Maneuver Your Way Towards Promotion

The art of building your success plan discretely.

Not all job advertisements are vacant. That’s a true story.

I worked for a company that has a structured recruitment process.

Their press release states that they want to give everyone an internal opportunity to apply for the open role to encourage career growth for internal employees before advertising the job externally.

After several days of internal job posting, they will post the advertisement externally through external job platforms to check out talents outside the office boundaries.

Once the application deadline has passed, human resources will review all applications and screen those who meet the minimum qualifications.

And they will eventually collate all the applicants who show good credentials on paper.

The next step is hiring managers will interview the top three to five candidates and rank them according to the qualities of each candidate that meet the job description.

The expectation is whoever gets the highest grade on the scorecard will get the job offer.

To tell you honestly, this process seems perfect, but mind you, some hiring managers are merely faking it.

Real talk, true story.

I will be quiet about people and organizations doing this. But here is what is happening in reality.

If a hiring manager already has an internal candidate in mind, they need only play the script. They will make their chosen one look good above everybody else.

Interview the rest and make sure the ranking still goes to the candidate that appears the best.

It’s good news for internal candidates but a waste of time for external candidates.

Not fair? Yes.

And most of us must accept this as a reality.

The Mastery of The Human Resource Policy

If you want to maneuver your way toward an internal promotion, you must be familiar with the organization’s policies.

Your best friend here is your Human Resource Business Partner, who will interpret the policy for you in case you want to understand things without a detailed guide about career progression.

For my clients gearing towards a job promotion, I instruct my students to sit down with HR and ask the following questions

• How soon can they be promoted after joining their organization?
• What is the usual number of years or performance evaluation grade that qualifies for a job-level upgrade?
• What particular promotional months in the year?
• Are their off-cycle months happening for the year?
• Does the company frequently promote people in the company?

Most of the guys I know expect a job-level upgrade or promotion because they simply meet the key performance indicators without knowing the policy and customs of promotion.

Different companies can have varying requirements before upgrading somebody in their organization.

It can be semi-annual or annual.

There might be exceptions if the reason is justified, if you have nailed a critical project, achieved a sales target that wowed the board of directors, and so on.

Build a Four-layered Coalition

People are watching you.

And it is just right to determine this early who your audience is.

Like a concert, if you are a performer, you must make your audience happy.

As they say, it is not sunshine always.

You will rise, and you will find yourself doing something wrong, but the important thing is you show that you are reliable.

The first tier: Roll like Keanu Reaves

Why in the world would I mention Keanu Reeves here?

He is very likable.

Keanu Reeves is likable to the public because of his humble and down-to-earth personality.

It’s all about character.

For instance, Despite achieving immense fame and success in Hollywood, Keanu Reeves is often spotted taking public transportation, interacting kindly with fans, and engaging in philanthropic efforts without seeking publicity.

This unpretentious character resonates with many people, making him relatable and admired by many people.

It would help if you were likable to your boss.

You cannot be liked if you give problems and headaches to your line manager.

I recall this guy who reports under me. Let us call him Matthew.

Matthew is a family man. He loves to speak his mind and is very polite. But I did not like the way he worked. Now, I can relate to why many people hate remote work.

Matthew treats work like a part-time job.

I caught him several times out doing groceries or repairing something inside his house whenever he had to complete a critical task on a given deadline.

In my mind. I was asking myself — what is this guy thinking?

Unbelievable.

This experience made me pray harder, as I cannot bear somebody who is not serious about his work.

Now, Imagine doing this to your boss.

And some of you have the nerve to aspire for a promotion and do mediocre work.

• If you want to be likable and reliable and not give your boss problems, have proposed solutions lined up in your head.
• Please try to go the extra mile, own your work, and go beyond it.
• Find ways to show your boss that you are on top of things, such as email or monthly catch-ups.
• Report to your boss what you are up to and your accomplishments.
• Stop making excuses. When the boss says you need to improve this or that, accept it like a good soldier. Appreciate the boss by accepting feedback. Not all managers care to give you time to talk about opportunities to improve.
• If there are things that seem a compromise for you, share them with your manager in private.

The second tier: Deliver like Bieber

Justin Bieber was not just about pretty face when he was discovered on YouTube singing songs when he was 12.

The videos showcased his talent, which caught the attention of Scooter Braun, the talent manager.

Bieber rose to music stardom because he was able to deliver.

Let’s go back to Matthew earlier.

Matthew was a nice guy but had some issues with taking his job seriously.

He would send reports with typographical errors, and his presentation of his numbers could have been more pleasing.

I recall testing his analytical skills with the intention of performing adjustments and corrections in the books.

In accounting, it is basic to refer to third-party support documents to adjust the books, but all he provided to me were his imaginative stories and accounts that had no proof to adjust the material numbers in the books.

From the perspective of the regulator, what he did was unacceptable.

Before aspiring to be promoted, ensure you can technically carry out your work excellently.

What I saw in Matthew was hype because he looked good on paper.

