How to Get a Raise or Promotion By Working Loud, Not Hard

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In 2022, I had my first-ever promotion. I used to be working as an affiliate product supervisor at Atlassian and acquired a increase of $40,000. It wasn’t as a result of I used to be the toughest employee or an distinctive worker, however as a result of I employed what some name the “lazy girl strategy.”

This “lazy woman technique” is de facto nearly being proactive about sharing my work successes in an environment friendly approach.

My profession trajectory — from being a software program engineering intern at LinkedIn to a product supervisor at Atlassian to now because the CEO of Technology She — has been marked by a major realization: “Loud work all the time wins, not arduous work.”

The reality is that good work is commonly simply as efficient as — if no more so than — arduous work, particularly in massive firms.

By way of my expertise, I noticed that the assumption that promotions are reserved just for workaholics is a fantasy that must be debunked. I used to be capable of climb the ladder with out burning out, and one of the best half was that it solely took me 30 seconds a day.

Seize day by day influence

For many people, our jobs on a day-to-day foundation are composed of mini-actions slightly than actually huge initiatives.

Spend 30 seconds every day capturing a screenshot of essentially the most impactful factor you probably did, and retailer these screenshots in a folder. This may very well be something from a message you despatched to a coworker that saved them time to a milestone in a challenge.

Doing so will make it simpler so that you can add up all your small wins into a number of massive wins on the finish of the yr and show noticeable impact on the corporate.

Here is a method you could possibly catalog your day by day wins:

^{Avni Barman through BI}

I’ve additionally written a full information with particular examples and templates you need to use here.

Simply doing this alone will get you 90% of the way in which there.

Nevertheless, listed here are some further methods for profession development that I employed to get promoted.

1. Prioritize key metrics

Moderately than trying to excel in each single process, prioritize what actually issues in your job. Focus in your function’s key metrics and attempt to ship on them.

I maintained a monthly call with my supervisor, along with our weekly syncs, the place I might reconfirm that I used to be nonetheless engaged on the appropriate issues that mattered for the corporate and for my function. This common check-in is important as a result of firm priorities can shift quickly, and also you need to make sure that you are all the time engaged on impactful duties that may result in a promotion, not simply placing in hours.

I additionally employed a framework known as “begin, cease, and proceed” to make sure my work was aligned with my supervisor’s expectations. Each month, I made positive I used to be receiving actionable steps on what to begin doing, what I ought to cease doing, and what I was doing well and may proceed doing slightly than summary suggestions that might usually be complicated to implement in follow.

2. Quantify your contributions

Not solely is maintaining observe of all your contributions essential, however quantifying the influence of all of your achievements, regardless of how small, can be vital as a result of, on the finish of the yr, the outcomes of massive initiatives might not appear to supply sufficient quantifiable metrics to justify a major promotion.

Nevertheless, since you’ve got collected and documented tons of of small achievements all year long, you’ll be able to add all of them as much as calculate the time or cash saved for the corporate and make a robust case for a larger promotion.

^{Avni Barman through BI}

3. Make Your self Often Seen

Persistently talk your achievements to your group and management. It is important to make your successes identified. Now that you’ve got documented your small wins, share them early and sometimes.

I actively labored to spotlight my contributions; for instance, my supervisor instructed that I create a Slack channel solely with the management group, the place I posted weekly updates on my accomplishments. They may not have all the time responded, nevertheless it ensured I remained on the forefront of their minds.

I additionally blogged on the corporate wiki about my group’s achievements each month and scheduled quarterly conferences with management to evaluation my work. Nobody requested me to do this stuff; I initiated and led them.

Taking these steps tremendously enhanced my visibility and performed a key function in my eventual promotion.

4. Observe-up constantly

After highlighting your achievements, the subsequent step is to have interaction in constant follow-up and embrace a mindset of continuous enchancment. This consists of sending considerate thank-you emails after conferences, actively seeking feedback for enchancment, pursuing related studying alternatives, and actively taking part in group conferences.

Constructing robust inside relationships can be key. Periodic check-ins along with your supervisor will assist preserve your progress and profession aspirations on their radar.

Securing a promotion is just the start — sustaining open communication and regularly striving for progress are what is going to propel your profession ahead.

The “lazy woman technique” is not really lazy or simply for girls

The way you bundle and current your work to management when in search of a promotion is as vital because the work itself, and the “lazy woman technique” will help you effectively achieve this.

The time period “lazy woman technique” is a bit deceptive, although, because it is not about encouraging girls to be lazy. As a substitute, I see it as a intelligent method to explain efficient and environment friendly methods that enable girls to better advocate for themselves with out overextending or consistently feeling the necessity to show their price.

That is particularly vital for women in male-dominated workforces. Once I was working in tech, I seen girls’s work and efforts would usually go unnoticed, and we steadily needed to exert twice the hassle to obtain the identical recognition as males.

“Lazy woman technique” challenges the notion that fixed busyness equals success. The thought of working much less can initially really feel like laziness, nevertheless it’s vital to do not forget that having some free time or specializing in fewer, high-impact duties just isn’t laziness — it is working smarter.

Whereas the “lazy woman technique” might function an efficient coping mechanism within the quick time period, it is also essential to proceed pushing for systemic change within the office. My aim in founding Gen She is to offer formidable younger girls with the abilities and assets to be the leaders of tomorrow in order that different girls needn’t use the “lazy woman technique” to be seen and valued at work.

However within the meantime, the “lazy woman technique” helped me get a $40,000 increase, and maybe it might provide help to too.

Avni Barman is the founder and CEO of Technology She and a former product supervisor at Atlassian.