How To Get Promoted At Work

The best thing is when you go above and beyond, brown nose to high hell, get the entire team on your side including your immediate manager, get known beyond your team, lead project teams, and they fucking ignore you while promoting the people you trained to the same level as you.

Never EVER train colleagues.

Sorry man, but this advice does not work in practice. Do better.

Internal promotions aren't a meritocracy as much as we all wish they were. The skills in the second half of this video are what really move the needle.

You can do everything Brian mentioned here, bring revenue into your organization, and make impact across the entire organization... yet still be passed up for a promotion and watch it be given to your coworker who has better social skills or tows the corporate culture more than you do.

Large corporations are cargo cults which resist change. "Process improvement" can get you in a great deal of trouble as senior management rarely what to disrupt the structure they have in place. It's better to focus on driving revenue without making too much noise if you want folks to take notice.

No one will ever admit to these ugly truths, but there's a very good reason leadership at your company all behave the same way.

Also, management needs to stop being equated with high performance as an individual contributor. Management is an entirely different skillset focused on people: Social skills, emotional intelligence, influence, stakeholdering, project management, etc. Some of the best individual contributors out there make for some of the worst managers. Assuming that being good at your current job translates to leading effectively is often detrimental.

Promotion structures are mostly based on qualifying people for people leadership roles. If you're looking to become a senior IC, there's a component of overlap, but you're probably going to be frustrated by the soft skill components.

Leadership is a popularity contest to a certain extent by nature. You're not going to escape that no matter where you go, which is why culture is so important. However, we also shouldn't sugarcoat the importance of social skills if you're interested in career advancement.

The quality of videos are going down)

Sorry but that's all BS! The real way on how to get promoted is:

» Know the right people
» befriend them
» brown-nose them
» be at the right place at the right them

what I'm saying is that performance is irrelevant for a promotion!

my belittling boss purposely held me back but fortunately higher ups recognised my efforts. she had a meltdown and quit when i was promoted by senior management.

Thanks a lot for these tips. great as always.

Sadly I have followed all this advice in the past and didn't get promoted. Hard work doesn't get you noticed for promotions. Hitting and exceeding KPIs will result in them loading you with additional tasks and responsibilities with zero increase in salary. I've had this happen multiple times in multiple industries. Having prior leadership experience is irrelevant. Put my hand up multiple times for higher roles and leadership positions. Told each time "Oh you interview very well but we want someone with leadership experience in this environment" yet they'll turn around and hire people for management and mentoring to management positions with zero management experience... and the internal job posting itself says absolutely nothing about having any management experience at all. It's all about who you know and not what you know, not being "too good" at your job and being a "yes" man or woman (not a collaborator or questioner of the status quo).

You can have all the connections in the world and even be greatly liked by your direct management and fellow staff members, but if HR and upper management see you as a "problem" (which I am due to establishing a formal complaint against another employee 8 months ago - the claims were even confirmed by my witnesses and they were able to establish the rumours against me were happening), you will not get promoted or offered better opportunities.

Looking towards a lateral move to a different department at a different work location atm. Not going to make the same mistake of not being super chummy with the higher ups, pursuing formal complaints and busting my ass hard for no reward. The only real positive is that having all those additional responsibilities added does make my resume look great and that I'm a trusted employee. Time to move on and move forward.

Just go to another company guys. You could do all this extra work and not get any recognition. And in a lot of cases your tasked with so much work already, that you don’t have time to go above and beyond, and to go do projects and take more work off your bosses plate. You’re already doing a job and a half.

at 60 I'm pretty tired of going beyond expectations with no results

Over 20 years in tech, my promotions came from ultimatums or simply switching companies.

Damn, I’ve done all of this without even realizing it since working for my company for the last two years+. I was promoted in January and am just finished interviews for a management role last week.

Excellent analysis

Or you can become a diversity hire and get promoted regardless of merit

Very good advice but it is so much easier to go to another company and make more money than to convince your employer to promote you, even if you're doing a great job. I think the job market in the US changed for the better after 2020 and employees are finally valuing themselves over a company.

I tried everything: lighten my boss workload, showed initiative, massively improver kpis. I’ve got nothing back😢except my right arm is painful due to the workplace issue. If you are not a friend/lover/relative of the boss, you will never be promoted. Just do your job to a minimum, learn what you want and move on to the next job.

Not when you have a lazy boss.

Why egoistic narcissist manager would want to make you move up or transfer you to other deparment when he/she knows how to handle you to squeez out of you the stats that he,she needs for his,her own evaluation or bonus? Dont be a naive top performer, that does not pay off. I have seen that too that is why incompetent people are promoted faster, they do not cause a personal lost to the manager when exit their current positions.
The managers are only conccerned about their own good, they do not think as for the good of a company. The more talking, the more pretending.

If you don’t play the politics game… you won’t go anywhere

Sounds a lot of effort for ungarenteed promotion, and not much extra pay

No link to the other video

Yes, but if you do your job really well in a company, your boss may not want you to move because he doesn't want to train a new person to do your job. It can be as simple as that. They don't want you to be promoted some where else in the company.

I've seen too many people in the senior management level go from company to company making well over $160,000/year and do a poor job, but it takes them about 2 years before that person is suddenly "no longer with the company". Only to see them a month or two later, working somewhere else making the same money and repeating the process until they retire.

