The BA Q&A: Go For That Promotion!

excited for these juicy career questions today. Today we've got two fantastic questions, so let's dive on in the first one comes from listener Julietta. Julieta says, I have a full time job at an amazing company, but I really want to apply to a new position that I know I am perfect for and is more my speed. The only negative is that the new position is listed as a six month contract. My current position is not limited like this. What are your thoughts? Is it possible to

negotiate a year or any other advice? All right, Julietta, thank you so much for your question. This is a juicy one. So she doesn't want to say where. She doesn't want to say where she works, but let's just say it's a big, old company, and it's an exciting company, and it's relatively new, Okay, And I know a little something about this company because I've worked with companies like this before, So I also know that there's a lot

of changes happening at this company. And I think it's important to always kind of stay plugged in, even if you work for a huge corporation or small one. You know, is there high turnover? Have there been layoffs recently, because that can actually present opportunities for advancement that may not

have otherwise been there. I actually may have a good sense of why they're looking for a six month contract role because I have seen this company has had you know, cuts in certain departments recently, so I'm wondering if they are trying to test out and see if there's actually,

you know, enough value to have someone full time. So what they may be doing is just saying, well, let's give it a six month contract and potentially, if we're happy with this productivity and this you know, the value from this role that we're getting, maybe we will have a case for fleshing it out with a full time hire. You're internal at the company, so I say, hell's yeah, go and ask whoever the hiring manager is, for a

conversation about their plans for the role. You know, Ask them, for example, tell them what you do now in your full time role. Tell them why you're interested in this new position. But you wouldn't be interested, obviously in going from a full time employee to a six month contract role. What may happen, for example, is that they say, well, you know, maybe why don't you go ahead and apply, and maybe we have a bit of a case for

asking for a full time hire. That's a pretty unlikely scenario, even as I'm saying it, because in my experience as a hiring manager, when you're approved for a certain budget for a role headcount, for example, you're kind of approved and then that's it, you know. So if they're saying, if they've already been told we don't have you're not going to get approved for a full a full headcount here like a full employee hire, but we'll give you the budget for a contract worker. That may be all

they have to work with. So what you could take from that conversation is one, you've got an opportunity at a pretty big company based on what I know about your firm, You've got an opportunity to start connecting with people on the team that is potentially hiring for a role that you want. So it could be good from just a personal branding standpoint to let them know, Hey, I'm Julietta, I exist, I'm excited about this work that you guys are doing and I want to be a

part of it. They may not have a role that fits you right now, and I'm not suggesting at all that you should take a step down and go from full time to a six month contract gig that could arguably not get renewed for another six months after that, or even if they said, you know, why don't you work for a year on a contract basis, Again, you're dealing with that uncertainty of not being brought on full time. It's up to you whether or not you think that's worth the risk, but it may be for you just

a long play here. Talk to the hiring manager, see what the background is on the role, let them know that you're interested, and then see where the conversation goes from there. You also ask is it possible to negotiate

a year instead of a six month contract. Anything is possible, Everything is negotiable, but have to be open to the fact that you know they're probably doing a six month contract because potentially there's a project they have in mind for this person or this you know, this team to come in and complete in a six month timeframe, or they could be trying to build a case for a full time hire and they may not know until after those six months are complete whether or not you can

be renewed for an additional six months or any other period of time. That's going to be even something else for you to discuss with that hire remanager. When I'm not saying if, but when you get on the phone or on zoom with them and find out more about the role. Okay, really appreciate your question. Good luck. I mean, go for it if the opportunity is exciting to you and it's what you want to do. I don't want

you to be the best kept secret. I love that quote that we have from a recent guest Page Turner on the show. She said, you cannot be a best kept secret. So raise your hand, Julietta, tell the hiringmanager that you have an asset at the company right now who could do this work and would be excited to do it. So how can we make this possible? How can we make it work and kind of make your

own magic? Okay, thank you again for your question. I'm gonna take a quick break and I'll be right back with another career question from a listener who wants to know how the heck do I get promoted? Ava fam I am back with our final question of the show from listener Charrell. I love the same so pretty, Charrell says, I have just started listening to your podcast. I love it. I'm a brown girl looking to advance in corporate America, so this podcast couldn't have come at a better time.

