Do you ever get the feeling that you should’ve been promoted to the next level by now? If you are early in your career, you might think you are the only one. Ask anyone. Every single person will say that they’ve been there for a season of their career. Most have been there multiple times.

While the situation is common, it isn’t easy to handle. Being overdue for a promotion can lead to frustration and disengagement. There are a lot of positive ways to handle this situation, and I’ll cover that shortly, but before I get to that, I’d like to explain from a management point of view, why delays happen in the first place.

How promotions happen

I’ve worked for several large companies. They all handle promotions a little differently, but here are some common patterns:

1. Timing. Some companies evaluate promotion opportunities on a cycle. If you didn’t make the cut last go around, you’ll need to wait for the next time to be considered again.
2. Funding. Promotions cost money, and some companies temporarily pause promotions until financial performance can support that activity again.
3. Business needs. Managers often need to justify promotions, not just on the merits of the individual, but on the business need for a role at that higher level. Sometimes, there just isn’t strong enough justification.
4. In-place promotion isn’t always possible. In many situations, you can’t simply get promoted to the next level. Instead, a new role needs to be opened up. You need to apply and compete against other applicants for the higher role.

The more experienced you are, the longer this takes. Many of you experienced rapid promotions in your early career, and now that you are mid-career, you’ve noticed that it’s slowed significantly. The primary reason for that is scarcity. In every company, there are more entry-level jobs than high-level jobs. Those high-level jobs are harder to master, harder to qualify for, and harder to win. So, if that’s your situation, know that the pace is supposed to slow down. That’s the fundamental design of an organizational hierarchy that operates on merit.

I hope explaining the landscape is helpful. Now, here’s what you can do about it:

1. Be awesome at the job you have. Master it. Be the best. Have a great attitude. Be a strong collaborator. Earn great performance reviews. If you can’t do this, there’s no need to proceed further, but if you can confidently tell yourself, “Yes” then let’s keep going.
2. Talk to your manager about your desire to be promoted. Ask your manager about the circumstances I described above, so you can know which of them apply to your situation.
3. Ask your manager if you’ve done everything you can do to prepare yourself for the next level. Chances are, they’ll tell you what you lack, but you must ask. When you find out what you lack, get after it.
4. Get to know people who hold the higher-level position you seek. Study them. Ask them to mentor you. Do what they do. Do that long enough, and your management will eventually make it official.
5. Get to know your manager’s peers. Few do this, but I promise, it’s a game-changer. Your manager sits around a leadership table with their peers to discuss talent and organizational opportunities. If it’s all on your manager to advocate for you, that’s a tough deal. If your manager’s peers know you and speak highly of you, that is gold.
6. Education and certification can augment a lack of experience. If you’ve truly mastered your job, then you should have some extra mental capacity to add relevant skills that will make you even more qualified for the next level. Make it happen.
7. Dust off your Individual Development Plan. This is your job to maintain, not your manager’s. If your company doesn’t have an official document or process for Individual Development Plans, they are quite simple: Just state your career objective and list out concrete steps you’ll take with timelines to achieve them. Then, just like your performance goals, make sure you achieve them.

That’s my list. The waiting game can be frustrating and disengaging, but if you take the 7 steps I’ve outlined, you will be reinvigorated and well on your way toward earning that promotion when the time comes.

Here’s my pearl of wisdom for all of you: Look at promotions as a trailing indicator, not a leading indicator. In most cases, you need to already be working at that higher level before your management will recognize you with an official promotion. Too many of us think of it the other way around. You may think, “I’ve got the potential to do more, and I’d do it if they’d only promote me.” Do it now, and get promoted later. In my experience, that’s the way this actually works.

If it takes a while to equalize, that’s okay. It really is. Think about it this way: What if someone gave you way too big of a job role for which you were unqualified? You’d walk around feeling like a fake on the brink of failure. That would be awful. This way is better. Sure, you may have outgrown your role a little, but if you’re following my advice, I promise that will only be temporary.

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