I don’t mean to offend him, but it took me time to discover that he lacked some fundamentals in performing the job.

Technical skills need to be polished, and he is not even at the level of others in his current job grade.

I told him that he needed to take a few steps backward by firming up the skills required by the job.

It pays when you have a good character.

Second, you must live up to your resume to carry on the job. If you cannot do your work with excellence, there is no reason for you to be promoted.

Be honest with yourself.

How do you be like Keanu and deliver like Bieber?

Try applying genuineness and humility in the workplace by saying and doing this to your boss.

• Admit Mistake: I’ve reviewed my analysis and realized there was an oversight on my part.
• Take Responsibility: I take full Responsibility for this Mistake, and I apologize for the impact it caused.
• Seek feedback and show willingness to Learn: I’ve learned from this experience and will do this measure as a control step. Do you think this would help?

Showing your vulnerability and authenticity will foster a supportive work environment and respect from people around you.

The third layer: Customers play a vital role in your career progression.

They may be individuals, organizations, or entities that purchase goods, services, or products from your company through you.

Or they can simply be fellow employees or other functions within your company that depend on your work output as your input.

There are wise line managers who request feedback from the people you work with, whether they are in the same function or across another function.

As I have said, all eyes are looking at you.

I recall my first job as a brand assistant in a real estate company. Our division head asked our brokers and internal sales arm if I was serving them well.

One of the top brokers can’t help but escalate me and said.

“Dennis was limiting the issuance of leaflets to my team.”

At my first corporate job, I knew I was right by following orders, but I did not have the charm to speak the right words or at least be creative with my decisions.

The feedback that my division head got from one of our top brokers reflects my lack of interpersonal communication.

So, if I were getting the same feedback now and then with the aim of progressing a career in marketing, I am very sure my desire to level up would be parked at the moment.

Whether they are external or internal customers, review these recommendations so that service delivery excellence can benefit you.

• Make it personal: Take the time to get to know your customers individually and tailor your interactions based on their preferences, needs, and feedback.

What you can do: Share stories or examples of how you’ve personalized your service to meet the specific needs of your customers.

• Active, not passive: Anticipate your customers’ questions, concerns, or needs and communicate proactively to provide information, updates, or solutions before they ask.

What you can do: Display your proactiveness by sharing and keeping your customers informed and engaged through regular updates, recommendations, or timely responses to their inquiries or feedback.

• Exceptional Service Delivery: Go above and beyond to exceed your customer’s expectations at every touchpoint. Listen attentively to their concerns, address any issues promptly and effectively, and follow up to ensure their satisfaction and resolve any outstanding issues.

What you can do: Document the testimonials from satisfied customers who were happy with your service and support.

• Relationship Building: Invest in building and maintaining strong, positive relationships with your customers by expressing genuine interest, empathy, and respect in your interactions.

What you can do: How about a coffee catch-up to nurture and strengthen relationships with your customers over time, emphasizing your commitment to building trust, loyalty, and long-term partnerships?

The fourth tier: Get into the radar of the panelist.

Here is another gap in the process of managing organizational dynamics.

Other than considering the promotion cycle in your company, getting your boss’ endorsement, and managing the sphere of influence, you need to know who the other key people are who are part of the promotion panel.

These people include but are not limited to the following: The Chief People Officer, The boss of your boss, who you do not work with regularly but plays a crucial role in your career progress.

It would be overwhelming at first, but be mindful that most companies have a promotion committee to assess you in addition to your boss.

For huge companies, the promotion committee will usually pool all job grade levels, deliberate each candidate, and rank them by their performance, potential, and contribution.

Whether you are being evaluated or not, the Keanu and Bieber approach is expected from everyone on the floor.

It is up to you to leave a mark on these people and stand out so that they remember you.

Be Very Close to Seal The Deal (a.k.a. Positioning)

I teach my mentees to be explicit to their boss by sharing their career dreams.

They will never know it unless you tell it. Everybody is busy in the office and working on their life and dreams.

Leaving no room for assumptions will somehow narrow down the guessing game, allowing you to control your career and steer the wheel.

Again, let us use Matthew in this example, saying he is currently a senior accountant.

In case he is picking up the pace already and firming up his attitude towards work and his skills within 12 to 18 months of closely tracking and coaching him, that has already transformed him into a reliable dude.

Then he tells me he wants to be an Accounting Manager in his next venture.

If I find his performance satisfying and want to support him, I will give him some tasks that an Accounting Manager does and download his projects to help him develop his leadership skills.

Because Matthew is serious about the manager role, he would also invest his own money to get certifications about expenditure taxation to equip him later on.

This would solidify and give me the impression that Matthew is really into it and wants the role badly.

When the time comes for the current Accounting Manager role to be opened or there is an opportunity to upgrade, it would be easy for me to give him the role or promotion during the cycle.

If you think you are up to a specific role or position, mention to your boss that you want to take on projects or particular tasks under that desired role or position so that when the time comes, you can be closer to sealing the actual deal.

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