I've been working in the food service supply industry for three and a half years, and I want to get promoted right now. I process companies returns. I handle purchase orders and refunds. I've been in this position for two years. I recently saw on their website that they're looking to hire a returns manager. My title is a sales support specialist. While I don't possess some of the requirements, I want

to know if I should apply anyway. Since I'm looking to get promoted, I have some experience to bring to the table. I listen to your latest episode on pivoting and it inspired me. What do you think is the worst I could happen if my manager sees I'm trying to switch positions. Thank you all right, Charelle. I am so proud of you for keeping your eyes open to other opportunities within your company. This is what we should all be doing. You know, I say it a lot,

but maybe not often enough. And when you're working in a corporation and you have a boss or a manager, we all do right that that boss does not always have a plan for you. The good bosses do. The good bosses will sit down and they'll they'll strategize with you and help you advance. And how can I be an ally and a sponsor and get you moving up through the company and all of that. But the sad

truth is that that's not always happening. So we have to take charge of our own, you know, our own fates, our own futures within companies, and we have to create momentum for ourselves. And the way that you're doing it is the exact right way. An eye open for new

opportunities and then throwing your hat in the ring. You've got two years under your belt at this company, Okay, and you've been in your industry for over three years, so you do have experience to bring to the table here, and it sounds like a returns manager is pretty much the next step or a couple of steps above what you're doing. Now. What I love about this is it's going to give you an opportunity to have a conversation with your hiring manager and say, hey, I saw this

role as opening up. I actually think I'm ready for the next step. So can I be considered or would you consider me for this promotion? I don't think honestly that anything negative would come of this. I think on the flip side, it would be really positive. One, it shows that you were ambitious and that you want to grow with the company, a good manager who wants to support and grow talent, and we'll see this as a

signal that, Okay, I need to invest in Chirell. And also it's going to force them to explain to you if they say no, why not. And when they tell you why not, it's usually giving you a couple of you know, key indicators or key steps that you at least have information on what you can improve on or what you should learn or what you can demonstrate to be what they perceive as ready for that step up, So be prepared. You may not hear, oh yes, but

of course we would have loved to promote you. What you may hear is, oh well, in order to take this role, we require X number of months of service and blah blah blah blah blah. And they may tell you, okay, well, we would love to see more of this from you in the next six months. And if they don't volunteer that information, be prepared to ask yourself and hold them accountable for it. So don't let this be the last

time you talk about it. Bring it up in your annual review, bring it up in your one on ones with your boss. Advocate for yourself. Absolutely, you have been a sales associate, you know, processing returns and sounds pretty entry level at this company, So of course you're going to be looking for your next step up. Who wants to remain stagnant, you know. So if the company values you, they're going to create a path for you. They're going to give you information on how to get to that

next level. You may have to be a little bit you know, pushy in a squeaky wheel, which I am more than okay with I always have them be that squeaky wheel. But at the end of the day, you may have to create a little bit of your own good fortune in that way and advocate for yourself. That also will give you information that you're going to need

to plan your next career move. So if this company stonewalls you, if, for example, they say, oh, well, you know, we want you to have three years of service and you're coming up on three right now, and you get to three and you're like, hey, it's been three years, where's my promotion? And then they come up with another reason why they can't give you a promotion. It could be oh, we don't have the budget for a headcount,

or oh well we just hired someone. There's always going to be reasons that's going to tell you, and it's why I tell everyone always keep your eyes open to external opportunities. So maybe this position with your company right now isn't available for you for whatever reason, but it doesn't mean that you should stop yourself from applying for similar roles at co copetitors are aunt other companies in general, even if you do not tick off every single box that they say they want in terms of skills or

years of service on a job application. Girl, just apply anyway. The worst they can do is say no, or maybe you don't get a call back, maybe you hear nothing. But too many of us, especially as women, wait until we fulfill every single item on that checklist on a job description before we actually put ourselves out there and apply for it. Now, you're going to have to be your own hype woman in this case and tell yourself, Hey,

