Advocating for yourself leads to confidence, individual growth, and promotion
Know your goal: What do you want out of the promotion? More compensation? More responsibility? Looking to create a new role? Consider the skills you have and how it aligns with the organization.
Ask for feedback: Talk to your manager about your strengths and weaknesses then make sure to be actively working on them. If possible, talk with colleagues about any perceived reputation you may have in the workplace. This can also help you gauge areas of improvement.
Do some research: Ask others how they prepared for a promotion in your organization. How did others successfully present themselves for a promotion? This can aid you in discovering strategies of success.
Speak to your value: You can build a case for yourself by having insight on how you add value to the organization and being able to articulate that value is equally important. Spend time gathering concrete data you can use to positively differentiate yourself from peers or prove that you are operating at the next level. Think about what will resonate with your managers or other decision makers. Consider hiring a career coach who can walk you through necessary steps to prepare this.
Consider the timing: There is no perfect time to request a promotion but use awareness when asking. It might not be the best time to ask for a promotion if economy is strained, there were layoffs or employees were let go.
Ongoing Dialogue: After you first plant the seed, expect more conversations, it won’t be a one and done conversation. You may have to have meet and discuss with more than one person. Be open to the process and plan on building consensus with decision makers. This is where the data you gathered can come in handy.
Be patient and find an advocate: Continue to nurture the seed and check in with key decision makers. Who is your advocate? Who is supporting and pounding the table for you? Be a good listener and action the feedback you are given. Know when to pause. If you are hearing "no" understand it might mean not right now. If you push too you might lose your chance.