Can you show how come it looks better to be promoted from same company, than from one company to another?

Nah, bro, become good friends with your boss and your boss' boss. That's how you get ahead. Good performance is a nice plus to have, but only secondary to your network, and never good enough by itself.

Strange how many times it's harder to get a job as internal candidate, but then simultaneously, if you do get the role internally, you get significantly lower pay.

Always looks better to jump than to stay.

My old marketing professor told the class something that always rings true. Look at your manager. Is he/she someone who will move up the ladder or will be in middle management forever. If your manager moves up, more than likely either his whole team moves up or at least he/she will be in a position to make recommendations for members of his team to get promoted. With a lousy manager, odds are you will be stuck too. My professor said, always look for the next job when you are perfectly happy in your current job and reach for the moon. Go for something that offers a lot more money and a higher position. You need to make a vertical, not a lateral move. I always followed that advice and when I interviewed and did not get a position, I saw it as a learning experience. I was not desperate for a job, but when I did get an offer, it was such a huge leap from my current position that I took it.
Oh, and sometimes no matter how well you perform, you will never get the promotion. It is not you, it is office politics. It is time to move on or be a sucker in that position as you see younger and less experienced co-workers get promotions.

did everything for 3 years. never called in . gonna quiet quit now

I am subscribed to your channel but didn't bother watching this video until now because I figured I would have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting promoted at my current employer. I was meeting all of my job metrics over the years but I was pushed to my limits both inside and outside of work so I looked like road-kill while I was at work. I am looking for other work and starting a side hustle. It's good though to see how come I haven't been promoted at work and I see a big reason is I don't fit the culture of my current employer.

The only place I ever worked where management and HR behaved in such a common-sense manner as you describe was Digital Equipment Corporation back in the day. Every other place has been the complete opposite -- completely incompetent people got promoted and brilliant people stayed at the same level or got laid off. One manager (who candidly told me I was making more than he was) laid out all of the things necessary to get promoted, and my response, was, "You mean I nave to be a schmooze." His response was a resounding yes. The smartest people and best contributors I have worked with over the past four decades have not been schmoozes. Such is life in the engineering world.

What's the average number of internal interviews before a promotion might be offered ?

Hi. I need advice please. I have received two offers at my current organization. First one is a promotion it will be one level up from my current level so that's around 10k - 15k more from my current annual salary, the second offer has the same level of my current postion obvoiusly the same pay, this role is to work in the other engineering department the skills are highly in demand now a days and if I stay and learn the skills I will have no problem looking for job in the next 20 years. Please advice.

when I see this It get an itch. I ve been there. at the end you are good slave, bad slave. the video shows they look for a go getter. better work as a contractor or start a business if you have this ability. some guy from entrepreneurial trainings call it, leaving the closet.

This advice is so smarmy. Everyone is out for themselves. The workplace is a joke.

how are you sir, most of the time, people that are top performers cant get the roles tho. mostly its people that they like

This guy is the biggest corporate simp ever

Good stuff! Assuming you work for a good company and good supervisor, these recommendations absolutely work — and I used them to get a promotion and 29% raise recently.

Unfortunately not true in government. Work your tail off in government, you stay where you're at, and watch less qualified ppl get promoted.

yeah... but it still has too many other variables for promotions and Some corporations don't follow the corporate ladder climbing.

How to promoted. Kiss Butt like your life depended on it.

Great Video!

I never went to team building events and never contributed to my boss birthday fund. Do you think it is against me to get promotion?

I appreciate you putting this video up, Brian. Not everyday has to be about finding the next job, as sometimes you need to spend some time improving your position in the current company to prepare yourself for whatever is next. This was a great look at what things you can do to put yourself in the best position while you’re there.

My boss retires in a year. Anytime I've tried to improve our unit, he dismisses it. It's clear he wants to coast for the next 11 months.

"Look for ways to lead a team." I couldn't agree more! Showing that you're capable of being the leader of your team increases your chances of a pay raise or promotion. Great video!

Plus, someone will approach you about promotion if they like you. If you were not approached, they don't like you. And like can mean anything.

Need to be in the right place at the right time. Otherwise you can work like a genius and never be promoted.

It’s not that straightforward. Your communication skills and the ability to build relationships also go a long way in getting promoted over others. Your wife will be the most factor in getting the bosses to route for you. She will have to be skilled in company politics and her behaviour at the company cocktail circuit and the country club will make or break you.

To whoever reading this ,never stop chasing your dreams you can do it.keep pressing and thriving you will make it! Consistency is the key to achieve your goals .

I got fired frommy last job without KPIs after I asked to get KPIs and reminded them that I have a quarterly bonus in my contract that was never mentioned for 1 year after getting hired..

I'd have to leave my current job to get any significant pay raise beyond the next promotion from my current employer. I just moved to a different location which has me with only a 15 minute commute from my employer..at the lowest of the low interest rates prior to the interest rate hikes that just occurred over the past 5 months (my total interest is basically the cost of a small car). The new job would need to cover a significant pay raise, and it would need to offset the extra interest I'd have to pay if I were to move again into the same comparable house elsewhere. Not to mention a partial reset in vacation days and potential transition to the hybrid scam of PTO/sick time. That's just not going to happen, so I'm personally stuck, but I am very grateful.