Get promoted in 6 months

Welcome to this weeks edition of Why it Works.

Today I’m covering a different topic but one that should be top of mind for anyone who’s an SDR or Individual Contributor looking to make move within their org.

Now, about your promotion. It won’t have anything to do with your college degrees, it’ll have everything to do with your skills and output.

If you want to stand out and hit the next level by the end of the year, try this:

𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: 𝐒𝐃𝐑 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐄.

1. Document your skills and rate yourself on each one. Have your manager rate you and gain alignment on where you currently stand.

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬: 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡, 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲, 𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲, 𝐞𝐭𝐜.

2. Document the skills you'll need to get promoted. Again, confirm with your manager that you've listed all necessary skills for your next step.

𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐄: 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬), 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐬, 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲, 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭, 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐞𝐭𝐜.

3. Now you know where you are vs. where you want to be. Time to build a skills plan to bridge the gap.

A skills plan is a combination of content, courses/certifications, watching expert demos, practicing demos, skills academies, stretch assignments, and much more.

Work with your current (and future) manager to build a plan and gain buy-in. "If I do X, you'll feel comfortable giving me a shot as an AE."

4. Track and communicate your progress.

Tell your current (and future) manager about your progression towards your goal. Ask for feedback along the way, include them in the process, show them the data, and summarize what you've learned and how you'll apply it.

Most importantly, continue performing in your current role. The quickest way to lose support and momentum on a promotion plan is to let your current performance slip.

As the workforce shifts from “role-based” to “skill-based” it’s critical that you can showcase that you actually know what you’re doing.

Generally speaking, it’s a good practice to start documenting your skills and rating yourself, then doing that every 6 months. At some point in the near future, everyone will have a skills profile that follows you - this will be your new resume.

Start building it now.