How To Know If You Are Actually Getting That Promotion

I will never forget the first time I walked out of a performance review with a $100 salary increment and no promotion.

I had worked hard all year. I had delivered. And I genuinely thought I knew how the system worked. I was in HR, after all. I understood how these decisions got made.

Or so I thought.

That moment was one of the biggest wake-up calls of my career. Because the truth is, I had been doing everything right on paper but not strategically.

Most people wait for the performance review to find out where they stand. That is the wrong time to find out.

Decisions about promotions are made in conversations that happen long before the review, in leadership meetings, in one-on-ones, in the moments when your manager is asked who is ready for the next level. By the time you are sitting in that room, the outcome has usually already been shaped.

And here is the timing that most people miss: those conversations need to start at least six months before your review. Not two months before. Not when the form lands in your inbox. Six months, so there is enough time to close gaps, shift perceptions, and build the case properly.

This is where we have to take ownership.

The professionals who land promotions consistently are the ones who have been managing the conversation long before the formal review begins.

So how do you know if you are at risk? Here are three red flags to watch for

1. You are getting vague feedback

If your manager is giving you feedback like "be more strategic" or "let's keep going first" without any clear explanation of what that actually means, that is a signal.

Vague feedback usually means one of two things. Either your manager does not yet see you operating at the next level, or they have not invested enough in your development to give you something concrete to work with.

Either way, it needs a direct conversation. Ask them to get specific. What would operating at the next level look like? What would need to be true for the promotion conversation to move forward?

2. There has been no conversation about scope expansion

Promotions come with expanded scope. If no one has started talking to you about taking on more responsibility, leading bigger projects, or stepping into next-level work, that is a sign the groundwork has not been laid.

You do not wait for that conversation to be offered to you. You initiate it. Ask your manager what a natural scope expansion would look like for your role, and start positioning yourself for it now.

3. Your manager is lukewarm

Your manager is your most important advocate in a promotion conversation. If they are not actively championing your case, not bringing up your name in the right rooms, and not showing visible enthusiasm about your readiness, that is worth addressing directly.

Have the conversation. Ask them  where they see you, and what they feel needs to be worked on to build a strong business case. 

One of the things I have seen consistently across thousands of professionals is that the gap between being ready for a promotion and being recognised for it often comes down to one thing: clarity.

That is exactly why my team has been building something I am genuinely excited about.

We are developing a diagnostic tool that will show you exactly how ready you are for your next promotion. You will be able to see at a glance where your strengths are, where the gaps lie, and what to focus on next.

Early testers have been telling us it is unlike anything they have seen before.  

If this sounds like something you would want to be among the first to try, let me know via this waitlist.

Rooting for you,
Angel Kilian
Founder | Career inFocus