How do I know I’m progressing in between promotions?

How do I know I’m progressing in between promotions?

Posted byAlex Hepworth on

career growth

Progression makes the world go round. Without it, we can feel demotivated and unfulfilled, like we’re treading water. We need to feel like we’re progressing in our relationships, the skills we’re learning and in life generally, as well as in our jobs.

But how are you supposed to know you’re progressing at work when promotions are few and far between? In this article, we’ll explain how you can track your career growth everyday (with a little help from Progression, of course 👀).

Set your goal

Before you can start to think about tracking your career growth, you need to work out exactly what it is you’re aiming for. Are you after a title change, a pay rise, new opportunities, more responsibility?

Whatever your goal, think about the skills you’ll need to build to reach it, and start working towards them.

💡Find focus with Focus Skills in Progression

Keep the skills that’ll contribute most to your career progression front of mind by adding them as Focus Skills in Progression. Tap into each skill to see a feed of everything you’ve done that contributes to your growth in that area, like Wins, completed Actions and Feedback.

Find out more about Focus Skills

Take it step by step

While reaching the top of your career ladder after a series of great promotions might be the ultimate goal, there’s so much in between those career milestones to celebrate. Break down your goals into bitesize actions, and celebrate and document each one as you achieve them.

💡Stay on track with Actions

Keep all of your tasks in one place by adding them as Actions. You’ll be prompted to tag Actions with skills and set a due date to help you stay focused and on track. Completed Actions can be used as evidence of the work you’re doing towards the skills in your position or one you’d like to move into.

💡Celebrate with Wins

Completed an Action? Saw some great results on a piece of work? Capture your achievement as a Win in Progression. Wins are a fantastic way to prove your growth in between promotions to others (and yourself!)

Add a Win

Check in regularly

One of the best ways to work out how you’re tracking against your work goals is to ask for a second opinion. Start with your manager. If you’re not having regular 1:1s already, ask for them, and put our 1:1 meeting template under their nose if your conversations could do with some focus.

Remember, 1:1s are your time, so don’t be afraid to steer the conversation towards your career growth and goals, and away from in the weeds work chat.

💡Start a Check-in in Progression

When you’re ready for a more formal conversation about your career growth, start a Check-in with your manager. You can check in against your current or future role to identify your strengths and blind spots. At the end, you’ll have deeper clarity on your progress to date and the confidence needed to make your next move.

Learn more about Check-ins

Ask for feedback

Open yourself up to feedback from the wider team. Not forthcoming? Become a feedback advocate in your organisation by requesting and giving targeted feedback regularly. And when you receive feedback, act on it! They’re far more likely to give you feedback again, and follow your good example.

Read more: How to build a feedback habit >

💡Request targeted feedback in Progression

With Progression, you can request feedback from anyone in your organisation, at any time. Outline what you’d like feedback on to keep things focused. The person you request feedback from will see the skills associated with your position, so they understand your level and focus areas.

Request feedback now

Reflect on your achievements

Collect all of the work you’re doing that contributes to your goals in one place, ready to refer back to whenever you need it. This might be in a Google Doc, a spreadsheet, a notebook, or in Progression. However you collect it, be sure to make a habit of looking back and noting down regularly.

💡Feel your growth everyday with your Work Feed in Progression

We’ve launched Work Feed to make it easier than ever to see, feel and own your career growth with Progression. All of the work updates you collect, from Wins and Notes to Actions and Feedback, now live in your Work Feed, ready for you to refer back to as and when you need them. So next time you ask yourself ‘Am I really progressing at work?’, or ‘How can I evidence my progress?’ head to your Work Feed. All your hard work’s there, timestamped and tagged with the skills most relevant to your role.

Want to give Progression a try?

Talk to us →


Picture of Alex Hepworth

Posted by Alex Hepworth

Content Writer at Progression

Alex on LinkedIn

Get started with a free template

Our template library is full of best-practice content to get you started quickly

Build world class careers in days not months

Find out how we can accelerate your team's career growth, today