The One Tip to Faster Promotions That No One Is Telling You

Why Taking Ownership of Your Growth Is the Key to Advancing Your Career

Photo by Kaysha on Unsplash

I’m delighted to share this guest post from my friend, Gilad Naor. His engineering career includes management roles at Meta and Amazon. He has invaluable knowledge to share about engineering leadership. And he’s a fantastic writer too.

As you advance in your career, you need to level up your approach to promotions. And in this post, Gilad shares some excellent advice on how to do that.

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Okay, we will not move forward with a promotion this half. Gilad, let Peter [not his real name] know the gaps that we highlighted today. We’ll see where he stands in another half.

That’s the message my Senior Director told me at the end of a promotion review meeting. I was disappointed, but hardly surprised. Staff+ promotions rarely go smoothly the first time. Stepping out of the room, I paused to reflect on whether I could have coached Peter so that he’d land the promotion this cycle? The answer was a clear yes. It was also clear that it would have been the wrong thing to do.

Because Staff+ level promotions are different.

Part of what makes them different is that the engineer needs to own more of their growth.

In this post, I will share some tips and tricks you can use to get your next promotion, faster. For context, I was a manager at Meta and Amazon. Since then I have coached hundreds of managers and staff level engineers at the top companies. I can help.

Danny Ocean and His Team

In the 2001 remake of Ocean’s 11, Danny Ocean, played by George Clooney, plans to run an impossible heist. He plans to rob three of the most well-guarded casinos, the Bellagio, Mirage, and the MGM Grand, all at the same time. Danny assembles a team of experts, and together they accomplish the unthinkable.

The first mistake engineers aiming for Staff promotions make is that they go at it alone. They might even have a conversation with their manager about it, but not much beyond it. To grow rapidly, you must build your own team.

What does a promo team look like?

• Your manager

• The cheerleader

• Your (future) peers

• The inside man

Your manager is the first person that you will need to convince. She is also the person most incentivized for your promotion to go through. It’s one of those little secrets that no one really talks about. Getting her on your team is the first step that you need to take.

Growing fast is hard, and you need motivational support. It doesn’t matter if it’s a friend at work, an old colleague, or even your best friend or spouse. Set yourself up for success by bringing in the person who knows how to lift you up when you’re down.

Once you get that promotion, your peers will be other staff engineers. You need to get them to see you as their peer. You need to get this done before the promotion. How do you go about that? Find a staff engineer and work with them. Find some connection between your work and theirs, so that you can build a relationship with them.

The Inside Man. This is the biggest and most powerful secret to a faster promotion.

The Secret—The Insider

In Ocean’s 11, Danny Ocean makes sure to get a member of his team inside the casino staff.

You don’t need to put a mole in the promotion committee. You need to find someone who’s already there.

There are several reasons for this:

• You need to understand the process. What needs to be ready when?

• You need a second opinion. Your manager is not objective. She is biased by working with you. If you’re working on a staff promotion, you’re likely one of her star performers.

• You need to understand the common pushbacks. Someone who has gone through several promotion cycles will be able to pattern match recurring objections with your situation.

• You need a sponsor. You need someone, who is “in the room,” to vouch for you. Your manager is not objective, and everyone involved in the promotion process knows this. Having a champion that is not your manager and is trusted by your leadership can completely turn around a contentious promotion discussion.

So, how do you find this insider?

The best trick is to find a mentor. It will take effort and asking around. The right mentor is someone who:

• Has been in the room for several staff level promotions

• Will be in your room when your promotion is brought up

• Is not in your direct reporting line

• Can share direct feedback every two to three weeks

With this insider, you have the best chances to pass your promotion review on your first try.

The Simple Part That’s Hard

Now, all that is left is just to be great. To meet the staff level expectations consistently.

Easy? No.

This is the hard part.

But, if you have the right team, then at least the path is clear.

You just have to walk it.

One Last Thing

In Ocean’s 11, the con was never about robbing the casinos.

The con was to win Danny’s ex-wife back.

For Staff+ promotion, you need to ask yourself:

Why do I really want this promotion?

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Thank you to Gilad Naor for sharing his tips on how to land your next promotion. Check out his newsletter, The δeltas Newsletter, and follow him on LinkedIn.