If you are a tech professional who wants to move up the ladder, you might be wondering how to show your manager that you are ready for a promotion. You might also be frustrated if you have been passed over for a promotion in the past, despite your hard work and achievements. In this article, we will share some tips from Katie Delgado, VP of Engineering and author of the Hey Tech Lady series on Forbes, on how to promote yourself and get noticed by your leaders.
Ask for feedback and guidance
One of the first steps to getting promoted is to understand what your manager expects from you and what skills and responsibilities are required for the role you aspire to. Delgado suggests asking your manager to share the criteria for the next level and evaluate yourself against them. Then, you can create a tangible and measurable plan to improve your areas of weakness and showcase your strengths.
You can also seek feedback from your manager and peers on your performance and areas of improvement. Delgado advises being proactive and asking for feedback regularly, not just during performance reviews. You can also ask for specific examples of what you did well and what you could have done better.
Find a mentor or a sponsor
Another way to accelerate your career growth is to find a mentor or a sponsor who can guide you, support you, and advocate for you. A mentor is someone who can offer you advice, feedback, and insights based on their experience and expertise. A sponsor is someone who can use their influence and network to help you get access to opportunities, projects, and promotions.
Delgado recommends finding a leader who inspires you and asking them if you can shadow them or be their mentee. You can also look for organized mentorship programs offered by professional organizations or communities in your field. For example, Delgado mentions Girls in Technology’s (GIT’s) Mentor-Protégé Program as an opportunity for women in tech to get individualized help from mentors.
Solve problems and add value
One of the best ways to demonstrate your value and potential is to solve problems and add value to your team, department, or organization. Delgado suggests looking for pain points, inefficiencies, or gaps in your current processes, systems, or products and proposing solutions. You can also take initiative and volunteer for challenging tasks, projects, or roles that align with your career goals.
Delgado emphasizes the importance of being a “fixer” rather than an “escalator”. This means that instead of complaining or passing the buck, you should take ownership and responsibility for finding and implementing solutions. This will show your leaders that you are proactive, resourceful, and capable of handling complex situations.
Share your knowledge and expertise
Another way to stand out and impress your leaders is to share your knowledge and expertise with others. Delgado advises taking advantage of knowledge sharing sessions such as Lunch & Learns or Certification Prep sessions that are held regularly in most tech organizations. You can offer to present on a topic that showcases your skills, insights, or achievements. This will help you build your reputation as a subject matter expert, as well as improve your communication and presentation skills.
If your organization does not have knowledge sharing sessions, Delgado suggests being a fixer and starting them yourself. You can also look for other platforms or channels where you can share your knowledge, such as blogs, podcasts, webinars, or social media. By doing so, you will not only increase your visibility and credibility but also contribute to the learning culture of your organization.
Promote yourself and the promotions will follow
The bottom line is that if you want to get promoted in tech, you need to promote yourself first. You need to show your leaders that you are ready for the next level by demonstrating your skills, achievements, value, and potential. You also need to seek feedback, guidance, support, and opportunities from your manager, peers, mentors, sponsors, and networks. By following these tips from Katie Delgado, VP of Engineering and author of the Hey Tech Lady series on Forbes, you will be able to move up the ladder faster and easier.
