CAD Manager's Q&A: How Can I Get Promoted?

How can I do my job in a way that's most conducive to getting a promotion and raise? And if I can't get a promotion, how can I still get a raise?

Robert Green responds: Great questions! In fact, the answers to these questions will form the basis for a much more detailed explanation during the next few issues of CAD Manager's Newsletter, so be sure to read them!

Here's the short answer: Show your management that you save them more money doing CAD management than you cost them in salary! I'll share some tips you can use to start saving and getting on the promotion/raise track.

Think like a salesman. In the world of sales, everyone knows that to get more money you have to sell more. As a CAD manager you can't really sell, so you must demonstrate that you save. Therefore, you need to think about ways to save and how to bring those ideas to management in a way that will shine a positive light on you.

Ask what you would do tomorrow to save money if you only could. When you focus on how you could save money and forget about the politics of making the changes, you'll zero in on great ideas that you can take to your management team. Then you can let them worry about the politics. The point is to get the credit you deserve for your cost-saving ideas.

Ask what you would do tomorrow to make things faster if you only could. When you strip work processes down to make them faster, you almost always eliminate wasteful steps and save money at the same time. Again, let your management team worry about the politics of change while you become the change agent.

Focus on keeping score. When you come up with a cost- or time-saving idea, you need to determine the savings potential and document it.

By taking these steps, you can't help focusing on the management goals of faster, cheaper processes that save the company money. And when you prove that you've saved enough money to pay for your raise, you've earned the right to not only a raise but also a promotion for your management expertise.