What happens if you find yourself stuck in a job title for more than 10 years only b/c your company couldn’t afford to hire your replacement so that you could be promoted to Director or when your company doesn’t know or understand the different levels or correct processing to properly promote you into a new title. Do you propose a promotion/ new title to them? – Art Director (without the title)
It’s common for companies to want to see you performing at a higher level before they promote you. This means that you have to manage team members before you’re their official day-to-day manager or to manage project workstreams before becoming a full-fledged project manager. Another sign that you’re doing the job without the title? Your manager leaves, and instead of replacing them, their manager relies on you to take up the management responsibilities and do the extra work.
For Art Director, it could be that the company can’t afford to move them up and backfill their current role. It could also be that the company just doesn’t want to formally change the title. Unfortunately, another reason to consider is that the company disagrees that you deserve a promotion. Whatever the reason you are not promoted, there are steps you can take to help yourself.
Here are 7 ways to get the title you deserve:
1. Understand Why Employers Delay Promotions, So You Know How To Respond
Have a candid conversation with the key decision-maker for your promotion about what is holding up your case. You need to understand why the company is not promoting you, so you can respond to what the actual concern is. Otherwise, you might be working on things that don’t factor into the promotion decision, or worse, detract from your case.
Some reasons why employers delay promotions? Companies save money if the current, non-director title keeps the salary within a lower-paying band or if the lower title means the role is ineligible for bonus or equity. There may be concerns about title equity across workers – i.e., if they promote you, then will others at a similar level and/or background now expect a promotion? Finally, your company might want to preserve a flat organizational structure with few leadership titles. Each of these different reasons behind promotion reluctance require a different response from you.
2. Build A Case For Your Promotion, Compiling The Evidence You Need
If your company is concerned about the financials, your promotion case should be built around how your contribution exceeds what they would be paying at the higher level. The wins you highlight should include bottom line impact – e.g., costs saved, revenue generated, profits increased, efficiencies gained, new clients won.
If the concern is about title equity, you’ll need to differentiate yourself against other colleagues who may seem to be at a similar level or background. This doesn’t mean denigrating other people’s performance but instead highlighting the ways you specifically are already meeting the higher title’s requirements.
Finally, before your company argues that there are no or few leadership titles to be promoted into, verify if this is true. Look at the titles of colleagues in other departments doing similar- level responsibilities to you – if their titles are higher than yours for similar work, that’s important evidence contrary to what the company has claimed.
3. Embrace The Power Of Self-Advocacy, And Ask For The Title You Deserve
You may think that your work speaks for itself, but it doesn’t. You have to advocate for yourself and ask for what you want. If you haven’t specifically asked for a title change, your employer won’t necessarily give it to you. They may not know you care about the title. They may not even realize how much work you’re doing.
Self-advocacy should happen in your one-to-one meetings with your manager. If you don’t have regular meetings, start scheduling these. An annual performance review is not frequent enough, and it may not coincide with when promotion decisions are made. During your meetings, talk to your manager about your career path, expressing your interest in a promotion, highlighting what you’re already doing to deserve the promotion and asking for feedback on what else, if anything, is needed.
4. Lean On Networking And Mentorship, Leveraging Allies To Advance Your Career
Promotion decisions are typically not made by a single person. Your manager is one decision-maker, but their manager and other senior leaders likely have a say. Furthermore, even if your manager is supportive of you, they may not be very influential in promotion decisions. Or they may not be a forceful advocate, or they may be more focused on other things (e.g., their own promotion, other people they are mentoring). Additional allies mean additional voices to chime in positively on your behalf when promotion decisions are made.
The more relationships you have, the more leverage it provides to advance your career. If you don’t know people beyond your manager or outside your department, block time on your schedule to have breakfast, lunch or coffee breaks with new people. Join employee resources groups to meet people at different levels and in different roles. Raise your hand for cross-functional assignments, so more people across the company can get to know your work.
5. Showcase Your Impact In The Workplace
Don’t wait till your annual performance review to document your contribution to the company. You’ll forget things by then, and you may miss out on the promotion decision timetable. Instead, compile your wins as they come. Your goal is to accumulate a brag book or work portfolio that showcase your impact in the workplace.
Save emails that compliment your work – if someone gives you a verbal shout-out, ask them to send an email to your manager or add a testimonial on your LinkedIn. Retain copies of slides or reports that you put together, along with the key findings you uncovered or ideas the resulted from your work. Use your calendar to track client meetings or projects handled, so you have a list of everything you worked on.
6. Avoid Burnout While Balancing High-Level Responsibilities Without Recognition
While you’re campaigning for your promotion, you need to take care of yourself to stay refreshed and avoid burnout from the extra work. Commitment to sleep, exercise, nutrition and staying active in interests outside of work should remain priorities. Block time on your calendar for when you’ll get to the gym, take your lunch or take a break. Sketch out next quarter’s vacation days. Make plans with friends, not just professional contacts.
On your professional calendar, block off times during the day, even if it’s 15-minute increments, so you’re not overscheduled. These “free periods” can be used for a quick meditation or a walk around the office to catch up with colleagues you don’t regularly see. Review your company’s latest press releases and announcements to stay on top of (and hopefully get excited about) new developments. Review your company’s mission statement, or your specific client/ project portfolio, to remind yourself about why you do what you do.
7. Be Proactive About Deciding Your Next Career Move (i.e., When To Stay And When to Go)
Looking for a job outside your current company doesn’t mean you have to quit. But it does give you an idea of what’s out there. You mark yourself to market as you look at other salaries and ensure you’re being compensated fairly. When you’re negotiating for a promotion, having an active job search already in the works gives you options if your employer says No.
You may even find that there is a better fit elsewhere than where you currently are. This enables you to be proactive about deciding your next career move. You can stay if the company gives you the promotion or at least enough other reasons to stay. Or, you can go if you land a job at the right title, compensation, scope of responsibility and whatever other priorities you have for your next career move.