Career Progression: How to Discuss this with your Boss
One of the most difficult subjects to discuss with a boss at work is career progression but it can also be extremely valuable in terms of helping everyone to know of their expectations and where they stand in relation to them.
This is a subject that is usually broached no more than once per year and it is common to raise career progression when taking part in annual reviews or appraisals. These tend to be one-to-one meetings with your line manager or a more senior boss at the company and they provide the perfect platform to outline what you would like to see happen in the coming year.
What does Career Progression Look Like?
It looks different at varying organisations but tends to involve promotion to a higher position in the company, a higher pay grade or an offer of upskilling and lessons to ensure that you develop the skills necessary to be on this track.
Promotion
A promotion at work will generally come with a pay rise and more responsibilities. When you talk to your boss about a promotion, make sure you emphasise the qualities that you have that you think can fill a gap at that tier in the company. If you feel that they need someone who is an excellent explainer, tell them about your skills in this area. One of the key ideas in any negotiation is to identify the “pain point” and then offer the “solution” to it, which will benefit you.
Upskilling
It may be that when you talk to your boss, they don’t think that you are quite ready for that promotion and increased level of responsibility quite yet. They may offer you access to courses which can address a particular area of concern. If they have been offered, it tends to be on the tacit understanding that you are being groomed for promotion and will be given the opportunity to advance at a future date. It isn’t unreasonable in these circumstances to ask again at the next annual appraisal.
Better Perks
When thinking about career progression, you may not really imagine that better perks are part of the discussion but sometimes there are no vacancies to offer you at the time of asking, so instead of giving you nothing, management may try to placate you by offering better perks like more flexible working hours, or being allowed to work from home more often than before. They may even go so far as to offer you a workation - a cross between work and a vacation which is the best of both worlds as it doesn’t count against your holiday time and you get paid to work from the sunshine.
Discussing Career Progression at an Appraisal
The time to discuss career progression is definitely at your annual appraisal as this is when your own performance is under the microscope and you can point to the strides that you have taken since the previous year, and the achievements that have been made. There are a few tips below that may help you to take the discussion forward.
Be Confident, Focused and Direct
You know how hard you have worked since your last annual appraisal and the ways in which you have taken on board any advice that was given. You know where you are in your career and where you would like to get to. Be focused and direct when you broach the subject of career progression as you need to seize this chance to make your ambitions within the company known.
Note the Reaction of the Manager
The manager’s reaction will tell you a lot about what your next step should be. If they look genuinely surprised, you should press your case and explain how your relevant experience makes you a prime candidate for when Michelle at the pay grade above you retires in Autumn. It may be that they just hadn’t thought that far ahead yet, or it may be they had assumed you were content in your current role. At the very least, it is food for thought in this scenario.
If the manager laughs, they clearly don’t consider that you have the skills necessary to move up to the next level. Try not to get angry at this and instead, channel that anger into asking for their honest appraisal against the role you would like to move up to and which of the skills they think you lack. Don’t be shy about asking the manager if the company can put you through training for any of the skills that they identified that will help you reach the next level.
Be aware that others in the company may have their own motivations for anything they do. Your line manager may already have a preferred candidate lined up for an upcoming vacancy and their rejection of your candidacy for it may not actually reflect on your skills at all.
The manager may seem supportive and in that circumstance, ask if there is anything they think it would be useful for you to improve upon between now and the time that the vacancy is scheduled to happen, in order to increase your chances. If they are genuinely being supportive, they may actually proactively offer some training in an appropriate area.
It is also possible that the manager may tell you the post is not going to be filled and that it will effectively be retired when the current post holder retires. In this scenario, you should ask about any other suitable upcoming vacancies. If they are pretty noncommittal, explain that you are someone who is ambitious and wants to get on, so you will pay close attention to their choices in the future before you make up your mind where your future lies.
The important thing is to keep hold of your anger and don’t let the meeting descend into angry outbursts. That only ever benefits the management team and will never ever benefit you.
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