The Right Time to ask for a Promotion is April

If you are looking for a promotion in your organisation then be prepared to take up your case with your boss as the first month of the Indian financial year could bring cheers to your work-life

According to LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with more than 90 million members worldwide, April sees more promotions in India than any other month of the year.

The Website analysed the data on its network to see when members reported promotions. According to LinkedIn’s data, the top three months for professionals in India to get promoted within their company are April, followed by January and then July.

The Indian trend is in sharp contrast to the US, for example, where January, the first month of the US fiscal year, tends to dominate, accounting for 16 per cent of the year’s total promotions.

How to go about it
For employees planning to ask for a promotion, here is a tip — watch your company’s financial results closely and make a pitch in the first month after a quarterly close, if the results have been good. In India, LinkedIn data showed a more pronounced quarterly schedule for promotions than in some other countries. January, July and October also show significant promotion activity. Since these are the first months of a new quarter in the Indian financial year, which runs from April through March, there is a clear correlation between corporate bottomlines and employee promotions.

Take note of your industry too
Of course, the ideal time also varies with the kind of industry a professional is working in. For instance, the LinkedIn data showed that in September there was a significant lift in promotions for professionals that listed management consulting as their industry. For information technology professionals, April, July and October are equally good. Those in higher education tend to get promoted during the academic holiday months between May and August. In retail, practically any month is a good month. Globally, though, January, July and September emerge as the top months for professionals to get promoted.

With inputs from Mail Today. Copyright 2011. MTNPL. All rights reserved.