by Victoria de Martigny

Created on: January 31, 2007   Last Updated: April 17, 2007

As a director at a Fortune 500 company with 10+ years of management experience, I have promoted quite a few people over the course of my career. The most important factors that I have considered in my decision-making process are the following:

(1) ATTITUDE: I look for a candidate who is positive about their current role, the team and the company. I have passed over qualified candidates for promotion because of a negative attitude - and by the same token have given opportunities to less qualified individuals who impressed me with their optimism. If you're aiming for a promotion, show your boss that you're on his or her side, that you buy into the corporate philosophy and that you are committed to achieving the organization's goals. You should also be able to motivate and inspire others - especially if the promotion will entail managing people.

(2) COMMITMENT/WORK ETHIC: Promoting someone in a team environment sends a message to the rest of the group about what is considered "promotable behavior", so I am always careful to choose someone who is ultra committed. I look for someone who consistently completes their assigned projects on time and on target, who pushes the bar higher of their own volition and who pursues their goals with a passion for excellence. Sometimes demonstrating that you are committed takes nothing more than showing up on time and making sure you meet your deadlines. In other cases, you may need to go the extra mile by offering to help your boss with a high-profile project and working some nights/weekends to get it done right. Either way, the important thing is for your level of commitment to be one step above that of your competition for the new job.

(3) TEAMWORK: Like it or not, there are always politics in any company, so when I make a decision to promote someone, I try to be sure that I will get buy-in from the rest of the team. This buy-in makes it easier for those who have been passed over to accept the decision and gives the promotee a running start in the new role. As such, I tend to look for individuals who have earned the respect of their peers through their contributions to team goals and their willingness to help others. It's not a popularity contest, but if you can effectively collaborate with your co-workers, their support will be a huge advantage in your campaign for a promotion.

(4) PERFORMANCE IN CURRENT ROLE: It probably goes without saying, but if you're not performing in your current role, you are much less likely to be promoted. If you've been procrastinating by putting aside specific tasks that you're not really thrilled about, now is the time to dust them off and get them done. I need to know that if I promote someone into a new role that I can count on them to embrace both the "glamorous" new tasks (like trade shows, business travel or people management) as well as the mundane ones (like producing reports or administrative functions). Mastering your current role will also give your boss the message that you're ready for more complex tasks and responsibility.

Ultimately top performers get promoted, so if you're performing well in the areas I've mentioned above, you are already on the right track. If you're not, then you may want to ask yourself if a promotion will make things better or worse... and really evaluate if you're in the right department, company or industry to give you true job satisfaction.

Good luck!

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