Getting a promotion at your company is not normally an easy task: most of the time the only natural step is for you to replace your boss and they ain’t going anywhere honey.
Sometimes, however, you will find yourself in the right place at the right time and find that there is a chance for you to get that promotion. But is it all roses? Whilst there might be an opening for that position it does not mean that you immediately will get it. You will have to prepare your CV and cover letter, apply, go through the interview process and yari, yari, yara…
So here are my top 5 pieces of advice to increase your chances to land that promotion!
1st. Talk to the leaving boss before they disappear!!!
They will be the best source of information! Things like understanding the responsibilities, getting their opinion on your gaps for the opening, understanding their reason to leave, getting a feel of the compensation… They are leaving and hence it will be more likely that they will be open to talk about these things. This is also a good chance to understand what the hiring manager might want from the candidates and perhaps get the leaving boss to put your name forward to the hiring manager! Not cheeky, just a strategy girl!
2nd. Express interest for the position!
It does not matter what you think, this might not be obvious to the hiring manager. Not everybody wants to progress so make sure you talk to the hiring manager about your interest to apply and if there are any initial steps that you should be doing to get ready. It is important that your name stays in the hiring manager’s mind very early on as you will not be the only one interested in this.
3rd. Get support from key stakeholders.
How are your relationships going at the workplace? Well now it is the time to make use of them! Go to people you know at a level similar to the advertised position and ask for their support. The closer to that role they are the better. You can even ask them to write a recommendation letter to use as supporting evidence for the application!
4th. Apply as normal (only with some insider knowledge).
As when applying to any position, read the job description, adapt your resume to match the requirements and write a cover letter explaining why you are the right candidate, how you fulfil their requirements and why you really want it. Aaaaaaand take into account all your knowledge about what the hiring manager is looking for to include there as well.
5th. Prepare for the interview (and sell yourself!).
You can use the typical questions to prepare as normal and you can refer to your knowledge on the interview process at your company to understand the steps (based on your original interview or you can ask someone who might have joined recently). Additionally I recommend that you do a differential assessment between you and the people you know will apply. What do you have that they don’t? What are you missing that they don’t? Use your strong points to bombard them throughout the interview, that is your ammunition. On the other hand, ghost any weak points unless they specifically ask you about them. If they ask, explain how you can compensate for them.
