“My work speaks for itself…I shouldn’t have to tell anyone about my skills.” “Why did they hire from outside, I am already doing what’s required of that position?” “Why did they get job, I have more skills and experience than they do?” “How come my name is never mentioned when promotions come up in conversation?”

The answer is…you need to promote your skills and experience. Everybody quotes old saying, “It not what you know, but who you know.” That’s not quite right. The correct saying should be, “It not what you know but who knows what you know.” The people that can make decisions or have input on your career need to know what you know. This will only happen if you promote, promote, promote your special skills and experience.

Here are five secrets you can use to promote yourself for promotions:

1. Volunteer to Make a Difference Volunteer for assignments that expose your skills. Look for especially challenging projects that other people have declined.

Also volunteer to mentor others within your organization. This will show and develop your leadership, management, and interpersonal skills. Keep management posted on your challenges and how you are working with person you are mentoring to overcome these challenges.

Volunteer to write a department or organizational newsletter. This is another way to benefit a large group with your ideas while showcasing your skills and ideas.

2. Be a Solution Creator not a Problem Maker Anybody can find problems within organizations. My experience is that you don’t need to find them…they will find you. Sometimes they have a special skill of finding problems and reporting them.

Develop skill of looking at these problems as “opportunities for advancement,” step back and analyze opportunity, and develop ideas for overcoming problem. Make sure you communicate these solutions during meetings, e-mails, memos, and conversations with management. You will soon be looked upon by management as someone who can overcome obstacles and make things happen within organization.

3. Handle Next Level at This Level If you are a manager and want to become a vice president then, start working like a vice president. Find a vice president that is open to mentoring you for next level. Remember, that vice president will not be promoted to next level unless organization sees that vice president has developed someone to take their spot. It might as well be you. Plus you can lighten their work load.

Explain to vice president what you want to accomplish so that everyone has a clear understanding and that this is a win-win situation for all involved.

By time it gets to point of showing up on a goals list, household organization has been neglected so much that results have culminated into a mountain so big even bravest of us want to run in opposite direction!

Procrastination is often by-product of fear. We may perceive something to be so big or unattainable that we become overwhelmed and immobile.

Getting organized doesn’t mean you have to take on that mountain in one grand leap. Just start plugging along at your own speed with small steps and look only a few feet ahead at a time.

Maybe you’ve let things slide a little more than you wanted and you’d rather have a dump truck and backhoe come in and haul everything away, but it doesn’t have to be that extreme.

The best way to get going is START SMALL. Little 15-30 minute jobs are a great way to start, and they might be all you need to get your organizational energy in motion.

A few examples of little jobs might be:

1) Clean out your medicine cabinet. Unless you’re a pharmaceutical distributor, your medicine cabinet should not take up a large portion of your home. It provides a small area to focus your time and attention on. Go through your containers and throw out all expired medications.

2) If you don’t want to miss your favorite TV show, why not sort through all of your expired catalogues and magazines while you’re watching? Dig them out, put them on coffee table and sort them into two piles: expired and current. When your show is over or during commercial break, take your expired catalogues out to your recycling box and put your current ones back where they belong.

3) If catalogues were sorted during first half of your show, haul out your purse or wallet and start cleaning it out for second half. You would be amazed at out-dated business cards, receipts, expired credit cards and old phone numbers you have no need for anymore.

4) Pick a cupboard/cabinet in your kitchen or garage that is overflowing and focus on it only. Don’t worry about other ten. Pick one you feel you can tackle now, roll up your sleeves and get in there.