No doubt about it, there is no shortage of career-related resources. There are countless experts (genuine and self-proclaimed) out there telling us how to successfully manage our careers.
As is the case with everything, some sources are more helpful than others. And a few are downright shoddy.
What makes a career-related resource a good one?
There are 3 attributes that I look for when it comes to career-related advice:
- Credible. I’m learning from someone who has succeeded—who has been there, done that, and has real-world stories to share.
- Relatable. I’m learning from someone who gets me and my situation. Someone who is authentic with shared experiences.
- Practical. I’m learning how to take actions to improve my situation—sensible, structured ways to succeed.
I’m all ears when it comes to guidance that is credible, relatable, and practical. But if you don’t speak from experience, haven’t overcome challenges like mine, or can’t make my path forward simpler—then don’t waste my time.
Examples of good career advice resources
When I look across the general career advice landscape, there are some resources that check all three of these boxes. Websites that share credible, relatable, and practical advice. Here’s a few that stand out:
- If you want to learn how to negotiate a higher salary, Fearless Salary Negotiation by Josh Doody is chock-full of helpful info and tools. I personally used his scripted templates in salary discussions with recruiters. Thanks Josh!
- If you want to learn how to get hired, Career Sidekick by former recruiter, Biron Clark, offers a ton of practical guidance from someone who knows what he’s talking about.
- And if you want to get answers to a host of different work-related challenges, the go-to site is Ask a Manager by Alison Greene who knows her stuff and speaks from experience (and she spells her first name the right way
)
Yet when it comes to the topic of how to get promoted, the number of in-depth resources that are credible, relatable, and practical are few and far between. Let’s take a closer look at what’s available…
Learning how to get promoted
If you want to get promoted at work, where do you go help? Here’s a few of the most common ways to learn what it takes to get ahead:
- Your boss, coworkers, mentors.
The first place you’ll likely go is to your boss or coworkers for advice. And this can be a good first step. Afterall, everyone has an opinion on what it takes to get ahead in business. People love to share their silver bullets to success—which typically consists of 2-3 pieces of their best career advice.
But how practical those tips are to your specific situation can vary.
People give career advice based on what may have worked in their specific situation based on their unique abilities. Will that work for you too? Maybe, but maybe not. Interesting, but not always applicable.
Getting input from your boss is important but can often be less than helpful, downright confusing, or even feel inauthentic. Career advice like be more visible or build up your confidence leaves too much up for interpretation. How do you unpack advice like this? You’re left trying to crack the code on corporate speak
2. Career-related websites.
The second place you may go to learn how to get promoted is from career-related websites. All the big-name job sites (Muse, LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, Fairy God Boss, BetterUp, etc.) include articles about how to get promoted. Just do a search on how to get a promotion and Google will return over 7 million results!
Yet much of what’s out there about how to get promoted only grazes the surface—sharing top tips, simple steps, or best ways to get ahead. Many of the articles seem to be more focused on ranking higher in search engines than sharing valuable insights with the reader. And much of this content is written by someone who never climbed any rungs on the corporate ladder!
What makes me say this? The articles that demonstrate the author doesn’t know much about what they are talking about. At best, it’s over simplified. At worst, it’s simply not true.
For example, one of the most frequently recommended “ways” to get promoted is to buddy up with your boss. The advice sounds something like “bond with your boss” or “make your boss’ job easier” or better yet, “make your boss’ job obsolete”.
Really? In the real-world I worked in that’s not going to cut it. Sure, your boss needs to support you. But getting promoted requires nodding heads from leaders beyond just your immediate boss. And if your manager becomes too reliant on you, there’s a real chance they could hold you back. Sadly, it happens (been there myself!).
3. Super successful businesspeople
The next place you might go to learn how to get promoted is super successful, highly accomplished executives.
You may read books, watch videos, or listen to podcast interviews with the famous, uber-rich CEOs and start-up founders who own yachts and spaceships. You’ll hear fascinating and inspiring stories, but mostly these are just not relatable, at least not for a regular Jane like me.
However, there are a few super-achievers in the corporate world who I find more down to earth. Everyday business professionals who rose through the ranks and made it to senior management and executive levels. Real people who figured it out and share how they did it.
Here’s a few of my favorites:
- Shellye Archambeau – Fortune 500 board member and former CEO who started her career at IBM in sales and was the first African American woman to take on an executive international role at the company. Author of Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers and Create Success on Your Own Terms.
- Patty Azarello – Became the youngest General Manager at HP at the age of 33, ran a $1B software business at the age of 35, and became CEO for the first time at age 38. Author of Rise: 3 Practical Steps for Advancing Your Career, Standing Out as a Leader AND Liking your life.
- Carla Harris – Began her career as an investment banker and rose to Vice Chairman, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley. Author of Expect to Win: 10 Proven Strategies for Thriving in the Workplace, and more. (And she can sing!!)
- Keith Ferrazzi – Advanced from entry level analyst to Chief Marketing Officer at Deloitte, and was hired by Starwood as Chief Marketing Officer at the age of 32. Entrepreneur and best-selling author of Never Eat Alone, Who’s Got Your Back, and more.
Coincidentally, over the course of my career I’ve crossed paths and met each of these four individuals, and early in my career at Hewlett-Packard I even worked under Patty, (several levels under ).
Why another career advice website?
So clearly there are many resources out there offering advice on how to get promoted. Yet, in my experience, the vast majority of these sources lack either credibility, relatability, or practicality. Very few deliver on all three attributes.
And that’s why I started Finally Promoted. To share credible, relatable, and practical ways to advance your career your way!
Here’s 3 ways Finally Promoted is different:
How Finally Promoted Differs
Finally Promoted is all about showing great employees how get promoted.
It’s about helping professionals who quietly kick butt at work get the rewards and recognition they deserve.
Finally Promoted is created by a regular, everyday employee who successfully climbed the corporate ladder, not someone who opted out after a few rungs.
I spent 25+ years rising through the ranks at F100 and mid-size technology companies. I started as an administrative assistant and finished in the c-suite as a chief marketing officer.
I didn’t attend an Ivy league school, earn an MBA, or even get a degree in business. I faced all the typical challenges one faces moving up at work: being overlooked, getting passed over, working for narcissistic bosses, dealing with difficult coworkers, struggling to speak up and be heard, and much more.
I spent my career observing how others got promoted, directly helped dozens of my team members get promoted, and personally earned 10 promotions. And I didn’t do it by following career advice. I did it by thinking for myself and discovering a systematic way to advance based on direct observations and real-world experiences.
Finally Promoted isn't about surface-level tips or stylistic fixes. It's about developing abilities essential to get promoted.
Unlike most career-related resources which share quick-fix tips to get ahead, Finally Promoted focuses on essential abilities to advance your career your way. Finally Promoted will guide you to have more aha moments on how to become more promotable. You’ll find ideas to consider, stories to inspire, and resources to get you to think differently about your path to a promotion.
Finally Promoted Purpose:
Before I close let say that my purpose in starting this site is simple:
I want to help you get promoted.
Whether it means moving up to your first manager role, finally advancing to director level, reaching the executive ranks, or something in between, I want to help you get promoted!
So, if you want to fast-track your next promotion, and you want to learn from someone who has been in your shoes—and climbed to the highest levels of a company—you have come to the right place!
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