How Corporate Promotions Work - A Guide for Beginners

Hey friend,

In this note, I want to share with you insights of the corporate promotion process that I think could significantly change your perspective on how promotions happen, particularly if you're just starting out in your career.

Setting the Stage for Job Promotions

In the past 12 years, I've been promoted 5 times: I started as an intern, became a Junior Engineer, then Junior to a Mid-Level Engineer, followed by a Senior Engineer. After that, I was promoted to a Mid-Level Engineering Manager and most recently to a Senior Engineering Manager this summer.

This experience has given me some perspectives on what promotions involve and how they function within an organization, especially as I’ve had the chance to be promoted, but to promote others too.

As we move forward in our careers, we all understand more about promotions - what they mean (to our organisations but to us as well) and how they function.

The insights I'm sharing here aren't secret or never heard before.

But I recall the lack of clarity I had when dealing with this topic at the start of my career and even until I transitioned into a managerial role.

So I want to create a playbook for you.

I see promotions as offers:

A solution, that you offer to your organisation (or employer in broader terms), and which solves significant greater problems for them. And in exchange, they pay you for it.

So if you learn to create an offer that your organisation / employer actually needs, you’ll have a much better chance of having more impact and be promoted faster.

Now, let’s pause for few clarifications ..

In my world -this tiny online community, 'faster' doesn't mean unsustainable.

I'm not here for short-term tricks at the cost of core values.

Or stepping on others.

This isn't about gaming the system.

I'm here to share genuine insights to help you fast-track your career.

This is about passing on knowledge, as I too have learned from others.

It's about collective, real and genuine growth, not shortcuts.

I don't endorse the idea of promotions achieved through unsustainable means.

That's not a mindset for the genuine sustainable peak performers we aim to be.

Ok, now that we clarified that, let's address few common misconceptions I’ve seen:

• Many people think hard work (alone) will lead to promotion.

• Many people think promotions is the success path towards earning more.

• Many people think everyone wants to climb the ladder.

• Many people think a promotion to a managerial role will make them earn more.

• Many people think promotions are the only way to be externally validated and recognized.

• Many people think a promotion to a managerial role will give them authority.

But many of these people often miss the bigger picture until it's too late.

In our educational years - School:Uni, we're conditioned to believe that hard work equals rewards.

But in the professional world, especially regarding promotions, this mindset needs to change.

It's not just about working hard.

Nobody owes us a grade if we’ve spent the night learning.

Plus there are limited seats of climbing the ranks.

Promotions are different from job advancements.

We can’t all be C-levels. Sorry, friend.

Not everyone should, or even wants to be promoted, but the pressure is that everyone should

(and must) advance in their role. Especially with the demands of layoffs nowadays.

Promotions shouldn’t be depended on the age. People gain knowledge and skills in different rhythms and within different timelines.

Aspiring to a leadership role shouldn't be about the money.

In fact, you have more chances (and seats) to earn more in non-management roles.

Promotions can give you external validation; but this satisfaction is often fleeting and short-lived.

Like a quick surge of dopamine.

If you function on external validation (there's nothing wrong with a little bit of external validation here and there imo) you’ll need some other ways to boost your self-esteem and keep your motivation up on a regular basis. Promotions happen rarely.

Leadership doesn’t mean authority.

The best leaders aren't the smartest in the room; they don't have all the answers, nor are they better at the job than their team. Our value as a leader is not tied to our intelligence; A leader's true value lies in their ability to see and elevate those around them.

You can be a leader from any position. Wearing any title.

And promotions only sometimes come with a job title change.

So now that we clarified some of the common pitfalls, let's focus on the key concepts that drive the promotion process in corporations.

The Mechanics Behind Promotions

In most companies of a medium or large size, there are typically 1 or 2 cycles, per year, for considering promotions.

These cycles are often part of the company's written policies, a practice you'll especially see in larger companies and corporations. I'm focusing on these types of companies, as I don't have direct experience with startups or small businesses.

Also, I'm much aware that promotion processes can vary a lot between companies and even between organisations within the same company, and I'm doing my best to summarize them based on my own experiences and the stories shared by others around me.

However, I'm eager to learn more and would appreciate any additional insights so I can update and make this playbook as thorough and comprehensive as possible.

Job promotion = advancing to a higher level in your job, leading to an expansion of your responsibilities.

This expansion can include deepening your involvement in your current role by handling more clients, managing additional projects, overseeing larger regions, leading more teams, taking on new products etc.

The decision to promote you usually isn't just in the hands of your line manager or supervisor.

