The 4 Job Promotion Prerequisites

It's better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.

~ JACKIE JOYNER-KERSEE

Passed over for a promotion…

AGAIN?!

What you don’t know about how organizations make promotion decisions is hurting your promotion chances.

You may find it extremely hard to believe, but there is a logical process for promotion decision-making. This process determines WHO will be promoted and WHEN they’ll be promoted. I’m going to let you in on this process and specifically the four prerequisites for every promotion decision. You’ll want to know what these are because they will help you get that promotion you’ve been waiting patiently for.

Working on both sides of the talent pipeline, as an organizational insider and trusted advisor in my HR Consulting role, and as an executive coach helping individuals to accelerate their careers, I’m privy to insight and information that the average employee is completely unaware of. But don’t worry, I’ll let you in on four job promotion prerequisites that you can align in your favor so that you are the top contender for the next promotion.

So, what are those four prerequisites or things that need to be in place BEFORE a promotion happens? They are:

1. A position that needs to be filled must exist.

2. Your capabilities and experience must match that position’s requirements.

3. You need to be better than all the other candidates for that position.

4. You must communicate your interest in taking on that position.

Let’s take a closer look at each one of these prerequisites and see what you can do to make each happen.

You need to get into a company that is growing or expanding. If you are in a company or even an industry that is going out like a dinosaur, then you’re setting yourself up for promotion disappointment. I personally learned this lesson the hard way.

A few years ago, I decided to explore new business opportunities. I had saved up some cash and wanted to invest it into a new venture that could give me a good return. I studied the market and found an interesting opportunity in print advertising.

To make a long story short, I had pumped in over $150,000 and hadn’t made a single penny in profit, before I realized the mistake I had made. Print media was fast becoming an ancient and soon-to-be-extinct dinosaur. It was quickly being replaced by faster, easier, and cheaper online advertising.

It didn’t matter how hard I tried or how much more money I pumped into this business, my print advertising venture was doomed to fail.

Similarly, if you are in an industry or an organization that is slowly dying or is being replaced by new technology, then it doesn’t matter how hard you work, or how much time you spend in a job, you simply will not grow because the organization is not growing.

So, don’t expect or ask to be promoted to a managerial role if your organization is busy downsizing and no managerial openings exist. If people already in managerial roles in your organization are concerned about keeping their positions, then it’s a huge sign that you are in a dying organization and that your chances for a promotion are better in another organization.

Sometimes the only way to be promoted is to say goodbye to your present organization and move on. And when you do make this decision, you’ll want to look for a dynamic, growing organization in a similarly dynamic industry – this is where promotion opportunities exist.

Your organization is not your mommy or daddy who will give you a promotion if you just whine about it long enough. Neither will your organization withhold a promotion just to punish you. If the organization has a need, and you fit that need, then it WILL promote you. It has to because it is in their best interest, not just yours.

Promotions are not rewards or punishments. They are NEEDS. Your organization needs to get certain things done, and you need to position yourself as the best person to do it for them.

Unfortunately, I’ve worked with organizations that use promotions as a reward. These organizations are misinformed and don’t realize that dishing out promotions simply as a means of rewarding an employee’s long tenure is a surefire strategy for organizational demise (look back at prerequisite #1).

Promotion decisions need to made solely on capability and experience for a position, not on longevity. Just because someone “put in the time” and has been “loyal” to an organization, it doesn’t automatically make them the best person for the position.

The best person for the position is someone who can do the job, regardless of tenure and even number of years of experience.

What this means is you need to understand the position’s job description. Just doing your current job well is not evidence of your capability for the next position. You don’t get a promotion in order to do your current job for a higher compensation. Pretty obvious, right? Yet so many people I come across don’t see this obvious prerequisite.

A promotion is about doing a NEW job, with NEW responsibilities. They are not about repeating what you’ve done in the past. They are about doing NEW things, starting from day one of the promotion. What this means is you’ll need to exhibit your capabilities for the new position and have evidence of similar experience NOW.

Here’s another one of those not so obvious, yet obvious, prerequisites. It’s not enough for you to be “qualified” for the position…you need to be the MOST qualified for it. And that too amongst both internal and external candidates.

Think of your organization as a football team drafting players. The prerequisite for the tryouts may be an age requirement, a minimum of a college degree, or years of playing experience. Even if you meet the minimum requirements, you’ll still be competing with others to be selected.

Meeting the minimum requirements only gives you the opportunity to compete. It doesn’t guarantee your selection. For that, you’ll need to outperform all the other candidates.

Now, if you know you can’t compete with the other candidates because of a capability or experience deficit, then maybe the promotion is not your best option if you’re simply looking for higher pay.

Yes, a promotion means more responsibilities which equate with higher compensation, but the promotion is not the only way to get a pay raise. If it’s simply a pay raise you’re looking for, then you can get that by becoming the top performer in your current position.

When you talk to your manager about a promotion specifically, make sure it’s because you want the new job role and not just the higher pay package. A lateral move, without a change of grade, is another way to get both a new role and better pay. So, first figure out exactly what it is you want…the position itself or simply higher pay.

If you do decide it’s the position that you want, then this prerequisite doesn’t mean you just talk about wanting the promotion. It means you need to demonstrate you are ready for the promotion. You do this by BEING good at similar tasks and responsibilities, and not just TALKING about being good at them.

You can do this by first understanding the position you want. Observe and talk to the people currently in that position. Find out which types of tasks and responsibilities they spend the most time on. What capabilities do they have that you could further develop in yourself?

This information will guide you towards the types of projects and assignments you can take on in your current position in order to position you as someone who has proven his capabilities and interest in similar tasks. Look for projects or special assignments that let you both learn and exercise those capabilities.

Next, do, Do, DO.

In an earlier post, I talked about a major deficiency that your Boss has. That deficiency is your Boss's inability to read your mind. This means you have to tell your Boss what kinds of projects, assignments, and even positions you are interested in. This should be an ongoing, regular discussion with your Boss during follow-up meetings and the mid-year review (you do those, right?).

You also need to proactively create your development plan. Instead of letting others (here I’m talking about your Boss and HR) decide which training programs and opportunities you’ll be availing, you need to ask for training that will prepare you for your desired position.

By the time the position opens up and promotion time comes around, you should have ample evidence of your readiness for that position.

So, there you have them. You now know the four job promotion prerequisites.

Did any of them surprise you?

I hope not. But sometimes these obvious prerequisites somehow get lost or forgotten in your day-to-day job execution. You forget that besides delivering on your current job responsibilities, you also need to prepare, position and pitch yourself for your next position…and job promotion.