How to Ask for Promotion
Make sure you ask for a raise the right way, which means planning on making your boss look good to their boss.
The next thing to ask is for a promotion - and the same applies - you need to make your boss look good to their boss even more.
Why?
Raises come with a planned budget increase by finance.
Promotion increases the budget more and changes the structure of the team.
You will get a higher title - and other team members may not. You or someone else on the team will have to make up for the work of your previous title.
The biggest change is when you leave the team - the company will backfill for the title that you had when you left, not what you had when you started the team.
The higher the title, the harder to find candidates and bigger budget required.
Hence, taking promotions seriously is important.
How to take promotions seriously?
- Be so good at your job that you can mentor someone else to do it.
- If there’s a person on the team with desired promotion title, learn from them.
- Rarely ask for promotions.
Mentor Others on Your Job
When you get promoted - you need to prove to your boss that in some way, the team will get your old work done. Saying you will do “two jobs” is not a good answer because you’ll be learning the new job of your new title.
(Unless you like working more hours!)
The best way is to mentor someone else to do your job, someone else with a title lower than yours that want your title.
This creates a win-win-win situation:
- a member less senior gets to learn a job more senior - helping their promotion.
- you get to teach someone your job.
- your work will have another person responsible for it.
- your boss can say to their boss that the team is maintaining high work quality on their own through this mentoring process you figured out.
Always look for win-win-win situations - especially ones that make your boss look good. 😉
Learning from Senior
The next part of a promotion is getting ready for the next title. The best way is to find the person on the team with that title and learn from them.
This creates a win-win-win situation:
- you learn the next title’s responsibilities.
- the senior member gets to teach someone their job.
- the senior member’s workload reduces by you knowing their job.
- your boss is confident you know the job of the next title.
This is the same as you teaching someone junior to you your job, except in reverse.
Rarely Ask for Promotion
Promotions are rarer than raises - the company plans for raises yearly. Promotions are fewer as there’s more dynamics involved in the team and company.
So, how to ask for a promotion?
Don’t ask - show that you are ready for the next level.
Work with the more senior person and learn from them. Demonstrate to other stakeholders, especially your boss’ peers or cross-functional equivalent.
Let your boss the opportunity to improve your life by giving you a promotion when they feel they can ask their boss for a promotion.
Forcing your boss to give you a promotion is rough on your boss - especially when their boss is under pressure.
Conclusion
Asking for a promotion is similar to asking for a raise - be smart and find ways to make your boss look good. Most importantly:
- rarely ask for a promotion
- learn from someone in the title you want
- teach someone less senior your job
Promotions are fewer so plan for them well and you’ll get them!