Here's how you can build strong relationships with your superiors and secure their support for a promotion.

In the matters of a promotion the common misperception is that pleading only with your boss can help you get what you want in your next promotion. As you become more and more senior in your role, the stakeholders that can champion your promotion go well beyond your immediate boss. So, start with your boss and agree with them what they must see you doing to qualify your candidacy. Once you meet that bar start promoting yourself with all the stakeholders around your boss; their peers, superiors, and their bosses. You must not only do great work, but you must also make it very visible throughout the org for people to feel worthy of your getting that promotion. So, there is much more to getting a promotion than just doing great job! Good luck!

Become knowledgeable and competent in your current position. Constantly learn more about overall operations. Be trustworthy and dependable always. Strive for excellence and be a good teammate to the others you work with, those things caught my eye over the years and helped me choose the people I promoted to higher positions and gave raises to

In the interview, you should ask "What are the most important goals that I should accomplish within the first 3-6 months?" Once you're onboarded, check in with your manager to ensure you're still on the same page with those goals. Ask what success looks like ("how will we know when this has been achieved?") -- then meticulously log your weekly contributions against those goals, and surface your progress to your manager at regular intervals.

Maintain a positive attitude and be a cooperative team player, earning the respect and trust of your manager. In essence, avoid playing office politics or sabotaging others just to rise. Focus more on deeply understanding your organization’s priorities and align your work to support its strategic goals.

This is the problem we're experiencing + this is what I worked on this week to solve it = This is how it makes your life easier. On a weekly basis, log the challenges you worked through, as well as the specific actions you took and the result. Schedule a regular cadence with your supervisor to check in and show your progress. Visibility is key. You can't wait for someone to notice your hard work -- you have to put yourself front and center. Frame your work around a problem that would make their life easier, once solved. The simpler you can make your delivery, the better.

Who else within the organization has been promoted within the last 6 months? Those are the people you want to meet with for the most direct feedback. What did they do well? What did they avoid doing? How did they present their work? What did their promotion entail? What support did they have from their manager to make it possible?

It's nice to have a pay bump that comes with a promotion-- but remember that promotions often come with additional responsibilities. Ensure you have the mental, emotional, and physical bandwidth to take that on. If your promotion includes managing others, ask what leadership training you'll receive. Understand how the promotion supports your overall personal and professional goals. And remember...you don't necessarily have to take the promotion if you're happy in your current role or if it doesn't ultimately align with your goals.