You got to be ‘Oh that guy!’

There are many people who come to the office early. They usually turn the lights on. Maybe, you are one of them and you have created the habit of doing this.

But the question I would like to ask is this – what do you do after this?

Do you open your e-mail and answer your messages? Post your thoughts on your Facebook account? Or you try to find out what is going on with the latest celebrities?

Here is a better suggestion, do something worthwhile for the company instead of just doing your stuff. Why not set things up so it will become easier for others to come and hit the ground running?

Why not offer your services and show initiative? Why not be generous with your time and talent, and volunteer to help out in your company events and activities?

There is a reason why I am telling you these.

The truth is that, in a huge company, you hardly get noticed. You have dreams. You want to climb the corporate ladder. You purposefully take up MBA. You work hard. You come in early and so you are the one who opens the office lights, you go home late and you really work harder than anybody else in the company. Your boss likes you. He or she appreciates you. Perhaps, your boss tells you that he’s got his eyes on you.

You now expect a positive change, a promotion, perhaps.

But it never came. The promotion went to somebody else.

What is happening here? What is missing in the equation?

Why is life so unfair?

You get hurt. You are offended. Your hard work amounts to nothing. This is when you entertain the prospect of leaving. It’s so easy to craft a resignation letter when emotions are high. Anger and disappointments create poetic authors out of us.

But if you take a closer look at the thinking process, something is indeed missing in the equation and you need to figure it out.

While you continue to work hard and be efficient in your field, and while your boss believes in you, in a huge corporate setup, all these are good, but sadly not enough.

Your boss alone does not cast the deciding vote. The prospect of promotion to a key position involves a panel of people who would deliberate on merits (or lack of it) of a candidate.

Good people work hard, but they work quietly while waiting to be noticed.

Now, here is the missing equation, everything involves marketing. And you probably did not market yourself well.

“Out of sight, out of mind” is a key marketing principle.

While you may be better in skills and competence, this factor alone is not sufficient for you to get the promotion.

You need to be visible. You need to be known in the network. You need to be a person who can easily relate, collaborate and team up with people outside your department. Their views on you really matter.

You have to establish a position of being known as “Oh, that guy...”

You are young but you won’t be young forever. You have to work on yourself to become known as, “Oh...that guy who helps out....”

Pretty soon you will be hearing things like, “Oh...that guy is so helpful...” and “Oh...that guy is so talented...”

Until one day the boss will say, “Oh...I think that guy deserves a promotion...”

You need to be seen and heard.

You need to market yourself. Nobody will do this for you. Your boss won’t because he is probably busy marketing himself.

But you still need to be excellent. You still need to perform very well. Substance beats style every time.

The day will come and people will stop referring to you as “Oh...that guy...” and start saying, “You’re the man!”

Be “THAT GUY” then become “THE MAN.”

You can connect with Francis Kong through Facebook at www.facebook.com/franciskong2 or listen to his program called “Business Matters” from Monday to Friday at 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. in 98.7 dzFE-FM ‘The Master’s Touch’, the classical music station.