Let’s discuss the things that are being evaluated when you’re going for a promotion. The three things that managers are considering include your past performance, your current competence, and your future potential. It’s all three of these things.

Your past performance has to do with your character, who you have proven yourself to be your work ethic, your integrity, it has to do with your attitude. So how you show up particularly in challenging situations under pressure, Are you someone who can maintain composure? Are you someone who has a positive kind of solutions focused attitude. And then of course, in past performance, they’re looking at your results, what have you specifically been able to achieve in terms of value that you’ve delivered to the organization, all of that gets taken into account, the kind of general rule of thumb in the Human Resources world is that past behavior is the best indicator for future behavior. past behavior is the best indicator for future behavior. So if somebody wants to evaluate how you might be as an employee in a certain role in the future, their best bet is to first look at how you have behaved and how you’ve performed in the past.

Managers are also looking at current competence. This has to do with your current skillset and your current abilities. Typically, there are three different things that they’re looking at:

Technical skill has to do with your hard skills: Do you know Excel, for example? Do you know how to use the different software and the different equipment that’s required in a role?

Operational skills has to do with your ability to navigate operationally within the organization? How are your time management skills, for example? How are your deadline management skills?

Interpersonal has to do with your ability to work well with other people. How are your communication skills, collaboration skills, and so forth?

While they are looking at your current skills and abilities, they’re also looking at your future potential. This is the one that has a little more vagueness to it. Your future potential is a combination of a few things.

Aptitude is one element. Aptitude is basically your ability to learn. Have you shown that, maybe if you don’t know something, you can learn it quickly? Have you shown that you are interested in learning, you’re interested in growing and you have the ability to learn and grow?

Awareness is another element. This has to do with being aware of your own personal strengths, as well as your own areas for improvement. Have you shown that you understand you’re not perfect, you understand your areas for improvement, and you’re willing to work on those?

And then the final element has to do with your ambitions. Have you demonstrated ambition and motivation to continue growing and advancing your career?

These are the three things that managers are really evaluating when they’re considering you for a potential promotion.