How do you approach your boss for a promotion?

I love that you're asking this question - when I'm encouraging people to negotiate for pay increases or promotions my first bit of advice is always, "the answer will never be 'yes' if you never ask the question."

That said, approaching this conversation with a manager is not always easy and timing is everything. You need to be sure you're due for a promotion -how long have you been in the role (usually promotions won't come within the first year or even two)? Are you consistently exceeding expectations? Have you been receiving regular and positive performance reviews?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, bring proof in your conversation with your manager. Sharing results, showing your impact, reminding your manager of your performance are all points that you'll want to bring up when asking for a promotion. And be receptive to feedback and insights your manager shares during this conversation as well; your manager may not give you an immediate yes (chances are they will need some time to plan for this), so use this conversation as an opportunity to ask for direct feedback on what you can do and improve to be ready when it does come time for promotions.

Assuming you have an established 1:1 with your boss, convey your career path interests. 1 to 5 year plan and beyond. A good boss/manager will have a vested interest in developing you to the benefit of the organization.

Ask and plan what are the steps necessary to get to the next "rung" on the ladder. Are these skills and responsibilities you already demonstrate and have mastered? Or is this an area you need to develop? Gauge and determine what skills and responsibilities are required for the promotion. You need to fully understand this in order to develop a strong case for your advancement. Build a roadmap and determine where you are, how you got there, and what will it take to get to your destination if you haven't already.

Share this plan and evidence with your manager and state your case for advancement. It is to your advantage if you can provide evidence that you are already performing some (or all) of the duties of the promoted position.

The key is communication, alignment with your boss, and management of your perceived brand. Build a solid case for your advancement. If you have demonstrated that you all the required skills and experience and that you have already performed the responsibilities, then advancement should not be trivial.

You have sufficient data and work in your favour to support your argument about promotion.

Ooh!! That's a brilliant question.

Point number 1 -- First make sure you believe that you actually deserve a promotion.

Point number 2 -- While you think of what you did, make sure that you did it honestly and not with the sole intention to get promoted/recognised.

Point Number 3 -- While i am a firm believer of 'let your work show for itself', it is true that sometimes you would need to push yourself to display what you have worked hard on. So back yourself up to talk to the manager. You deserve to be promoted!! Believe it.

Point Number 4 -- Never expect to be thanked for doing your responsibility. Just make sure that do your job and do it honestly.

Point Number 5 -- When you talk to your boss, make sure that you can show not only how you are good but also how you make others around you look good. If you want data to show it, take it with you. It's not needy. Don't be too detailed though.

Point Number 6 -- Important is while you are asking for promotion, you shouldn't sound like that's the only thing on your mind. Ask for promotion without asking for it. Ask for motivation to make you perform even better.

Go ahead, you got it! You deserve it!

Prove yourself via quantifiable data. Once you've had success and a large enough sample size, setup time on your boss' calendar and lay out the data to frame the story of why you have earned a promotion.