Summary:
- Make your intentions for a promotion crystal clear.
- Make an argument you deserve more scope.
- Don’t postpone yourself — start your promotion journey now.
1. Make your intentions crystal clear.
Communicate clearly to your manager:
I want to get promoted, and I’d like to work with you to understand where I’m at and what it would take to make it happen.”
If you Manager responds with either of the following attitudes — you should work with them to guide your promotion:
- They actively proceed to support and guide you.
- They have some concerns, but they are willing to work with you.
However, if they respond with:
- Deflection or postponing the conversation.
This is a sign you will need to make some active decisions regarding your plans.
2. Make an argument you deserve more scope.
- It’s not about doing better at your current scope, but about being ready for additional scope.
- Remember that taking your promotion means growing in areas you feel uncomfortable.
- If you were already there and had the skills you needed, then you would already be at the next level.
- Use the levelling criteria’s available, and go over it with your manager, to explore where your gaps may be.
- Recognise you may have gaps, rather than doing better at things you are already good at.
3. Don’t postpone yourself — start your promotion journey now.
- Don’t let other people tell you to wait, to postpone yourself and simply focus on “being a better engineer”, where the promotion will come after.
- They are not mutually exclusive — you can become a better engineer, while also focusing on active promotion focuses.
- The cost of waiting for a promotion only goes up.
- The requirements don’t get easier.
- Uncertain factors outside of your control, are not guaranteed to get easier to manage.
- The competition will only increase.
- Your previous achievements will fade from view due to unfortunate recency bias — momentum is should be capitalised on.
- Perfect timing does not exist.