LinkedIn reveals best time to ask for a promotion

Do you think you deserve a promotion? A LinkedIn survey reveals when the best month to do it and career coach Phyllis Reardon gives you tips on how to prepare for your big pitch.
By: Nestor E. Arellano



f you didn't get promoted last month, don't lose heart – you still have eight more months this year to convince your boss that you've been working smart and hard, according to LinkedIn.
The online social networking site that focuses on career-based connections recently released a survey that indicates January, September and April are the top three months for professionals in Canada to get promoted within their company.
The global survey tracked promotion trends in companies of all sizes in the information technology and sciences, higher education, management consulting, and retail industries. By analyzing more than 90 million LinkedIn member's career histories, the site was able to observe the evolution of labour market trends and discover some “surprising, interesting or simply fun insights,” according to Monica Rogati, senior research analyst for analytics at LinkedIn in San Francisco.
For decades, January has been the top month for promotions, but the month is losing its claim to fame as more promotions are starting to be given out evenly throughout the year, Rogati said in a recent blog. “During the 1990s, 22 per cent of the promotions occurred in January, but in the most recent decade that number decreased to 16 per cent.”


The LinkedIn analyst attributes the trend to the rise of so-called millennials (individuals born in the 1980 and 1990s) in the workforce.
Compared to their parent's generation – the baby boomers – their promotions are less concentrated in January and instead spread more evenly throughout the year, according to LinkedIn's findings.
What's behind the shift? “Perhaps millennials have outlandish expectations of the workplace and are asking for promotions throughout the year,” said Rogati.
LinkedIn is also looking into the following possibilities:

• Do baby boomers hold more senior positions that are budgeted on a yearly cycle compared to the more junior positions held by millennials?
• Could it be that millennials are over-represented in industries where fast career progression is the norm? If so, is it a matter of correlation or causation?
• Are titles split across more “levels” these days? Has the labor market adapted to a workforce that demands more frequent incentives and feels a constant need to level up?

If you have any insights you'd like to share with LinkedIn, you can answer their poll here.

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