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How long did it take you to get promoted?

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Lisa’s Answer

Promotion opportunities vary by company. While size of the company may be a factor in this, the structure of the department you work within also plays a role. For example, if I am a corporate trainer within a company that has a training department of just one person, it may take years before I have an opportunity to get promoted regardless of my job performance. In that case, if I wanted to get a promotion, I would have to either expand my skillset to be considered for roles outside of that function, or successfully make the case for expanding the size and structure of that department to create the opportunity for my advancement.

For companies that have more opportunities for promotions, I have found that when I have successfully demonstrated superior job performance in my role, I could expect a promotion every two years on average. That said, once you get to a certain level of role, the pathway to promotion may be longer. For example, if I'm a director at a large company (or VP at a small to mid-size company), it could take several years before I may earn a promotion. A lot of this has to do with the expanding level of responsibility and accountability within an organization the higher up the ladder you go, as well as fewer roles available at that level which means more competitive to earn.
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Bob’s Answer

The time it takes to promoted does vary significantly based on the role, your company's performance and opportunities for career growth, and most importantly your performance.

Your opportunity to be considered for a promotion increases significantly if your company evaluates you as a high performing employee. If you do great work, and leadership and peers within your company seek you out to participate in or lead projects and activities, you will have more opportunities for growth.

Also, as you advance in your career, your opportunities for growth within your current company will be reduced as most companies have a pyramid structure. As a result is may take more time and be more opportunistic for promotions to take place within a current company as you get closer to the top.

Hope this helps!

Bob
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Nicole’s Answer

Hi Joyce L. Thanks so much for your question.

Promotions work very differently, depending on the job, the skill set and the outcomes that an individual has. I have seen where people who enter the workforce design goals that include things like "by the time I am 30, I will be an Executive Vice President". Nothing at all wrong with having goals. Goal setting and meeting those goals is good demonstration of taking action and following through. Another important part of getting to the goal is designing the plan.

For instance if the goal is to become an Executive Vice President, does it matter what type of work the EVP does? Does it matter what type of company or government entity the EVP works in? Does it matter whether the EVP, who likely will lead lots of people...does it matter whether they have experience leading teams? Does it matter if the EVP works well with others? How about results? The person who wants to be EVP, how have they demonstrated that can produce good results for the business or the entity that they work for? These are just some examples of what others, who have the influence to promote an individual, will consider.

I lay these questions out in this way because all of them require time and energy to do the work. In determining an answer to the part of your question "how long", that is every bit about the individual who is trying to get promoted and the path they have designed for themselves. That said, promotions, good promotions can and do happen. I suspect they will happen for you too :) . Best of luck to you!
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