Welcome back to Design a Career You Love where I help corporate professionals like you design, build and navigate your high impact career with clarity and confidence. ✨ If someone forwarded you this email, subscribe here so you won't miss out on future editions.

You can feel it in the air right now.
The annual performance review cycles. The side chats with your manager. The low-key rumors about who's “in line” for what.

It’s promotion season.

And if you’re waiting, watching, or wondering if this is your year… I want to say something that might feel uncomfortable:

Even if you get it - ​
The title. The bump. The expanded scope.
​It still might not be enough.

Because here’s what I see all the time:

Smart, capable people doing everything right inside their company.

• Crushing their goals.
• Leading major projects.
• Training others.
• Saying yes when they want to say no.

And still: silence. Delays. Vague “not yets.”
Or a promotion that looks good on paper - but changes nothing that actually matters.

Don’t wait your way into clarity

If you’re in that middle zone right now - half-in, half-out - it’s a hard place to sit.
You’re doing your part. But the decision isn’t yours to make. It’s behind closed doors.

And that’s the trap:
You start hoping. Waiting. Rationalizing.

“If I just hang on three more months…”
“If I can prove myself one more time…”

Here’s what I want you to hear today:​
You can do everything in your power to position yourself for a promotion AND​
still prepare to create new opportunities outside your org.

Those two things are not in conflict.
In fact - they’re the strongest position you can be in.

If that’s where you are right now - hovering between hope and hesitation - hit reply and tell me what’s keeping you stuck.

Even just putting it into words can bring clarity.

And if you want to talk through it, click HERE to book a free 1:1 Career Strategy Call with me.​

Promotions are rewards. They’re not strategies.

A promotion can be exciting. Validating. Well-earned.
But it is not a career strategy.

Because a promotion doesn’t always equal growth.
And it definitely doesn’t equal freedom.

Here’s how it often plays out:

• You get the title, but not the autonomy.
• You get the comp bump, but not the respect.
• You get more responsibility, but still feel stuck in the same system.

Or - worst of all - you don’t get it.
And you’re left holding the same workload, same pressure, same invisible ceiling.

So… what do you do?

You start designing leverage.​
You start building a career that moves with you - not one that keeps you waiting.

Not by rage-quitting.
Not by panic-applying to 47 roles you don’t actually want.
And definitely not by staying stuck in reflection mode forever.

Here’s how you move from reflection to momentum:

1. Get brutally clear on what you want next.

Not what your company wants. Not what recruiters are posting.
What you want. In plain, specific language.

Try this prompt:

2. Audit your alignment.

Ask:

• Am I solving the problems I care about?
• Am I working at the right level - or am I under-scoped?
• Am I getting the support, comp, or visibility that matches the work I’m doing?

3. Map your invisible assets.

Leverage isn’t just comp. It’s:

• Trusted relationships
• Unique experiences
• A strong POV in your field
• A body of work that tells a clear story

4. Start having quiet conversations.

Reach out to 3–5 people you trust. Ask:

5. Package your story before you need to tell it.

Get clear on:

• The problems you love solving
• The value you uniquely bring

This becomes your anchor - and a filter for what fits.

This is how you shift from hoping to building.​
No begging for scraps.
No waiting for permission.
Just you - getting clear, getting connected, and getting ready.

If you’re stuck right now - let’s talk about it

If you’re in this zone - waiting, wondering, or quietly unraveling - it’s time to move.
Not into chaos.
Not into panic.
But into momentum.

This doesn’t have to mean handing in a resignation letter tomorrow.
It just means taking your career off pause.

I’d love to hear from you:

Hit reply and tell me:

• What’s keeping you stuck right now?
• What do you wish someone would help you figure out?

No pressure. No pitch.
Just a real convo from someone who gets it - and wants you to feel like you’ve got options again.

You don’t have to wait on someone else’s decision to move forward.
​You get to decide.

I’m in your corner.
Beckie

P.S. If this hit a nerve, forward it to a friend who’s also in the thick of it.
You’re not the only one waiting on a decision that shouldn’t define your future.