Instead, it's a process that involves various senior leaders, executives, the HR department, and often a group specifically for handling promotions.

These are usually people at higher levels in the organization, often outside the direct influence of yourself or immediate managers, known as promotion committee.

So, it's almost never a decision made by just 1 person.

But it starts with you and your line manager - you should both partner to discuss the right development areas for you to determine how, when and what you need in order to move a level.

Now, the more junior you are, the simpler, less stressful, and less demanding the review process for promotion tends to be. Fewer people are involved in reviewing and approving your case compared to those at more senior levels.

In large companies, it's typical to find various job families, each with multiple levels, each level having its own set of expectations and responsibilities. This ranges across different departments, from Legal to Marketing, Sales, IT, HR, and so on.

Your direct manager is the most knowledgeable source to provide you details about your specific job family and what the next level expects from you.

Your manager, and possibly their manager, will play a role in supporting and advocating for your promotion.

The promotion review process conducted by the promotion committee considers not only you, but also other candidates within the organization who are up for promotion during the same cycle with you.

In a healthy company and/or organisation, the promotion review process shouldn't restrict the number of individuals eligible for promotion in a given cycle, as long as they meet the necessary criteria and are strong contributors.

However, this process often becomes competitive, with priorities sometimes determined based on the organization's needs and budget constraints.

If I were to break down the promotion process step by step, it would look something like this:

I’ll bypass the usual performance reviews that lead up to this stage and assume you've already discussed this with your manager and both agree that a promotion is the right next step for you.

1. Your line manager will start to prepare your case for the upcoming promotion cycle. This might also be done by someone higher up in the organization, or in some cases, you might be responsible for preparing your own case; or at least contribute.

2. This phase, which involves compiling a detailed case for your promotion, can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on how senior you are.

3. It involves gathering data, feedback, and endorsements from your peers, both those junior and senior to you, members of cross-functional teams, clients you've worked with, and other leaders and senior staff.

4. This is a comprehensive performance review that puts together your biggest achievements and contributions since your last promotion or since you were hired.

5. Once all this information is compiled, it is then documented and will be handed over (or even presented) to the promotion committee, who will consider whether to promote you.

6. As it is a bit of a battle out as to who in the organisation can promote at a certain cycle, the more evidence and the stronger and convincing your case, the better your chances. But remember, these discussions consider a range of factors, budgets included.

7. Even though your manager or their superior can advocate for you, in most cases, they don't have the final say in the decision.

Now, not everyone is ready or suitable for a promotion. And that should be perceived positive too (assuming we’re talking about a healthy promotion process).

This process helps you and your manager identify if something has been overlooked in terms of the promotion requirements.

The promotion committee is often composed of a variety of senior personnel from your organization, many of whom you may not have worked with directly.

This underscores why managers and leaders frequently stress the importance of “increase your visibility” within the organization.

A promotion usually comes with a change in salary.

But that varies very much based on the budgets available during that promotion cycle; and even the number of people that got promoted that cycle.

That's why understanding your true motivation for wanting a promotion is important.

Would you still pursue the promotion if it didn't include a salary increase but only recognition for your work?

This self-reflection is crucial in my opinion, since everyone is motivated by different things at different life stages.

As Garry Tan says:

"At every job you should either learn or earn. Either is fine. Both is best. But if it's neither, quit."

Be honest with yourself about why you want that promotion.

And be ready for all scenarios.

Decisions about budgets, like promotions, are usually not made by your line manager but follow a process involving multiple levels of approval and review, especially in larger companies.

Your manager and their superiors should advocate for your promotion and fair salary.

But it's important to realize they're working within certain constraints and resources too.

If you think more could be done, have an open conversation with your manager. Approach this talk with empathy and realistic expectations, considering their possible limitations.

You might also seek further clarity from your HR department if needed.

In my experience, understanding the promotion process is the groundwork, your first step if you’re aiming to climb the career ladder.

I hope this note has provided you with some kind of clarity on the promotion process overall (at least I wish I had this information when I first entered the corporate world).

But that’s not what’s going to get you promoted per-se.

And in an effort to keep things concise and engaging for you (I trust you find these newsletters valuable and not just lengthy! 😛), I'll be sharing a second part next week.

In the upcoming note, I’ll walk you through some of the key factors I’ve learnt in my workforce experience that are looked at and considered when someone is being endorsed for a promotion.

I hope you find this information helpful and if so, I'd be over the moon to hear from you about other aspects of the corporate world you're curious about, or need more clarity on, in order to rich your peak performance.

That's it for this note,

Luciana