I have been asked this question many times over the years. Sometimes the person asking is clearly ready for more responsibility. Sometimes they are good at what they do but haven’t yet shown they are ready for what comes next. And sometimes they are waiting for someone to notice them.
Here is something I have learned about promotions: don’t wait until a job is posted to start applying. You are applying every day.
Remember one of my maxims: The time to create a relationship with a bank is not when you need a loan.
Every day you are demonstrating how you think, how you work, how you deal with problems, how you treat people, how you accept responsibility, and how well you understand the organization you work for. Your supervisor is watching. Other leaders are watching. Your colleagues are watching. They may not be consciously thinking, “Would I promote this person?” every day, but they are forming an opinion about whether you are ready for greater responsibility.
So, if you want to get promoted, start preparing for the next job now.
One of the first things I recommend is that you know the priorities of the people two levels above you.* You need to understand what your immediate supervisor is trying to accomplish, but that is not enough. What does your supervisor’s supervisor care about? What does the leader above that person care about? What are the organization’s most important objectives?
You don’t need to become a political operator. You need to understand the organization.
The more responsibility you take on, the more important it becomes to understand how your work contributes to something larger than your own job description. If you know the mission, understand the organization’s priorities, and can explain how your work contributes to them, you begin to think like someone who is ready for greater responsibility.
Another mistake I see is people continuing to do the job they were promoted from instead of beginning to do some of the job they want.
Let me explain.
If you were promoted from a frontline position to a supervisory position, you cannot continue thinking and operating entirely as a frontline employee. If you were promoted from team leader to overseeing systems, you cannot continue spending all of your time thinking like a team leader. Your responsibilities have changed. (Learn more about this in my book, The Guidant Path: Organizational Series – The Master Collection.)
Of course, you still need to understand the work. You should never become so removed from the people doing the work that you lose touch with reality. But you also have to change the way you think.
Stop doing only the job you were promoted from and start doing some of the job you want.
Take on problems that require greater judgment. Look for opportunities to improve a process. Help other people succeed. Learn how decisions are made at the next level. Become comfortable with responsibility that does not come with a neatly written set of instructions.
You should also research the job you want.
Don’t wait for the job announcement.
Find an old announcement if one is available. Look at the job description. Study the responsibilities, qualifications, knowledge, skills, and abilities required. Then compare those requirements with what you are doing today.
Where are the gaps?
Maybe you need more education. Maybe you need experience managing a particular kind of problem. Maybe you need to become more comfortable making presentations. Maybe you need experience with budgets, strategic planning, personnel issues, or organizational improvement.
Now you know what you need to work on.
And there is another practical part of this that people sometimes overlook. Pay attention to the language used in the job description. When you eventually prepare your résumé, promotional packet or application, make certain that you accurately describe your actual experience in terms that demonstrate how it relates to the position.
If the next job requires strategic planning and you have participated in strategic planning, don’t simply say that you “attended meetings.” Explain what you actually did. If the position requires leadership of teams, make sure your experience leading teams is clearly documented. If it requires problem-solving, describe the problems you have actually solved.
You are not making things up or trying to fool anyone. You are making it easier for the person reviewing your qualifications to see the connection between what you have done and what the organization needs you to do.
And remember, your résumé should not be created for the first time when the job is posted.
Keep track of your accomplishments as you go. Keep notes about projects you have completed, problems you have solved, responsibilities you have assumed, and results you have achieved. You will be very glad you did when the opportunity finally appears.
I also recommend seeking out people who have already been promoted into the kind of position you want.
Ask them what they did that helped them succeed. Ask them what they wish they had done differently. Ask them what they believe you should be working on now. And then listen.
You may not agree with everything you hear, but you will probably learn something.
People who have successfully moved into positions you aspire to can often see things that you cannot yet see about yourself. They can tell you what surprised them about the job, what skills became more important, and what they wish they had known before they got there.
Don’t approach these conversations as if you are asking someone to give you a promotion. You are asking them to help you prepare.
And keep learning.
Continue your education.
