If you're thinking about promotion for the first time in October or November, you're already behind. Promotion decisions are influenced by months of impressions, relationships, and documented impact. The groundwork needs to be laid well in advance.
Start early in the year — ideally in Q1 — by having a direct conversation with your manager. Ask what success at the next level looks like. Ask what gaps they see between where you are today and where you need to be. Make sure you understand the criteria, not just the title. Different managers have different interpretations of "ready," and you want to be building toward their definition, not a generic one.
Keep a running document of your wins throughout the year. Not at review time — throughout the year. Every time you complete a meaningful project, drive an impact, solve a hard problem, or get positive feedback from a stakeholder, write it down. Date it. Include the metric. When review time comes, you want to be pulling from a rich log, not trying to remember what you did six months ago.
Q3 is when you should be having a calibration conversation. Check in with your manager — are they seeing you at the next level? Is there anything you should be doing differently in Q4 to strengthen the case? This gives you time to course-correct, and it shows self-awareness and proactivity, which are exactly the qualities that support a promotion case.
Make sure your work is visible to people beyond your direct manager. Senior stakeholders, cross-functional partners, skip-level leaders — their perception of you matters when your name comes up in calibration meetings. Volunteer for high-visibility projects. Ask to present your work to a broader audience. Let people see you operating at the next level before you have the title.
© 2026 Rachel Hong · Accelerator Consulting