What are the best ways to ask for a promotion?

Your success is dependent on your manager and the work you are proposing. It’s almost the new year and that is the perfect time to check in with any new initiatives or goals that are coming out of leadership meetings. There will be c-suite level updates and then middle management updates and then the more tactical team plans will become available. The goal is to ensure that you showcase how your work is in line with the current initiatives and where there’s a natural opportunity for you to expand your work (where presumably you have already had success). You will need to consider if your manager has a respected voice and if they are supportive of your work. If not, find other managers or departments that are and potentially pivot.

Doing your homework really matters! Homework is gathering all the data you can about your current metrics and how they have positively impacted or saved the company resources, time, etc. Look up job postings for similar roles with similar responsibilities, and be ready to present compensation structures and percentages. If you are asking for a promotion that has a new level of responsibility, be ready to bring your ideas to the table and discuss how your ideas would solve current gaps and problems.

Put the meeting on your manager's calendar. Title it something such as "Career Goal Conversation" so the manager might also come somewhat prepared with their own ideas. You might be surprised at what they might already be thinking in terms of your next career step.

Have your request already written out. Even if you are comfortable speaking in public, be ready with your notes so you can bring your best self to the table. Do ask for feedback on if there is anything else you need to do in order to be considered for a promotion. Ask for a next step or timeline for when your manager might be able to give you an answer. This could also include creating a follow up meeting.

Throughout your discussions with your managers and hopefully other internal stakeholders you have learned how budgets work in your organization. With this information determine all the budgets that are available to fund your promotion and try to ask for things in each of those budgets. For example, T&E could be used to fund your attending conferences that help expand your knowledge in key areas of your role. It would be up to you as the negotiator to articulate how this will be beneficial and advocate for this in your negotiation. Other budgets could be “professional development” or “technology” and you can advocate for funding from both to support your continuous growth and show how your new skills will impact the team/the bottom line.

Usually the hiring manager has already gone to bat for you at this point if they agreed on a promotion. Ensure that promotion means an increase of pay, OR the ability to measure your performance in 3-6 months for a pay raise. Do not play too hard to get - this could back fire especially if the hiring manager already went to bat for you.

Keep a track record of your accolades to include in your business case. Whether it's emails from a happy customer or recognition from a colleague for a job well done, leverage this valuable evidence of your hard work to further fuel your case for promotion.

Asking for a promotion, even if you have all the skills and you deserve it; should still be done with humility. You are asking someone to go to bat for you and their effort should also be taken into consideration. If the promotion is not given, and you do not see other opportunities for growth, respectfully begin your new job search.

If you’re not in a close knit industry where interviewing can cause an unwanted stir, start talking to other companies about your aspirations and determine if you want to stay or pursue other opportunities at other companies. You won’t know if you have a good situation at your current company until you scope the marketplace out. There may even be things that you can learn throughout the process that may impact your view on your current industry. If you decide to stay at your current company even after interviewing elsewhere, stay in touch with those recruiters and continually expand your network. Use your new interviewing experience internally and there may be new opportunities you will want to consider given what you have learned.