An editor emails the newsroom to announce so-and-so has been promoted to coveted job with impressive title.
Journalists across the newsroom reach out to their friends and allies: Why did that person get the promotion and not that other person? Was anyone else ever seriously up for the job?
Sometimes there is the dreaded realization: Wait. They never even posted that job opening. I didn’t know that was a role they wanted to fill.
Why some people get promoted and others don’t is a frequent source of newsroom chatter. Those of us who make these decisions know there are many variables to consider when filling jobs with internal candidates.
Sonali Kohli, director of recruitment and workforce development at URL Media, recently reached out with this question: What has worked for you to secure a promotion, and what has worked *on* you from direct reports?
Earning a promotion takes time. It usually requires months, or more likely years, of building a reputation for consistently stellar work. And it is never too soon to start thinking about how you can position yourself for your next opportunity.
You are essentially showing up as a candidate for a possible promotion in every meeting, every story pitch, every draft. Act accordingly. Challenge yourself to master new skills and show up as your best self every day. Meet deadlines. Be collegial. Sharpen your story ideas. Chase that difficult interview. Pitch a new game-changing initiative. Newsroom leaders can have short memories and, like Janet Jackson in her heyday, they want to know what you’ve done for them lately.
The key is understanding what is important to the senior leadership team and connecting your performance to those efforts. If they are focusing on growing digital subscribers, how are you contributing? If their priority is winning journalism awards, do you have something they can submit to a contest? If they celebrate competitive beat reporting, are you pursuing scoops? If they are urging managers to be supportive leaders, can you demonstrate how you mentored your team?
Ask your boss and their boss about their priorities. Pay attention to goals shared during newsroom town halls.
I know reporters who touted a high number of page one stories when seeking a promotion, not realizing that was not the ultimate marker of success for their editors, who wanted scoops, stories that were widely read or reporting that made a difference in the community. I’ve seen editors go after journalism awards, thinking that’s their best path, only to fall short of their newsrooms’ goals because they were unable to create a collegial culture for their team.
Your work rarely speaks for itself. Many senior managers are not aware of the specific tasks employees take on. Sharing your ideas, your role in executing a project and the ways you supported your colleagues can all speak to your value.
Keeping a running list of wins is smart, both to build your confidence and to have a record of your achievements.
It’s also wise to take on new responsibilities that reflect the role you want while you continue to excel in the job you have.
When I was a city hall reporter aching to cover state and national politics, I would knock out breaking news and enterprise stories and then find time to tackle stories beyond my beat, making it easier to land a national reporter job when the opportunity presented itself. When I was a breaking news editor, I made sure to also assign and edit enterprise coverage, creating the portfolio I needed to apply for my next job. As an enterprise editor, I asked my boss for more to do and to help me become a managing editor. She let me run major investigations, screen candidates for the internship program and oversee company-wide skills training.
At this point in my career, I am weighing whether I would like to eventually become an editor-in-chief. To figure that out, I am trying for the first time to learn more about the business of journalism and newsroom strategy, pushing myself beyond the breaking news and enterprise journalism I love and am most comfortable doing.
No one makes it on their own. You have to make sure the right people are familiar with your talent.
I often see people make the mistake of putting their career almost entirely in the hands of their direct manager, hoping this person will get them the promotion they want.
Many managers do support team members who want to move up. But not all managers do.
What happens if your manager quits? Or gets demoted? Or doesn’t have the support of their manager? What if your manager isn’t actually your biggest fan? Or simply isn’t willing to champion others because they are too deferential or busy advocating for their own career?
What if your manager does push for you, but your competition has their manager on their side plus everyone else on the masthead? How do you compete with that?
To ensure many people will advocate for you when you are not in the room, find mentors and sponsors across the company — people in different departments who will stand up for you when the moment is right.
Invite influential people in the company for coffee, share your work with them, ask them for honest feedback and tell them about your ambitions.
When it’s time to ask for a promotion, you will have to make your case to senior managers.
Write a brief memo that lays out your work history and why you will crush it in this new role. This can help you zero in on what to say in your interviews. You can also send it to the senior management team to reinforce your argument.
Ask early and ask often for what you want. People who advocate for themselves, the ones who don’t immediately take “no” or “not now” for an answer, will often eventually hear “yes.” When dozens of people in the newsroom are asking for something, don’t be the one who makes it easy for leaders to ignore your needs. Get on their calendars, check in every quarter, request specific feedback and show them you are an asset.
There is one controversial option that people sometimes pursue to get ahead. They secure a competing job offer and then give their bosses a few days to make a counteroffer. That often isn’t enough time to find money for a raise in a tight budget or to figure out how to create a new role if an open position doesn’t already exist. Ultimately, this scenario can leave both sides feeling dissatisfied. And a boss may expect you to quit — an outcome you may not be ready to pursue.
However you decide to manage your career, it helps to remember that promotions are not always about fairness. Favoritism, budgets and seniority can influence who gets the position.
If you dream of reading a newsroom announcement heralding your great new job, start by showing up with purpose: do remarkable work, make sure others know what you’re doing and go after that title.
Want to chat about your career questions? Email me at cristina.silva@globe.com with the subject “Ask the Recruiter.” Questions can be published with your name or anonymously.
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