Some tips to climb the engineering ladder faster

[Update 2025-July]

If you’re aiming to uplift your career with a promotion, it’s essential to understand that skill alone isn’t enough, strategic focus and delivering high-impact contributions are key. This article offers a few suggestions to help you stand out, advance, and ultimately uplift your career.

In this post, I’m sharing thoughts from both a business owner’s and a software engineer’s perspective. While the focus is on engineering, I believe these insights are broad enough to apply to many other roles as well.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions for improvement, I’d love to hear them.

Before diving into the tips, let’s first ask ourselves: Why do we get promoted?

At its core, business is about generating value – usually, that means making money. When an organization decides to pay someone more or give them more responsibility, it’s because they believe that person can help the business grow or has the potential to do so.

That means promotions are not just a reward for technical excellence. They are a signal that you’re making a real impact – or showing strong signs that you soon when given the right opportunities and resources. You’re seen as someone who can drive results, align with the company’s goals, and bring others along.

Some common signals that catch the attention of managers and business leaders include:

You consistently go above and beyond what’s expected in your current role.
You’ve demonstrated reliability: you’re proactive, take ownership, and focus on solutions instead of assigning blame.
You show a vision that aligns with the company’s core values and direction.
You think beyond your own tasks – your perspective includes the bigger picture and business outcomes, not just personal achievements (that doesn’t mean neglecting your own growth; instead, you strive to improve your personal brand and skills while ensuring that your wins contribute to the team and company’s success – that’s why having a vision that aligns with the business is so important)

Here are some topics that hopefully to help you get there:

1. Focus on influence and business impact

Learn what your organization or customer considers impactful, and build your development plan around that.

Impact is any measurable and objective outcome that benefits the company.

No matter how skilled we are, we shouldn’t lose sight of the business reality. We need to apply our knowledge and skills in ways that have a positive and practical impact on the business, team, or project

2. Your personal branding matter

No one gets promoted unless their work is visible.
Promotion is also about being recognized by the colleagues you work with.
Don’t assume your manager(s)/leader(s) will always notice your hidden contributions.
Don’t hesitate to showcase your skills, knowledge, and contributions.

Be obsessive about the quality of your work. High-quality work often speaks for itself.

However, don’t solely rely on the quality of your work for recognition – share the results of your efforts. No one gets promoted unless their work is visible.

Don’t hesitate to take ownership and accountability by taking on projects responsibility. When your work is successful, your personal brand within the organization will grow as well.

3. Take challenges

Volunteer to take on additional responsibilities beyond your current role.

Promotion isn’t just about performing well in your current role; it’s about demonstrating your ability to succeed in the next level.

4. Soft skills and collaboration are powerful fuel

Soft skills will help you stand out and lead.
Being someone others want to work with also makes everything easier.
Being someone others want to work with makes it easier to find consensus and to seek mentors or supporters who can uplift you along the way.

Soft skills are often underrated among software engineers. While it’s important to excel in your individual role, you can achieve much more if you also communicate well.

Since engineers don’t often prioritize soft skills, developing them will help you stand out and lead

5. Be transparent with your manager

Don’t lose sight of where you are.
Seeking clarification and support from your manager can help you progress more quickly.

Each company has its own standards and protocols for promotions. Help your manager understand your goals and gain clarity on any gaps you need to address to reach the next level. This can reduce misunderstandings and confusion during your performance review.

From the manager’s side, they may also have actions they can take to support your plan.

6. Effectively distribute your effort

Hard work doesn’t mean high impact.
Keep your plan in check.

We only have 24 hours each day, so focus on making impactful contributions.

Hard work is valuable, but sometimes the impact of what we accomplish matters more than the effort itself. However, high impact is impossible without a certain level of focus and dedication.

So, the key suggestions are:

Direct your hard work toward contributions that generate significant impact.
Keep your plans and goals in mind. Stay aligned with them and strive to create as much impact as possible.

7. A promotion shouldn’t be your only ultimate goal

Opportunity is meaningless without the ability to take advantage of it.
Be well-prepared for changes, stay updated with industry standards and trends. Networking and contribute to the community as much as possible.

A promotion doesn’t mean your job is secure or that you stand out within the entire organization or industry.

We live in a fast-paced world where things change daily, including our jobs.

It’s best to keep learning new knowledge and refining our skills to stay competitive within the industry and be prepared for any changes or opportunities in your current role.

If possible, contributing your impact to the community can greatly enhance your personal brand

You may encounter situations where your organization’s needs conflict with industry needs. In such cases, it’s important to balance your goals, but if you are serious about a promotion, the organization’s needs should always be your first priority.

Hung Doan