Strategies for Promotion (Internal & External)

Episode Transcript

Hello!

Welcome to the Daring to Succeed podcast.

My name is Julianna Yau Yorgan and I’m a career coach who helps introverts succeed in the workplace by unleashing their introvert superpowers.

Today, I’m going to talk about:
Why you need a different strategy for promotions, compared to lateral moves,
Strategies for internal promotion, and
Strategies for external promotion.

I chose this topic because I’ve worked with many people who are trying to get promoted.

They’re frustrated because they keep being told that they don’t have the skills or experience needed for a more senior role,

while they watch their coworkers get the very promotions they’re working towards.

Almost every time, we quickly see that their strategy hasn’t been serving them well.

So let’s break down what doesn’t work when trying to get promoted, and what to do instead.

First, why do you need a strategy for promotion, and how does it differ from a lateral move?

Most people approach getting a promotion by trying to demonstrate that they’re the best at their current role.

The thought is that if they show that they’ve maxed out at their level, they’ll be seen as ready for the next level.

And while that may work with a tiny handful of spectacular leaders,

most either won’t take the chance on someone without the experience they think is needed,

or they won’t have the necessary examples of your skills to champion for your promotion.

What normally happens with promotions is the manager for the more senior role needs to have tangible proof that you can do most of the job.

Whether it’s something like moving you from a Jr to a Sr role (where your responsibilities and pay increase),

or moving from a Manager to Director (where your scope of responsibility broadens),

the manager for that role doesn’t need to see your “growth potential”—

They need examples that you can perform the work needed for the more senior role.

So, quite frankly, one of the most effective ways I’ve coached people to get promoted is to do some of the work needed at the more senior level.

Some people recoil at this because it feels like doing more work for free…but it works.

Every time.

So if you’re ready for a very different approach,

how can you do this strategically so that you’re not working more hours

and are doing the right work that will get you noticed and promoted?

For internal promotions, target a role on one or two teams. That could include the team you’re on, or other teams.

Then speak with the manager for the role you’re targeting to find out what they specifically think is needed for the role.

When you’ve identified the gap between what they think is needed and what experience you don’t already have, pick one to two to focus on.

Then, depending on what those things are, look for or ask for opportunities to volunteer to do or help with the work.

For example, in episode 3 from this season, I shared how a client volunteered to take meeting minutes to show that she could summarize complex conversations simply.

This helped demonstrate that she could make the jump from a Helpdesk support role to a Business Analyst role.

I also worked with someone who was trying to move into her first management role and kept being told she needed 10 years in her current role before she could make the move.

As part of her strategy to get the manager role sooner, we identified that she needed to show that she could think like a manager—particularly when it came to supporting a team’s development needs.

In the company’s performance process, they always asked for feedback from people who worked with them.

Most people were very general with their input for their peers—if they even responded.

But, instead, my client took this as an opportunity to show she could think like a manager by giving the input as if she was a manager.

This gave her exposure to multiple managers and directors and demonstrated that she didn’t need 10 years to move to the next level—she was already there.

Then, when she was ready for promotion to Director, part of her strategy was to create a portfolio roadmap for her team.

Creating and maintaining strategic roadmaps was part of the work of a Director, and we determined that by showing she could do the work, it would show her readiness for the job.

With her boss’s support and mentorship, she proved she could do the work—and alleviated work from her boss’s plate.

The next time a Director role came up, she was everyone’s top choice—even before she got to the interview. And, of course, she got the role.

So for internal roles, look for and volunteer for more senior level work that your target hiring manager values.

External roles are trickier, because you’re making both a change in seniority and in the company you’re working for.

To start, you should be targeting 2 to 4 companies.

Any more than that and you’ll be stretching yourself too thin—especially as an introvert, because remember you want to conserve your energy for meaningful connection.

Then look at the job postings for the role you’re targeting, and see what experience they’re looking for that keeps coming up and you don’t have yet.

From that list, pick 1 or 2 that you want to focus on and look for opportunities at your current company to volunteer for stretch assignments to get the experience.

If you do any volunteer work, that’s also a great place to look for chances to get the experience you’re targeting—especially if you’re looking to move to another company because your current one isn’t supportive of your development.

And if you’re up to the task of networking, reach out to recruiters at your target companies to ask them what hiring managers are looking for when they’re filling the role you’re targeting.

So that’s it. If you’re targeting a promotion, you want to:
-find out what the hiring manager values
-pick 1 or 2 things you don’t have, and
-volunteer to help with that work or take it on with mentorship.

Okay, that’s it for now.

And if you’re queasy about the thought of reaching out to hiring managers and recruiters, you’ll want to check out my upcoming free masterclass: Network Like An Introvert.

It will be a recorded, self-paced masterclass with networking strategies just for introverts.

That means no networking events or asking random people for things—only tips and strategies that have worked for other introverts before.

This will be released in early March, and you can follow me on LinkedIn or sign up for the waitlist to be notified when it’s ready.

I’ll drop the links for you in the show notes.

Okay, I’ll see you next time!