work.
Instead, they make connections and promote themselves while doing decent work.
Notice that work doesn’t have to be hard. It needs to be capable and have others know it, like it, trust it, and respect it.
Self-promotion is a big part of moving ahead. The person who works hard and keeps their nose to the grindstone may do an excellent job but is as likely to be plucked out of their obscurity as they are to be hit by lightning.
After all, employers like diligence because they know they don’t have to worry about this person or the quality of the work that they do and since no one really cares about advancing the person because they are not seen as a flight risk, they are left to do work that leaves them brain-dead until they become worthless to anyone.
We may all be working in information factories or real factories but the rules of the game have changed and if you expect that your hard work is going to be rewarded with promotions until you get to the C suite or become the CEO of your employer, well, I don’t want to insult you but you know that’s a joke.
It stopped happening that way many years ago.
Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2020, 2021
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1900 episodes, and is a 
member of The Forbes Coaches Council.
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