Have you ever wondered what you can do to speed up your path to a promotion at work? One very effective way is to take on additional responsibilities.
Your salary and title are measured by the responsibilities you have at work. Those who have a high-level of responsibility are typically paid better than the average employee. Their titles often reflect a senior level as well.

Take financial jobs, for example. While a staff accountant may have many responsibilities and a very full workday, ultimately, the Chief Financial Officer has a role with greater responsibility, hence bigger title and better pay.
If you aim to make your way up in any organization, you’ll have to agree to taking on more responsibility at work.
First, however, the organization will need to agree to offer it to you. How do you achieve this?

Responsibility in the Workplace

First you need to understand what responsibility in the workplace means. Without showing responsibility in the position you hold now, you won’t likely be granted additional responsibilities until you are able to demonstrate the ability to do so. There are basic responsibilities like:
• showing up for work on time and putting in expected hours

• making appropriate choices – such as how you dress and how you interact with others

• being reliable – your boss, the people you work with, and clients should be able to rely on you on a daily basis, especially during peak or urgent periods

In addition, to show you truly fulfill the responsibilities of your position you should be able to:

• meet deadlines (or complete work prior to deadline)
• meet or exceed each of your current job goals.
• quantify and present your successful results

Work Responsibilities that Go Above and Beyond your Current Position

If you regularly demonstrate success in all the responsibilities above, you can be assured that you will be a valued employee.
In fact, you may just be the perfect employee for your position! There’s only one problem: you don’t want to be stuck in that position.
So, what can you do to speed up the promotion process? One sure way to get noticed is by taking on additional responsibilities whenever possible.
Don’t be afraid to be the one to volunteer for or agree to additional, career-expanding responsibilities. In doing this you will most likely have the opportunity to work with other departments or people you haven’t interacted with before. This allows you to expand your network and increase visibility.

When opportunities arise you increase your chances of having access to them. Also, even though your workload will increase by taking on additional responsibilities at work, if you are achieving positive results, people will desire to have you continue doing that work. Managers will often take the menial tasks of your current position away and assign them to someone else so that you can concentrate on your greater responsibilities. Before you know it, you’ve been promoted, or you’ve given yourself a big permission slip to ask for that promotion. Your employer will be hard-pressed not to grant your wish.

Prove Responsibility at Work

As you can see, taking on additional responsibilities is the best way to show that you are capable of taking on additional responsibilities. Providing employers with proof is better than providing them with promise.
Lynn Mattoon is a Content Editor & Career Writer for FinancialJobBank.com, a Beyond.com career community. You can follow her on Twitter at BeyondCareers.