How to get promoted: 10 tips that actually work

Every promotion comes down to two things. First, show you're ready: you're already working at the next grade. Second, convince the right people you're ready. The second one is what makes or breaks it, and it's the one most people skip.

These are the habits I used every time I went up in consulting. They work in any firm that runs a criteria-based promotion process.

1. Start a year before you want it

I start thinking about my promotion case the year before I want the promotion. Not the month before. A promotion is a year of evidence, and you can't manufacture a year in a fortnight.

2. Find the criteria list

Most firms have a written list of what they look for at every grade. Find it. It tells you exactly what you'll be assessed on and the level of skill they expect, which means you can plan a year ahead instead of guessing. If you can't find it, ask your manager, and get the answer in writing.

3. Do the next job before you have the title

To get promoted, you need to show you're already working at that grade. Going for manager? Show the qualities of a manager for at least six months while you're still a consultant. The easiest way is to take a manager role on a project before you have the title.

It works because it takes the risk out of the panel's decision. They're not betting you could do it. They're recognising that you already do.

4. Keep a record of everything

I write down everything I work on, even if it took an hour, in a table I update every time I finish something. In my first year nobody told me to, and when reviews came round I struggled to remember what I'd done. I have the memory of a goldfish. Now the evidence is already there when I need it.

5. Choose your projects on purpose

Put your record next to the criteria list and the gaps jump out. Then go looking for work that fills them. It also gives you a legitimate reason to say no: if a project only gives you a skill you already have, it isn't moving you forward.

6. Write a promotion case, and don't downplay it

A promotion case changes the conversation. Instead of asking your boss whether you should be promoted, you're telling them why you deserve it, with your story and your achievements. Show you're functioning at a higher level, and focus on your contribution to the wider firm and what partners need, not just whether you hit your objectives.

And please don't downplay your work. You put the hours in. Claim your achievements and sell them.

7. Get it in other people's words

Collect feedback from people who managed you and people you managed. It's evidence that others think you're ready, not just you. I used screenshots; looking back, short videos or voice notes would have brought it to life even more.

8. Socialise your case with the right people

This is the one that makes or breaks it. Being ready isn't enough; others have to believe it. And not just anyone, the right people.

• Find out who's on your promotion panel. Some of them may not even know your name. Book time with them before the panel sits.
• Spend extra effort on the people you don't think have your back. They're where the case is won or lost.
• Test your case on the people who do. They'll tell you what's weak while there's still time to fix it.
• Seek out your critics, and show them you've improved. Pre-empting an objection is far stronger than hoping it doesn't come up.

9. Build advocates, not just a mentor

A mentor gives you advice. An advocate argues for you in a room you're not in. You need both, and more than one advocate, because people move on. Consulting is a business of relationships, so the social events and drinks count too: they're where those relationships get built.

10. Be visible

Visibility is an amplifier. If you're doing a great job, it makes sure the people deciding know. If you're doing a bad job, it amplifies that too, so get the work right first, then make it seen.

The steps are different at each grade

The habits above work everywhere, but what you're assessed on changes. Analyst to consultant is about core skills; consultant to manager is a commercial bet on you.

• How to get promoted from analyst to consultant
• How to get promoted from consultant to manager

Not sure what's holding you back? The free Promotion Blocker Diagnostic pinpoints it in two minutes. The four answers it gives are the Visibility Gap, the Sponsor Gap, the Scope Gap and the Ask Gap.