What actually gets you promoted?
Promotion is not a reward for working hard. It is a decision that you are already operating at the next level and somebody should make it official.
- Session length
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Matched on
- Your field
Three things worth knowing.
Find out how the decision is made where you work: who is in the room, what evidence they see, when it happens. Most people never ask.
Do the next level's work visibly for a period before you ask. The strongest case is a manager who can point at it.
Say it out loud, early, to your manager. Ambition assumed is ambition ignored.
A sequence that works.
- 01
Get the criteria in writing
Ask what specifically would need to be true. Vague answers are a warning.
- 02
Pick two visible pieces of work
Work that matters to somebody senior, delivered and attributable to you.
- 03
Keep a record
A running list of what you delivered and what it changed, written as it happens.
- 04
Ask directly
A calm, specific conversation with a timeline attached, not a hint over coffee.
What to avoid.
Assuming good work speaks for itself
Only raising it at the annual review
Comparing yourself to a colleague rather than to the criteria
Threatening to leave as a first move
The things people ask first.
How long should I wait?
If you have done the next level's work for six to twelve months, you are not being impatient.
What if my manager keeps deferring?
Ask for the specific criteria and a date. If neither arrives, that is your answer.
Is moving companies faster?
Often, yes, particularly for pay. It also costs you the ground you have built.
Get this answered for your situation.
A mentor who does the job you are aiming at can tell you which of this applies to you.