promotion-preparation

# Promotion Preparation

This skill provides frameworks for building compelling promotion cases, maintaining brag documents, tracking accomplishments, and effectively advocating for your career advancement.

## Keywords

promotion, brag document, promotion case, self-advocacy, wins, accomplishments, impact, career advancement, tracking wins, promotion document, manager alignment, performance review, evidence-based promotion

## When to Use This Skill

- Building a promotion case document
- Starting or maintaining a brag document
- Tracking and categorizing accomplishments
- Preparing for performance reviews
- Understanding what managers look for
- Learning to advocate for yourself
- Documenting impact and contributions

## Core Principle: You Own Your Promotion

**Critical insight:** Promotions are not handed out - they are earned and advocated for.

Your manager:

- Cannot remember all your accomplishments
- Has limited time to build your case
- Needs your help to advocate for you
- Wants you to succeed but needs evidence

**Your responsibility:**

- Track your own wins consistently
- Build your promotion case proactively
- Communicate impact clearly
- Align with manager on expectations
- Make it easy for your manager to promote you

## The Promotion Case Document

A promotion case document is your comprehensive argument for advancement. It serves multiple purposes:

- Provides evidence for promotion discussions
- Helps your manager advocate for you
- Forces you to articulate your impact
- Identifies gaps you can address

### Three-Section Structure

#### 1. Accomplishments & Impact (What You've Done)

Document specific achievements with measurable outcomes:

- Projects delivered and their business impact
- Problems solved and value created
- Technical contributions and innovations
- Process improvements and efficiency gains

#### 2. Growth & Learning (How You've Developed)

Show trajectory and development:

- Skills acquired or deepened
- Challenges overcome
- Fee