Define your goals and motivations.
It’s hard to get what you want if you aren’t sure why you want it. Is there a specific role that you’re looking for, or do you simply want more responsibility at work? Are you trying to get ahead because you want to be challenged, or do you think you’ve got the best chance at being successful in a different role? You’re going to be asked why you want to be promoted at some point, and figuring out what your angle is will help you justify your promotion. When you ask your manager about a promotion, they’re almost certainly going to ask you, “Why do you think you deserve a promotion?” Your answer to that question can make or break you, so prepare for the conversation now. “I know that I’m capable of handling more and I want to challenge myself to develop professionally” and, “I can serve this company better as a regional vice president than I can as a regional director” are good reasons for a promotion. “I want more money,” and, “It has been a while since I’ve been promoted” are not.
Assess the company’s culture and finances.
Finding the right time to ask for a promotion is more of an art than science. If nobody is getting promoted and times are tight, your request may come off the wrong way. But if your coworkers are being promoted every couple of months, this is a great time to ask about a path forward. Take your company’s policies and social norms into consideration as well.If it’s a fresh start-up with an open culture, feel free to throw the request out there. If it’s a big company with promotion discussions built into performance reviews, just wait. Pay attention to the tone at work. If your boss has been on edge recently, play it slow. If you’ve got a great thing going and the rapport is there, feel free to broach the subject.
Talk to your boss about a promotion.
Take your boss aside and be straight with them. Tell them you’re interested in taking on more challenges or responsibilities at work. State your intent and listen to them as they walk through their response. If your boss says you’re ready, great! If not, at least now you know what you have to do. For example, you could sit down with your boss and just say, “Look, I think I’ve done some great work the past year and I think I’m ready for the next challenge. Can we talk about a potential promotion?” Keep a few concrete examples to point at if they ask about your performance. If they ask you how you think your work has been, point to your examples. There is no “perfect time” to ask for a promotion. When in doubt, just ask. If the answer is “no,” at least your boss will explain why they aren’t open to it right now. This will give you a great sense for what’s holding you back. And who knows—they may just give it to you on the spot!
Maintain a positive attitude and be friendly.
You’re more likely to be promoted if people enjoy working with you. Keep a smile on your face, encourage others when they’re struggling, and demonstrate resilience in the face of setbacks. Even if you're having a bad day, try not to complain. Your boss is more likely to promote you if they enjoy having you around and they think you’ll boost morale when times are tough. If you tend to find yourself complaining in the face of adversity, try to stop. Look for solutions, not problems. Make an effort to befriend as many people as you can at the office. If someone else gets promoted before you, at least they’ll advocate on your behalf the next time an opening comes up.
Help your coworkers and bosses out.
Volunteer to help your coworkers whenever they need a hand. Ask your boss and peers if need help on any projects. If you can establish yourself as a resource for others, you’re going to stand out as leadership material. Whenever you find an opportunity to help, take it. You’re going to have a much easier time getting promoted if you develop a reputation for supporting others in the office. Check in regularly with your boss and coworkers and just ask, “Hey, how are you doing? Is there anything I can do to take some pressure off of your workload?” Don’t take on more than you can handle if you already have a ton on your plate. It’s not worth sacrificing your own performance for the sake of getting someone else into a comfier place.
Be professional.
Show up on time every day and dress sharp. Follow your company’s policies and don’t go over anyone’s head. If you look or act like you’re not ready for a leadership role, you aren’t going to come up on anyone’s shortlist when they’re discussing candidates for the next big job. Stay off of social media while you’re at your work computer and don’t take any extended lunch breaks. If it looks like you’re slacking, you aren’t going to get the promotion you’re shooting for. Looking professional doesn’t mean you have to look boring. It’s totally fine to stand out and raise some eyebrows with a slick suit or fancy dress.
Do quality work to prove yourself.
Let your work speak for you by doing the absolute best that you can. Skip the small talk at the water cooler and show up to meetings with everything you need to contribute. Volunteer for optional projects and push yourself to hit every target you’re given. If you can demonstrate that you’re a valuable asset to the company, you’re much more likely to get the promotion you want. Hold on to all of the evidence that you’ve been successful. It will come in handy the next time you chat to your boss about a promotion. Sales numbers, chat logs, time sheets, and performance reviews are all proof that you’re ready for the next big thing.
