Were you promoted in January? If not you might have to wait another year. For many U.S. companies the greatest percentage of in-house promotions take place in January, according to data analysed by LinkedIn Corp.
The study, released by the professional networking site, found that 16 per cent of promotions since 2000 occurred in January, more than any other month. June and July were the next most popular months.
LinkedIn analysed its users' profiles, which detail employment history, to learn when people were promoted within the same company. The January and mid-year peaks may be partly explained by companies' fiscal years, which tend to begin at those times.
Although January took the top spot, its hold is weakening. During the 1990s, 22 per cent of promotions happened in January versus 16 per cent in the past decade. Part of the shift has come from younger workers. According to the LinkedIn study, just 14 per cent of promotions that occurred in January came from those born in the 1980s, compared to 22 per cent coming from people born in the 1950s. Employees born in the 1980s tend to be more aggressive in asking for raises and promotions than their older counterparts, say experts: They speak up about what they want and don't want to wait for a boss to notice they're doing a good job.
Overall the study means that employees who want to move up within that window should talk to their managers about a promotion a couple months beforehand. If an employee waits until the annual performance review in January, when many promotions take place, he or she might have to wait until the next window.
Ideally, employees should be setting the stage for a promotion throughout the year, by keeping their bosses up-to-date on successes and their desire to move up, says New York-based career coach Laura Hill of Careers in Motion. "When the performance review comes around, you'll have a catalogue of your successes to show them and make that conversation easier," she said. (Barbara Bierach)
Source: Wall Street Journal