That does not necessarily mean going back to college or earning another degree. It may mean taking a course, attending a professional conference, reading books, studying your industry, obtaining a certification, or simply becoming much more knowledgeable about the work you want to do.
The person who stops learning because they believe they already know enough is making a dangerous assumption about the future.
There is one more thing I would encourage you to do: understand how the job you want is tied to the mission.
Don’t just want the position because it comes with a better title, more money, a larger office or more authority. Understand why the position exists.
What does the organization need from the person in that position? What problems is that person expected to solve? Who depends on that position being done well? What happens to the mission when the position is not done well?
Those are leadership questions.
The higher you move in an organization, the less you can afford to see your job as simply a collection of tasks. Your job exists for a reason. The organization has customers, citizens, clients, employees, or communities depending upon the work being done well.
Understand that connection.
When the interview finally arrives, don’t waste your time trying to second-guess what questions the interview panel is going to ask.
I see people spend enormous amounts of time trying to anticipate every possible interview question and prepare a clever answer for each one. That can become a distraction from the preparation that really matters.
Prepare yourself for the job, not for a guessing game about the interview.
Know the organization. Know the position. Know your own experience. Know what you have accomplished. Know where you have made mistakes and what you learned from them. Understand the problems the position is expected to address. Be prepared to explain how your experience relates to the work.
And when you walk into the interview, be yourself.
Don’t try to become the person you think the interview panel wants to see.
If you perform as someone else long enough to get the job, that person is going to have to show up for work on Monday morning. Eventually, the act will end. You will have to perform the job as yourself, and if the person you presented during the interview isn’t the real you, the mismatch is likely to become apparent very quickly.
Be prepared. Be professional. Be honest. But be yourself.
Finally, what happens if you don’t get the promotion?
Don’t sulk. Don’t immediately decide that the organization is unfair. And don’t simply wait for the next opening.
Find out what you need to do to improve your chances next time.
If appropriate, ask the decision-maker or someone you trust who understands the process for honest feedback. What did the successful candidate demonstrate that you did not? What experience are you missing? What knowledge or skill should you develop? What could you have done differently?
Then comes the part that separates good intentions from actual preparation.
Follow through.
If you are told that you need more experience with strategic planning, find a way to get that experience. If you need additional education, pursue it. If your communication needs improvement, work on it. If you need to demonstrate greater leadership, look for opportunities to lead.
Don’t ask for feedback and then put it in a drawer.
Use it.
So, how do you get promoted?
You don’t begin when the job is posted. You begin long before that. Understand the mission. Know the priorities of the people two levels above you. Research the position you want. Start doing some of that job now. Keep learning. Seek out people who have successfully made the move. Document your accomplishments. Make sure your résumé and promotional materials accurately reflect the experience you have gained.
When the interview comes, prepare for the job rather than trying to predict the questions. Then walk into the room and be yourself.
And if you don’t get the promotion, learn why, decide what you need to improve, and then follow through. Do NOT go back to the workplace and complain to co-workers! Should you choose to play the “victim” card, I can guarantee someone is likely to say, “See that? We made the right decision after all …)
Because the truth is, you’re applying every day.
The question is: What does your daily application say about you?
*Thanks to my long-time, much-trusted friend, Eric Bush (Major General, Retired) for: “Always know the priorities of the people two echelons above you.”
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Author’s Note: The content provided in this article is designed exclusively for educational and informational purposes, reflecting opinions shaped by decades of leadership training and organizational consulting experience. It should never be interpreted as formal professional advice. By reading or engaging with this material, you acknowledge that no professional-client relationship is established and that these insights do not substitute for tailored guidance from a qualified professional familiar with your specific circumstances. Consequently, readers are strongly advised to seek independent counsel from licensed legal, financial, medical, or other appropriate advisors before implementing any strategies or making decisions based on these perspectives. Ultimately, you assume full personal responsibility for any actions you choose to take or omit as a result of reading this material, releasing the author and publisher from any liability for outcomes arising from your reliance on the text.
