Top 10 Tips to Get Promoted

There is no one right path to career success, but these are the things I have seen be the most impactful on a person's career.

Jan 02, 2024

Most people offering career advice are trying to be helpful but a lot of it is based on their personal experiences and not necessarily the things that actually made them successful in their career:

“Work for a large company first so you can see how a big company operates”
“Work for a small company so you can get exposure to a lot of different areas”
“Stay at every company for at least 3 years”
“Stay in consulting until you make manager”

There are a lot of different career paths and there isn’t one right way. I have talked to a lot of people and one of the most common answers to how they got to where they are at today is: “I have a pretty unconventional background….”.

Top 10 Promotion Tips

Growing this newsletter I have been able to talk to a lot of interesting people and listen to their stories. Below (in no particular order) are 10 things I have experienced or seen to be the most impactful to getting promoted.

Simply do what you say, when you say you will do it.
Take things off your boss’ plate. Be the person they go to when they need help. When they leave or are promoted you will know how to do most of their stuff already and be the easy replacement.
Simply doing good work *every time* is huge. Bonus points for going above and beyond.
Be a good human being that people want to work with.
Be curious and strive to continue to learn. The folks that are just cruising are easy to spot.
Being technical and smarter than others is great, but it only gets you promoted so far. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is required to be successful at the executive level.
Find a boss that is smart and really cares about their employees’ success.
If you have a great boss at a decent company, then stick around a bit longer. A couple of longer stints at a company can be amazing for your career.
Raise your hand to take on new things. Put yourself in the hot seat. The riskiest thing for careers (and companies) is not taking risks.
Ability to manage your time appropriately and prioritize. People who are good at this get SO much more done.
**BONUS: Don’t get too wrapped up in your career that you ignore the rest of your life. Being a miserable person is a great way to derail a career.

Drop a comment on other things you have seen to be the most impactful on your career.

Check out my accounting and finance templates below — they are currently FREE. I will be adding more over the next few months. Building and using great templates also helps you get promoted!