The 8-Step Process I Took to Ask For My Promotion
How to prepare for the most important conversations of your career
Maybe you feel like your promotion is long overdue given the number of hours, months, years you’ve dedicated to your job. Maybe you’re tired of seeing your peers get promoted ahead of you, time and time again. Maybe you’ve been in this same position for years and feel like this time, maybe this time, it’s your chance to climb the ranks.
When I decided it was time for me to ask for a promotion, I approached it cautiously and methodically. Asking for a promotion is a very important conversation, and I wanted to ensure I did everything I could to ensure a favorable outcome.
Here are the eight steps I took to ask for my promotion.
1. Test the waters
Long before I even floated the idea of promotion to my manager, I started by testing the waters with others who’d been at the company longer than me.
What I did:
- I got a feeling of how long it usually takes to qualify for the promotion I was eyeing. I did this by casually bring it up in discussions with folks more senior than me with, “Hey, how many years did you have when you got promoted to your role?”
- I also bounced the idea off a trusted mentor (who wasn’t my boss) by starting a conversation with, “I’ve been considering asking for a promotion. What do you think about my competencies and skillsets?”
- Through these conversations, I learned that, on average, most people received their promotion after six years of experience. When I was testing the waters, I was only at four and a half years of experience, so I knew it was a bit too early.
My advice: When it comes to promotions, there are rarely hard and fast rules. You may be told there are rules, but rules are bent to be broken or at least bent. It’s just a question of whether the powers that be will bend them for you.
2. Know the playing field
I don’t want to paint the work environment like a battlefield, especially since, more often than not, you’re working in a team. But sometimes, when there’s a limited number of senior positions, and you’re gunning for one of them, it doesn’t hurt to know the playing field.
What I did:
- I carefully considered who else might be eyeing that same promotion and compared how the two of us looked on paper against the attributes that my company looks for in its senior employees.
- I also took a look at the people who most recently received this promotion and compared our job descriptions. The fact that our responsibilities were identical helped give me some leverage.
- It also worked to my advantage that at the time, all the people one level above me were away on maternity leave and, purely because of that, I was now the second most experienced person on the team.
My advice: Look left, look right, and don’t forget to look up.
3. Find your champions
Whether it’s a mentor or a coach or just someone more experienced than you who’s taken you under their wing, leverage the rapport you’ve built with them. Managers are people, and they gossip too; they just call it “receiving feedback”.
What I did:
- I leveraged the people that I tested the waters with to be my champions and asked them to put in a good word for me if an occasion ever arose for them to do so.
- I consider this sowing the seeds for your promotion. You may not know exactly when these conversations about promotions are happening, and you may not even know who’s sitting there at that table having these discussions. But the more people you have in your corner, the better prepared you’ll be.
- I picked a range of champions, ranging from technical experts that I’d working closely with that would advocate for my competencies and also non-technical experts that I knew would speak for my interpersonal skills and ability to deliver.
My advice: It’s important to advocate for yourself; it’s equally important to find others who will advocate on your behalf.
4. Build your case
All that prework up till now is research and investigation to help you build the best possible case for your promotion. Now let’s assemble it.
What I did:
- I collected the evidence that explained why I’m the best-suited candidate for the promotion. I highlighted major projects that I worked on or led and key accomplishments to showcase the important skillsets that I possess.
- I framed my qualifications against the backdrop of what a job posting for that role would be. For example, “You’re looking for a person with x, y, and z for this role and I have those skillsets, as demonstrated in projects a, b, and c.”
- It felt uncomfortable and “braggy” to me, so I had to practice how I would tell the story of why I deserved the promotion till it flowed as a cohesive story.
My advice: Asking for a promotion is no different than pitching a product — it’s just that you are the product now.
5. Set the scene
This isn’t a conversation for a quick two-minute elevator pitch. Make sure you’re setting the scene for this conversation adequately.
What I did:
- My company generally does promotions annually, so I timed my preparations around that.
- I leveraged my company’s year-end performance feedback to have this conversation with my manager. I knew he would already be in the right frame of mind to discuss my performance to hopefully leverage that in my favor.
- I dressed for the occasion with my favorite work outfit. It’s a little bit goofy, but hey, it never hurts to dress to impress.
My advice: Just like how you’ve carefully prepared to have this conversation, let’s ensure you’ve adequately prepared for the actual conversation.
6. Ask for the Promotion
Did you notice how asking for the promotion isn’t the #1 step? There’s a lot of necessary planning and strategizing to ensure you’re setting yourself up for success for the big conversation.
What I did:
- Before going in for this meeting, I went to the bathroom and did a Superman power pose to boost my confidence. I felt a bit awkward doing it, but hey, it’s legit from Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy!
- I know that I exhibit common “feminine attributes” like saying “we did this” instead of “I did this”, so I was careful to speak confidently and take credit for the good work I’ve done.
- I believed in myself. You have to have faith in yourself first and foremost before others can have faith in you.
My advice: Good luck! It never hurts to have a bit of luck on your side.
7. Be ready for the rebound
While we all hope for a resounding, “You’re promoted!” and you’ve got your celebratory jig ready, you should also be ready to brace yourself if the answer isn’t the one you’re hoping for.
What I did:
- The first time I asked for a promotion, I said, “Not yet, you don’t have enough experience,” so I took it as a great opportunity to ask what my gaps were and what I needed to do to improve myself further. I got a frustrating answer that I was there skill-wise; I just needed more time under my belt.
- I leveraged this rejection to ask to work on a high-profile project that several other senior engineers were being recruited for. I was solidly at a decade or two younger than the median age on that team, but it became a valuable opportunity for me to gain exposure to leadership.
- Ironically, when I finally did get my promotion, I didn’t have to ask for it. My manager came to me instead and said, “Congrats. You deserve it.”
My advice: Even if you don’t get the promotion you’re hoping for now, it is still extremely important to ask for it, as it signals to management that you’re ready — even if they don’t think you’re ready. It will, at a minimum, put you on their radar.
8. Say thank you
No matter what the outcome of the promotion is, thank your manager.
What I did:
- When I got the promotion, thanking my manager came freely and easily. I might have even done my happy jig right then and there.
- When I got turned down for the promotion, it was a lot harder to muster the grace and strength to thank my manager, but I knew it was important to act like the professional I claimed I was.
My advice: How you behave when receiving bad news will be remembered, and it will be a sign of your character.
Let’s recap the eight steps I’ve provided:
- Test the waters
- Know your playing field
- Find your champions
- Build your case
- Set the scene
- Ask for the promotion
- Be ready for the rebound
- Say thank you
Asking for a promotion is one of the most important work conversations you can have in your career. There’s no guarantee you’ll get it, and it’s quite unlikely that you’ll get every promotion that you ask for, but the worse that can happen is you get told, “Not yet”.
Being prepared and arming yourself for this conversation will give you the best possible chance of success. What are you waiting for? It’s time to start preparing for that promotion!