How to Manage Promotions as an Individual Contributor

I was promoted 3x in five years at Microsoft. That led to ~$200k+ of additional comp. Here are 6 principles I used to make it happen: First, some context: Promotions at Microsoft happen in two ways: 1. Internal level bumps 2. Traditional role changes Two of my promotions were level bumps and one was a role change. All three came with increased responsibility and compensation. On to the principles. 1/ Get Clear On Where You're Going I spent my first six months figuring out exactly where I wanted to go. That way I could quadruple down on my goal. The relationships I built and projects I took on all happened with that goal in mind. Compounding applies to careers too. 2/ Be Vocal About Your Goals! I told everyone about my plan: "I want to be a Director of Partner Development." I brought it up in my 1:1s. In my performance reviews. And in convos with colleagues. People can't help you if they don't know your goals. 3/ Build Up Your Social Capital I identified people who could impact my ability to get promoted. I'd talk to them about their challenges and goals. Then I'd work to help solve that problem or support their initiatives. When you show up for others, they show up for you. 4/ Create A Specific Plan With Management Every quarter, I'd ask my manager 3 questions: 1. What skill gaps do I need to fill to get this promo? 2. What results do you need to see as evidence? 3. What projects can I join / start to get those results? Then I'd get started. 5/ Overdeliver On Value And Results I consistently came in over quota. I helped my teammates level up. I helped colleagues on other teams solve problems. Asking for a raise is a lot easier when you generate 10-100x+ what you're asking for. 6/ Ask For The Promotion Finally, make the ask! When the job becomes available, let everyone know two things: 1. You want it. 2. How they can help you (putting in a good word, etc.) Too many people don't get promos simply because they don't ask or ask at the wrong time.

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.

I blundered through my promotion to Director at Amazon. I didn’t understand how to control my own promotion process. By the time I was working to be a VP, I learned to do better. Here is how I did better the second time around: The main shift between my promotion to director and my promotion to VP was in understanding that “doing my job and asking for a promotion” was not enough to be successful in a competitive promotion process. I was able to get promoted to director due to good timing and standing out with a strong business decision, but it is not a reliable strategy. The reliable strategy that I used to get to VP was: → Actively work to understand the promotion process and standards → Work with my manager to meet them → Intentionally line up my stakeholder feedback This way, I was able to ensure that I had met the necessary standards and secured the necessary support to be promoted when the time came. Key actions to do these three things included asking others about the promotion standards, asking my manager and stakeholders to identify my areas for improvement, and building my team throughout the years to have 800+ people. This ensured not only that I had done the necessary work for promotion but also that I had the right scope of responsibility and peer support to justify an executive role. If I had not been so intentional in building the pieces of this promotion, I likely would have either not been promoted or had to wait longer to be promoted to VP. Luckily, I learned this lesson after relying on luck to become a Director. I am sharing this with you so that you can take control of your promotion process, raising the chances that you will be promoted and hopefully lowering the time it takes to get there. To read about the details of implementing these steps into your process, check out this week’s newsletter: https://buff.ly/3F7xZ6M I go in-depth about how and when to apply each of these steps so that your promotions can be under your control, not based on luck. Readers- How have you taken your promotions into your own hands? Do you have a friend who is stuck or struggling you could help out by sharing this post?