Principles on career advancement

There are a lot of nuances in the career advancement. Consider these principles:

I’ve shared a perspective on how to plan your career advancement. However, there are a lot of nuances in the career advancement, here are some principles you can consider when working on your career advancement plan:

1) See it as an ongoing discussion, not one and done. Promotion means that a company invests in someone who they believe can help the organization get closer to its mission. This requires a serious assessment, so don’t hope it’s going to be an overnight process.

2) Do the work and establish trust first before initiating the promotion discussion. The best way to build trust is to be a team player. Be accountable to deliver your part. Prove that you have enough impact and consistency.

3) Avoid a self-serve narrative. The promotion is not only about you. Avoid saying something like, “I want to get a promotion, when can I get it?” Help your manager and the company understand what’s the value and benefit for the company if they’ll invest in you.

4) Frame the discussion around excellence and growth while making your reasons for wanting a promotion clear.

5) Focus on skill and impact. A company hired you because they believe you'd make a contribution. Hence, focus on the contribution. What skill do you need to improve to help you collaborate effectively within the team? Your goal is to help the team achieve its mission and create an impact.

6) Promotions aren’t just about skill. It’s also about your attitude and how well you work with others. Senior management needs to see you as a team player. After all, building great products is a team sport.

7) Gather feedback regularly. Assuming you have built a relationship with the team, proactively gather feedback from the team member. Let them know you're focusing on a specific skill and ask them how they value your contribution. Continuously iterate as you go.

8) Set a clear goal. I like to use personal OKR. If you want to take on a larger responsibility, set a clear goal and expectation to help you ready.

9) Prove your contribution, but ensure you can maintain it. Consistency is an important part. If you’ve successfully delivered something, you might be lucky. Senior management needs to know if you can constantly work with the team and deliver impact.

10) Take a larger responsibility when the opportunity comes. Whether to take some work from your superior’s work or a critical

11) Understand how promotion works in your company. Every company has its own way to do the promotion. What is it that makes people qualified to be promoted? What does your manager need to prepare in order to make the promotion proposal? What can you prepare to help that?

12) When your promotion proposal is rejected, try to understand the reason. Reset the expectation. Do the work. Improve your knowledge, skill, and attitude. There must be something blocking the senior management to promote you. Figure out what aspect affects your promotion readiness.

13) If you’re promoted, it means two things. One, it means your current position is vacant. How can you help the company to fill that empty seat? Two, it means that there’s a risk to promoting you. How can you help ensure them that promoting you is more beneficial than its cost?