I have the experience. I may not have every single thing on this list that they're looking for, but I know myself. I've got great references, I've got a great track record. I can go into an interview and I can talk and show them that I know what I'm doing and I have potential. That's the best that you

can do in terms of advancing your career. I can't think of a single career move that I made by quitting and moving on to a new opportunity that wasn't more challenging, that didn't have some element of some skill or some task or whatever that I hadn't tried yet. And that is what savvy hiring manager should know when you're looking to hire positions. Sometimes it's not the person who has every single thing ticked off on that checklist,

who's the perfect fit? Like, if you worry so much about people quitting and moving on to new companies because they're getting bored or because they're offered more money down the road, like you should be investing in talent and growing and developing them so that they remain and you can actually retain them for longer. For example, when I was a hiring manager and I was a director, I was a senior director and I finally got approved for

an assistant director. When I recruited my assistant director, it took me months to find the right person. They didn't know it, but I was determined to hire a woman of color, and I wanted to wait as long as I had to wait till I found the baddest ass women of color I could find, because I knew I wasn't going to be there forever, and it was a personal mission of mine to make sure when I left that I was going to leave things at least equal in that regard. I was a badass woman of color.

I wanted a badass woman of color in my place, so I waited until I found her. Hespit at my company, for example, when I was looking for an assistant director, I didn't want I actually didn't want to find someone who was already an assistant director somewhere else, because as an ambitious person myself, I knew they'd probably just be waiting for me to leave so they can take my job, and they get bored, and maybe they would get poached by a company who was going to give them the

director title they were looking for. I went and found someone who actually didn't have every bit of experience that maybe on paper we said we were looking for. I wanted someone who was going to be excited, someone who's going to feel challenged, someone who was going to wake up and say, oh, this is challenging, but I've got

Mandy on my side. I know I can do this, And that for me was really important and it was a key strategy that I used all the time in my hiring and I wish they'd tell more hiring managers this in general, that when you bring in talent who's not checking every single box, talent who you can grow and invest in and develop, you're going to retain people for longer, and you're going to some of the issues that everyone is complaining about and moaning about Now, why

is everybody quitting? No, there's such high turnover. You know, all these snowflakes, they just want to go for the highest paycheck. Well, have you actually looked at who you're hiring and are you developing them? And are you finding people who have room to grow and feel challenged? Because we're not all looking for the highest paycheck. A lot of us just want to do meaningful work that excites us and challenges us and gives us something to like

use our incredible brains to do. You know, we don't want to be bored and feel staggnedant all the time. So this is as much of a message for you as it is for any high remanager. Listen out listening to me right now. I'm just going to pretend like a lot of you guys are hiring managers. You know,

the next time you're hiring someone, think about Charelle. Think about who is a high potential member of my team right now who may not have every single skill set that I'm looking for, but as a great worker, they're diligent. You know, I've seen them overcome challenges. I like to work alongside them, and I know they can be trained and taught what do you know, you may create the

next incredible manager. And if we really want to lift women of color up in corporate America, we need more hiring managers looking to women of color on their team at the entry level positions and saying how can we create a path for them to succeed here? And if you don't do that, and if they leave, if Charelle leaves and you miss out on this fabulous talent who's ready for a management position, well then it's your fault

at the end of the day, you know what I mean. So, whether you're a hiring manager or you're charl right now, I hope that y'all hear what I'm saying. We have got to create opportunities for people to advance, and we have to think of hiring managers as the conduit for that advancement and train them and how to identify that high potential talent on their team or outside of their team, bring people in, being able to invest in them and help them grow. And tell me if that does not

create a team where your engagement levels are high. People want to be working people like their manager. I mean it worked for me, okay, and I was pretty good at it, so use this for whatever you want to use it, Charrell, best of luck. Hell's yes, go for it, and if it doesn't work out of this company, don't let that stop you from applying externally until you find the next step for yourself and keep advancing. That's what it's all about, right all right, y'all, this has been

a really fun episode. Thank you so much for your questions. Again, you can go to Brandnambission podcast dot com and submit your question there or slide into our DMS. We are at Brannambission Podcast on ig until next week. I am Mandy Woodriff Santos aka Mandy Money. I will see y'all next week. Hey ba fam, we could not do this show without your support or the support of our team behind the scenes. The brown Ambision Podcast is produced by

Cumulus Podcast Network. It's edited by the wonderful Emani Crosby and produced by Tanya Bustos. Dennistimplinsky is our in house tech guru and I am Bandy Woodrif Santos, your co host, and I will see y'all next week.