Latest / The Promotion Memo with Fexingo: Getting Visibility, Sponsors, and Executive Presence / How One Employee Got Promoted by Writing a Career Memo
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this product manager I've been following — call her Sarah — who worked at a Fortune 500 retailer. She wanted a promotion to senior product manager, but her boss kept telling her 'the timing isn't right' and 'we'll revisit during cycle.' Classic stall. Luna: Right, the classic 'wait for the process' line. What did she do differently? Lucas: She wrote a career memo. Not a cover letter, not an updated resume — a four-page business case for her own promotion. She structured it like she would any product proposal: executive summary, track record, leadership footprint, and a future agenda. Luna: A business case for yourself — I love that. So she applied product thinking to her own career. Lucas: Exactly. The executive summary was one sentence: 'I am ready to be senior product manager of the loyalty and rewards team, effective next quarter.' Then she listed her top three quantified wins. One was redesigning the loyalty program's points structure, which drove a 12 percent lift in same-store sales over six months. She had the numbers from the analytics team to back it up. Luna: That's a concrete number — 12 percent. Most people would say 'improved loyalty metrics' and leave it vague. Lucas: Right. She also included cost savings: she consolidated three vendor contracts into one, saving 400 thousand dollars annually. That got the attention of the finance side. The leadership footprint section listed five projects where she'd led cross-functional teams — marketing, IT, store operations — without formal authority. Luna: So she was proving influence, not just individual contribution. That's a big jump from associate to senior level. Lucas: Exactly. The future agenda was the boldest part: she outlined her 12-month plan for the loyalty platform, including a partnership with a major airline for points transfers and a mobile app integration. She basically wrote the job description for the role she wanted, but at a higher bar than HR would have set. Luna: And did she send it to her direct boss or go above? Lucas: She went above — but carefully. She emailed the memo to the VP of product, with a note that said 'I wanted to share my growth trajectory and future vision for the loyalty team. I've discussed this with my manager, but wanted to loop you in.' That last part was key — she didn't surprise her boss. Luna: So she socialized it first. Did the VP actually read it? Lucas: He did, and he forwarded it to HR with a note saying 'let's discuss Sarah's readiness for senior PM.' That memo became the agenda for the promotion conversation. Instead of her boss saying 'she's not ready yet,' the conversation was about 'does her track record match the memo?' Luna: It flipped the burden of proof. She set the bar, and they had to argue why she didn't meet it — instead of her having to argue why she did. Lucas: Exactly. She got the promotion within six weeks. But there are risks — some managers react badly if you go around them. She mitigated that by giving her boss a heads-up and framing it as a development document, not an ultimatum. Luna: What about people in flatter organizations, or startups where there's no clear VP to send it to? Lucas: Good question. In a startup, you might send it to the CEO or the co-founder who oversees product. But the principle stays the same: put your case in writing, with numbers and a future agenda. The medium itself signals seniority. Luna: Because anyone can talk about their accomplishments in a meeting. Writing a structured memo shows you think at a strategic level. Lucas: Exactly. And one more thing: she didn't just list what she did. She linked her work to business outcomes. The loyalty program redesign wasn't just 'improved user engagement' — it was '12 percent same-store sales lift.' That's the language executives speak. Luna: So if someone's listening and thinking 'I could do this,' what's the first step? Lucas: Start with the numbers. Go back through your last six to twelve months and pull out three achievements you can quantify. If you can't find any, that's a signal you need to start tracking your work differently. Then write the executive summary — one sentence stating what you want and when. Luna: And don't be shy about the future agenda. That's what separates 'I've done good work' from 'I have a vision for this role.' Lucas: Exactly. The memo is essentially a job application for a role that doesn't exist yet in their mind — but you're creating it. And if you do it well, they realize they'd rather promote you than hire externally. Luna: If today's episode was useful to you — especially if you're thinking about writing your own career memo — the way we keep this show ad-free is through listener support. You can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Just a small way to keep these conversations going. Lucas: Yeah, and we really appreciate it. It's what lets us dig into specific tactics like this without any sponsor interruptions. So if you've gotten value from the show, that link is there. Luna: Alright, back to Sarah. One thing I want to ask — did she ever have to deal with pushback from her peers? Going public with a memo like that could create jealousy. Lucas: She was smart about that too. She only shared the memo with her boss and the VP. She didn't blast it to the team. And when people asked about her promotion, she just said 'I had a conversation with leadership about my growth.' Low-key. Luna: That's a good lesson in discretion. The memo is a tool, not a trophy. Lucas: Right. The goal is to get the decision-makers thinking about you differently, not to prove you're better than your peers. Keep it confidential, keep it professional. Luna: So to wrap up: if you're stuck in promotion limbo, consider writing a career memo. Lead with numbers, include a future agenda, and send it up the chain — but loop your boss in first. Lucas: And if you do, let us know how it goes. We might feature your story in a future episode.