planning for a promotion

at one point or another (and several times thereafter), you’ll be dreaming about getting a promotion at work. and if you are – congratulations!! you’ve already taken the first step in being a ladyboss and pushing yourself to achieve as much as possible. as you gear up for going after that next step, you need to invest time and effort into your preparation, because no one got a promo by sitting on their butt and smiling at a screen. the ways that people get a promotion varies based on the company and situation, but there’s always ways you can boost your chances (besides working super hard!). here are five things you can do to prep for a promotion and boost your chances of moving to the next level:

1. track your contributions: nothing works better for promotions than cold hard evidence. write down what you’re doing, what you’ve done, how it impacted the overall team goals, and who you worked with. use this data during your promotion period. not sure where to start? download a copy of my project tracker here for yourself! (to download, open link, click “file” in upper left of Google docs, “download as”)

2. understand expectations: if you don’t know where you’re going, chances are, you won’t get there. understand what will be expected of you in the next level up by speaking to peers who are there already, getting the rundown from your boss, and researching the responsibilities in your internal company networks. take what you’ve learned and apply it to your daily tasks.

3. communicate your plans: tell your boss that you’re working towards a promotion. it might feel awkward at first, but if you don’t tell your boss what you’re after, she won’t know. this will give them ample time to help coach you in the right direction and assign you projects that she might otherwise not have done if she didn’t know.

4. ask for feedback: this is a hard one. in fact, I hate doing this. asking for feedback though, is so important in improving your skills. additionally, when you ask for feedback, your peers will respect you more and will remember that you asked them come promotion cycle. they’ll also remember if you didn’t improve so take it to heart and improve!

5. look for opportunities: there’s your day to day job and then there’s the next level up. no one ever got anywhere by doing the average and then stopping. find time at night to help other teams or do some research on what would give your team a leg up in the industry and then ask your boss if you can help lead the efforts. the worst she can say is no!

what are your favorite tips for getting to that promotion? and if you missed it above, here’s the link to download your free project tracker!