Want a promotion in 2025? Here’s how to increase your chances of getting one.
As we enter 2025, career advancement is likely on many EAs’ minds. Research shows that 73% of Australians (approximately 14.8 million people) make New Year’s resolutions, so securing a promotion might be one of your key goals.
While asking for a promotion can feel daunting, it’s crucial for your career growth. These are the top tips to help you navigate this important conversation:
Strategically time the meeting
Choose your moment for the meeting carefully. Initiate the conversation following a recent success you may have had, such as completing a major project or receiving positive feedback on a task that was of concern to your manager. The company’s financial health matters, too – positive business results create a more favourable environment for promotion discussions.
Avoid scheduling meetings early in the week, as Mondays and Tuesdays are reported as typically bringing peak stress for business leaders. Mid to late-week meetings often prove more productive, when your manager has the time and mental bandwidth to consider your request thoughtfully.
Understand your audience
As an EA, you’ll know your manager well. In preparing for a promotion discussion and what points you’ll raise, ask yourself:
- Do they like detail?
- Are they a ‘big picture’ person?
- Do they need facts, figures and stats?
- What’s important to them?
Think about how you can frame your promotion in a way that works for them, appeals to their communication style, and how they do business.
What’s in it for…them?
Many people ask for a promotion and a pay rise with a mentality of “I need this because…” or “I’ve done a lot this year and therefore I deserve this because…”. However, business leaders look at it from a different point of view.
Unfortunately, how you spend your pay is none of their concern. Equally so, if you have done your job, then you have been remunerated for it. Managers want to know where you have gone over and beyond in your role and how you aim to add value once you have a promotion.
Remember: While your performance history matters, business leaders are primarily interested in future contributions and investment returns.
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
Write out a general script of key talking points of what you want to say, how you want to say it, and your justification for a promotion. Practice in front of a good friend or partner and ask them for feedback on how you come across and what you do with your face, body and posture. In our training, it’s very common for people to be unaware of the mannerisms, facial expressions and gestures that they habitually do in high-stakes situations.
Once you’re happy, practice in front of the mirror so you can easily talk it through without having to refer to notes or looking nervous.
If you don’t have someone at hand to practice in front of, film yourself, and in the first instance, watch back without volume to hone into how you express yourself non-verbally – and to identify any unintentional habits, such as swaying, over-zealous hand gestures, frowning or slouching.
Manage nerves
In your role, you might be used to presenting to the CEO or a room full of staff with confidence. However, 1-on-1 meetings about your own career can be very nerve-wracking.
To communicate persuasively, you want to achieve a state of release – feeling relaxed and energised. Take 10 minutes to get the nervous energy out of your body before the meeting. Move your body around, go for a walk, move your face around to relieve tension in your jaw, or find a private space and do some physical warm-up exercises. For example:
- Shoulder circles – Imagine you have pencils extending from your shoulders. Slowly draw small circles with your shoulders in each direction.
- Centre the breath – place your hands on your stomach and feel your belly as you slowly breathe in and out at least 10 times. The in-breath moves your belly out into your hands; the out-breath allows the belly to move back towards the spine. Keep your shoulders and chest relaxed to prevent top-of-chest breathing.
Communicate with confidence
If you want to portray confidence in the meeting, check-in with what your body language is conveying:
- Are you sitting up tall? Or are you slouching?
- Are you using your hands too much?
- Also, listen to your voice – speak up, slow down and speak clearly. When we’re anxious, we can speed up the rate at which we talk. This shows we’re nervous and portrays us as less confident. Asking for a promotion needs confidence, so slow down your speech. This will give your manager time to take in what you’re saying, but also gives you time to think and land each point you’re making.
Take the time to watch your manager’s body language too – do they appear open or closed (arms crossed); what does their face say? Use this as feedback to know how your conversation is going and adapt accordingly.
You’ve done the prep, you’ve practised your case, you’ve controlled the nerves – you’re now well-equipped to achieve that 2025 goal of getting a promotion. Good luck!
