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Breaking into a senior role

athenedavidowski'sathenedavidowski·Apr 27, 2023
Posted in:AdviceCareer Growth

I want to hear your thoughts on how to break into a senior role.

What have you done to accomplish this career growth Goal?

All tips and stories are welcome!

rynegross'srynegross·Apr 27, 2023
What do you mean by "breaking into". Good companies usually have tiers that are clearly defined and managers can help you find work to build and prove those skills. Tell your manager you want to work to the next title level and ask exactly what areas you need to focus on to get there/build skills and exactly what type of work you can do in the next few months to get there.
athenedavidowski'sathenedavidowski·Apr 28, 2023
While your recommendation seem simple, straightforward, and enlightening; I am gearing this towards a different audience who have had road-blockers. This is in regards to leaving a company or for those who were affected by layoffs. I know I was working at a senior level in my last role without the recognition due to the long promotion process which took 6m. While they are clearly defined, it actually can be hard to break into a senior role at ones current company. My last company, you had to be working at that next level for 6 months, then you applied with your manager, then the process took 6 months. If your team shifted or your manager left, you’d have to start over. This happened so often it was expected. Some companies are not as easy as you have laid it out here.
hummus'shummus·Apr 27, 2023
Great question! Network. Get connections on your side who can advocate for you in your absence. Also advocate for yourself of course. Make it clear what opportunities you want, be specific, be direct in how your skills/experience aligns to the role you see yourself in. For those who do not support you, block you, string you along with empty promises of promotion, these aren’t the ones you want to market yourself to. Market your skills to opportunities where there is a demand for what you can offer. Continuously build your network for potential referrals and people who build you up and support your credibility. Also I think it’s helpful to write out your goals for yourself, what you want to achieve within certain timelines. For example, say you want to get to the next level in 1 year or less, actively work towards that and reevaluate at certain points in the timeline to see where you stand and your progress. If the company you’re at does not recognize your value, MOVE AROUND. Don’t stay at one place expecting things to change, especially after 1 year with no promotion. If you don’t get promoted/pay raise per year, you are losing money based on inflation, and frankly doing yourself a disservice.Also realize when new hiring budgets are higher than promotion budgets. :p New hires at new jobs tend to get a higher pay bump than staying at the same place and waiting for promotion. So if your working hard to get promoted make sure it is really worth it, cause big % raises don’t really happen a lot. Look out for yourself and your success. There are many articles out there which show how much $ earning potential can be at stake by not moving around and growing your career across different roles and effective level of job jumping (note: some industries and people think that job jumping too much can be bad, for example, I’ve heard in finance industry it is kind of looked down on job jumping too quickly, so research what is a normal amount of job jumping for your industry).Good luck in your journey!
athenedavidowski'sathenedavidowski·Apr 28, 2023
Thank you so much for the encouragement! I think this is such a brilliant pathway for the community and to start building their own roadmaps!
cgbl'scgbl·May 02, 2023
Great question! Earlier in my career, I was promoted to manager. How did that happen? The manager left, and I started replying to everyone's questions and managing others. Our Director promoted me to the manager after I took it upon myself to help others. He told me he saw how I was helping everyone during the month without a manager. I had 50 people on my team and had lots of administrative / managerial stuff to do... That being said, after 2,5 yrs, I understood I wanted to be a senior sole contributor with a good salary, not a manager. I'm in a senior role now and don't plan to move to anything else. My suggestion to you will be:- be proactive in helping others (coach, teach, etc.)- be vocal about your contributionsPeople should see the manager in you.
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