Use Your Year-End Review to Reach for a Promotion

Your year-end review is a crucial opportunity to advance your career and secure a promotion. Many people make the mistake of waiting for their manager to notice their hard work, but rarely does hard work speak for itself. Your manager is busy managing a team, a roadmap, and their own responsibilities, and they may not be aware of all your contributions.

To improve your chances of getting a promotion, start a "brag document" that documents every accomplishment, milestone, and impact you've made throughout the year. Be specific and quantify your achievements whenever possible. Include work that may have been overlooked, such as incident handling, mentoring, interviewing candidates, and documentation. Even leadership skills, like adopting AI tools, should be included in this document.

Having a comprehensive brag document gives you solid ammunition when making your case for a promotion. It also provides your manager with material to support you in meetings they won't be able to attend. Approach the conversation by asking questions like, "What would it take for me to get to the next level in the next year?" A good manager will provide an outline of the steps needed for your promotion, which you can then work towards and document your progress.

Sometimes, the answer might still be "no" for the current year, but that doesn't mean you should give up. Ask yourself why you didn't get promoted and find ways to address those issues. An early conversation about your aspirations can prevent years of waiting and uncertainty. Remember, asking for what you want can be uncomfortable, but the alternative—waiting to be noticed—can cost you dearly.