Seek out feedback and implement it.
Check in regularly with your boss to see how you’re performing. If they tell you that you’re on the right track, great. Keep doing what you’re doing. If they give you any feedback at all, don’t take it personally or get defensive. Do your best to implement the feedback your boss gives you, even if it doesn’t make sense or it feels a little unearned. Take notes on the feedback you get and the changes you make. If you can demonstrate that you’ve honed the skills you’ve been asked to improve, you have a tremendous case for your promotion. Seek feedback from co-workers too. Even if it doesn’t mean as much as the feedback you get from your boss, it’s going to demonstrate to everyone that you’re willing to improve and grow. Just check in with your boss and ask, “Hey, how have I been doing recently?” or, “Was there anything you think I could have done better on the last project?”
Develop your skills outside of work.
If you know you’ve got some gaps in your skillset, improve them. If your finance knowledge isn’t where it should be, take a finance class. If you could use some practice closing the sale, attend sales conferences and business forums. The more you can do to sharpen your skills outside of work, the stronger your case is going to be when it comes time to revisit a potential opening. You can always audit or take classes at your local community college or business school. Make sure your boss knows about your professional development. You can always bring it up casually when you’re making small chat one day. Alternatively, you can ask if the company has a program where they pay for professional development. Even if they don’t, at least they’ll know you’re trying to improve yourself.
Follow up with your boss about your promotion.
Request another promotion chat after 1-2 months of hard work. Bring evidence of your improvement and ask to discuss the matter again. It can take a little bit of time for the seed you plant to grow, but it will pay off if you’re consistent and persistent. If they’re open to promoting you, ask about next steps. If they aren’t, talk to them about the barriers preventing you from moving up. If the company just doesn’t have an opening or the company is struggling financially right now, you really don’t have a lot of options. Just be patient. For example, you might say, “Hey, Mr. Robinson. I’m hoping we can revisit that conversation we had about the assistant manager position that’s opening up. I think I’ve done a great job recently and I believe that I’m ready. Can we sit down and talk tomorrow?”
Apply for the opening formally at a bigger company.
If you work at a large company and you have to formally apply, do it. Put together a short speech or formal presentation for the interview to make your case. Go through all of your reviews, data, and evidence, and either outline a speech or throw it together in a PowerPoint. The more detailed you can be, the stronger your case will be. Fill out the application and bring your work with you to the interview. In a PowerPoint, you could include sales figures, targets you’ve met, excerpts from performance reviews, or client acquisition numbers. You could sit down and say, “I firmly believe that my performance demonstrates that I’m the best candidate for the position. My customer reviews are over 98% positive, I’ve met my targets for the past 3 quarters straight, and I have a phenomenal rapport with everyone in the office.”
Leverage your connections if someone is leaving.
Befriending coworkers as they’re on their way out is a great way to move up. If you have a feeling, hear a rumor, or know for a fact that someone in the position you want is leaving, go chat them up. Ask them about their work and try to get to know them better if you don’t have a great rapport right now. Besides the valuable insights they’ll offer up, they may throw your name out there when they’re getting ready to leave which can give you a leg up. If they straight up tell you they’re leaving soon, just ask them, “How do you think I’d do in your role?” They’ll give you some great advice based on their experiences.
Invent a new position for yourself at a smaller company.
If you’re feeling especially ambitious, create your own path forward. Talk to your boss about expanding your role or inventing a new one to fill in a gap in your company’s organization. If your idea has merit, you may get the position just based on the fact that you had the vision to identify the opening. If your boss isn’t fond of the idea and they say no, at least they know you’re thinking big picture. For example, if you work in quality control at a software company but there isn’t anyone vetting customer feedback, you could ask your boss about expanding your role to collect and analyze that feedback data. If you work at a smaller company and they don’t have a “head of sales” position, ask your boss about it. If they simply never thought of it, you could make a case for overseeing your department. You could sit down with your boss and say, “I was thinking about our organization the other day and realized we don’t have anyone overlooking communications between IT and sales. I’d love to take that responsibility on if it’s something we would benefit from.”
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