Promotion Mechanics

Promotions rarely happen because you “could do that job.” They happen after you’ve already been doing it reliably.

• Evidence > potential. Keep a running brag document of impact, metrics, and artifacts (RFCs, designs, incidents).
• Promotions are calibrated. Your work is compared to a rubric and to peers at that level.
• Narrative matters. Package your impact as outcomes: “Reduced p95 latency by 40%, unlocking X product metric,” not just “Implemented caching.”

Tip: ask for the company’s leveling rubric and 2–3 anonymized examples of promo packets that succeeded at your target level.