Are you ready for a promotion?

Are You Ready for a Promotion?

We all want to gain acknowledgment for a job well done and receive promotions when we are deserving and ready. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell from your personal perspective whether you are on track, ready, or overdue for a better title and a commensurate raise. How do you know if it’s your time? To find out, ask yourself these questions:

• Have you fully mastered your current role?
• Are you an outstanding employee?
• Have you been in your position for more than one year?
• Do you know how to “get things done” at your company?
• Are you well-liked, and do you have good relationships with your peers?
• Are you known for being a collaborator?
• Do you have a good working relationship with your boss?
• Are you ready to take on more responsibility?
• If you answered “yes” to all these questions, would your boss agree with you?

If Your Answer to All of the Above Questions is: YES!

If you answered yes to every question, promptly schedule a meeting with your boss and discuss your desire for a promotion. Approach the meeting with an open mindset. Come prepared with your list of contributions and remain curious throughout the meeting, asking clarifying questions. You and your boss need to align, as they will most likely need to sell your promotion up the ladder, often to their boss and human resources. It’s important to think about how you’ll expand your responsibilities from your current role and drive more revenue or better support your company. Like everything else in business, a strategy is required when pitching a promotion too.

If You Answered Both “Yes” and “Not Quite” to the Above Questions

Getting promoted requires more than doing an outstanding job in your current role. If you answered yes to some of these questions, but not all, you need to be honest with yourself about your performance and have realistic expectations about a promotion. Potentially, you still have work to do to be considered for a promotion, but maybe there is an opportunity for a raise or a bonus. Again, the key is to have a conversation with your boss where you get to hear their feedback. Never get defensive when receiving feedback; instead, ask questions to fully understand their perception of your performance and what you need to do to move to the next level in your company.

Get going — it’s time to earn that promotion!

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