How to Get Promoted: Consultant to Senior Consultant

If you’ve been doing great work and still aren’t getting promoted, I want you to hear this: It’s probably not your skills. It’s how your work is positioned, perceived, and prioritized. I’ve coached engineers who were outperforming peers technically, but kept getting passed up. Not because they weren’t ready. But because leadership didn’t see them the way they needed to. Here’s what I help them shift: 1. Stop assuming your manager is tracking your wins. They’re not. They’re busy. You need to document your outcomes and share them regularly, not just at review time. 2. Tie your work to outcomes leadership actually cares about. Are you reducing risk? Improving velocity? Increasing efficiency? Frame your impact in their language, not just technical output. 3. Start operating at the next level before you’re promoted. Lead cross-functional efforts. Anticipate roadblocks. Step into ambiguous problems and bring clarity. Don’t wait for permission, show you already belong there. 4. Build your advocate network. Your manager isn’t the only one who matters. Peers, product partners, tech leads, their feedback and perception shapes how you're seen across the org. 5. Learn to communicate your value without apologizing for it. This isn’t bragging. This is leadership visibility. The right people can’t support your growth if they don’t know what you’ve done or how you think. Promotions are not just about technical excellence. They’re about strategic presence. Knowing how to shape your story, show your impact, and signal that you’re ready. If you’re stuck right now, it doesn’t mean you’re not capable. It means you need to change the way you’re showing up. And when you do, everything starts to shift.

Woke up to this feature in Business Insider! These 2 rare questions will get you promoted: 👇 —— Everyone has heard the saying: "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have." But to me, that’s about more than your clothes— it's about taking on the: ↳ mindset,  ↳ responsibilities, ↳ and executive presence  of someone at the next seniority level  (before you officially have that title). I figured this out when I worked at LinkedIn. —— I set up a 1:1 with my manager for a “career conversation” and 𝐈 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:   1) “What are the expectations of my current role?” 2) “How would those expectations change if I was one level more senior?” —— Most companies have a guide (for performance reviews) of what’s expected at each seniority level. Things like: ↳ An Associate identifies problems. A Senior Associate identifies them AND proposes a solution.  ↳ An Associate builds presentations. A Senior Associate builds AND delivers them to our stakeholders. ↳ An Associate is purely an individual contributor. A Senior Associate ALSO mentors others on the team. Great. Now I have an exact roadmap to get promoted. Once I mastered the work of an Associate, I took on the work of a Senior Associate (even though I hadn’t gotten the title yet). 👉 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲. They assume they'll take on those responsibilities AFTER they get promoted. But that’s the biggest barrier to being seen as “ready.” —— Here’s How I Did It: Step 1️⃣: Define the gap between your current and desired role  (by asking those two questions) Step 2️⃣: Strategically close that gap  (by taking on stretch projects and building your executive presence) Step 3️⃣: Give your manager 100% visibility into your impact  (by sharing wins in your weekly 1:1s). Btw, that list of wins will literally become the business case for your promotion. Want more details on those 3 steps? I’m giving away the full method (and common pitfalls to avoid) in my newsletter today. It’s completely free. 👌 There’s no catch. I just want to help you get the promotion you deserve. Add your email to my personal list at TheQuietRich.co —— Important Caveat: Before you start taking on extra work, make sure you REALLY want that promotion. The fastest path to burnout is working extra hard on something you don’t actually care about. (Don't keep climbing the ladder simply because there are rungs in front of you. Look up and make sure that's where you want to go.) Don't miss today's email with my detailed 3-step method (and common pitfalls): TheQuietRich.co

Over the past six years at Microsoft, I’ve been promoted four times, moving from L59 to L63. My manager told me that promotions are all about showing your intent and backing it up with action. This was one of the biggest lessons that I learned early in my career which helped me achieve these promotions. Let me share a story about two junior engineers who joined after me. We’ll call them A and B. Both came from excellent colleges. Engineer A ► Promoted after 1 year Engineer B ► Promoted after 2 years Engineer A’s Approach (First 2 Weeks): - Asked me how promotions work at Microsoft. - Inquired about what actions are needed for career growth. - Spoke with managers and senior engineers to gather insights. After gathering this information, Engineer A developed these habits: - Went the extra mile after completing his tasks. - Reviewed others’ pull requests (PRs) and asked questions. - Was always eager to learn more and enjoyed collaborating. - Regularly discussed various concepts used in our projects. Engineer B’s Approach: - Started thinking about promotions after 6-7 months on the job. - Had a strong work ethic and completed all tasks efficiently. - Focused solely on doing his tasks well without understanding the bigger picture. - Built a good reputation for reliability but didn’t show intent for the next level. When Engineer B asked me how to move to the next level, I explained it this way: "You don’t get promoted because they expect you to level up after the promotion. You get promoted because you’re already performing at the next level. The promotion should feel like the obvious next step to your leaders." The key difference between A and B’s approaches is simple: – Don’t wait for months to start thinking about promotion. Begin early by understanding what’s required. – Connect with managers and senior team members to gain insights and guidance. – Take initiative, help others, and see the bigger picture. Show that you’re ready for more responsibility. Start performing at the next level now, and the promotion will follow naturally.