By name: promotion-draft description: This skill should be used when preparing a promotion packet, writing self-review for leveling, or asking "am I ready for promotion?", "what does senior/staff look like?", or "help me write my promo doc". Generates level-appropriate impact narratives with scope and influence evidence. argument-hint: target level, review period, or accomplishments to include disable-model-invocation: true
Promotion Draft
Build a complete promotion case from recent engineering work.
Input
$ARGUMENTS
Level Expectations Framework
Scope of Impact by Level
| Level | Scope | Typical Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Junior (L3) | Task/Feature | Completes assigned work, learns codebase |
| Mid (L4) | Project | Owns features end-to-end, mentors juniors |
| Senior (L5) | Team | Shapes team direction, influences architecture |
| Staff (L6) | Org/Multi-team | Drives org-wide initiatives, sets standards |
| Principal (L7) | Company | Industry influence, company-wide strategy |
Key Dimensions by Level
Junior → Mid (L3 → L4)
| Dimension | Evidence Needed |
|---|---|
| Independence | Completes work without daily guidance |
| Scope | Owns full features, not just tasks |
| Quality | Writes production-ready code first time |
| Communication | Explains technical decisions clearly |
Mid → Senior (L4 → L5)
| Dimension | Evidence Needed |
|---|---|
| Technical leadership | Others seek your opinion, you shape decisions |
| Ambiguity | Navigate unclear requirements, define solutions |
| Multiplier | Make the team more effective, not just yourself |
| Influence | Drive outcomes beyond assigned work |
Senior → Staff (L5 → L6)
| Dimension | Evidence Needed |
|---|---|
| Org impact | Work affects multiple teams |
| Strategy | Connect technical work to business goals |
| Standards | Create patterns others adopt |
| Sponsorship | Senior leadership knows your work |
Staff → Principal (L6 → L7)
| Dimension | Evidence Needed |
|---|---|
| Industry | External recognition, conference talks, papers |
| Company strategy | Influence product/technical direction |
| Organization building | Grow senior talent, shape culture |
| Innovation | Novel solutions to hard problems |
Translating Technical Work to Impact
For each accomplishment, use the impact-narrative skill to translate technical work into business language. It provides frameworks for quantifying impact, framing for different audiences, and the STAR-L narrative structure. This skill focuses on assembling those translated accomplishments into a level-appropriate promotion packet.
Promotion Packet Structure
1. Summary Statement
One paragraph answering: "Why should this person be promoted now?"
Formula:
[Name] has consistently operated at [target level] by [key evidence].
Their work on [biggest accomplishment] demonstrates [key dimension].
Promoting them formalizes the scope they're already operating at.
2. Impact Themes (3-5)
Group accomplishments into themes that demonstrate level-appropriate scope.
| Theme Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Technical excellence | "Architected scalable solutions" |
| Leadership | "Elevated team capabilities" |
| Business impact | "Directly enabled revenue growth" |
| Cross-functional | "Partnered across org boundaries" |
| Innovation | "Introduced novel approaches" |
3. Accomplishment Bullets
For each theme, 2-4 specific accomplishments.
Bullet Formula:
[Strong verb] + [what] + [scope/scale] + [measurable result] + [so-what]
Level-Appropriate Verbs:
| Level | Verbs |
|---|---|
| Mid | Built, implemented, shipped, fixed, improved |
| Senior | Designed, led, drove, mentored, standardized |
| Staff | Architected, established, influenced, championed, transformed |
| Principal | Pioneered, defined, shaped, evangelized |
4. Scope Evidence
Concrete proof of operating at target level scope.
| Scope | Evidence Types |
|---|---|
| Team | Code reviews given, mentoring, team process improvements |
| Multi-team | RFCs reviewed, cross-team projects, shared libraries |
| Org | Standards adopted, architecture decisions, hiring influence |
| Company | Company-wide tools, external visibility, exec presentations |
5. Stakeholder Quotes
Who can vouch for this work?
| Stakeholder | What They Can Speak To |
|---|---|
| Manager | Day-to-day performance, growth |
| Skip-level | Strategic impact, leadership |
| Peers | Collaboration, technical respect |
| Cross-functional | Impact outside engineering |
| Reports | Mentorship, leadership style |
Gathering Evidence
From Git History
# Your commits in review period
git log --author="[you]" --since="[start date]" --oneline
# Files you've touched most
git log --author="[you]" --since="[start date]" --name-only --format="" | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20
# Your PRs with reviews
gh pr list --author="[you]" --state=merged --limit=100
From Dev OS Events
# Your impact events
grep "tool_write" ~/.claude/dev-os-events.jsonl | jq -r '.payload.files[]' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn
# Large changes (architecture-level work)
grep "large_change" ~/.claude/dev-os-events.jsonl
# Decisions documented
grep "decision_tradeoff" ~/.claude/dev-os-events.jsonl
From Documents
- Design docs authored
- RFCs proposed/reviewed
- Post-mortems led
- Documentation written
Common Promotion Pitfalls
| Pitfall | Problem | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Activity, not impact | Lists tasks done | Connect to outcomes |
| Solo hero | All "I" statements | Show multiplier effect |
| Recency bias | Only recent work | Cover full review period |
| Missing scope | Work without context | Explain why it mattered |
| Vague claims | "Improved performance" | Add numbers, specifics |
| Wrong audience | Too technical | Lead with business impact |
Self-Assessment: Am I Ready?
Checklist for Target Level
For Senior (L5)
- Others on the team come to me for technical guidance
- I've driven at least one project without manager direction
- I've improved a team process or practice
- I've mentored at least one junior engineer
- My code reviews teach, not just approve
For Staff (L6)
- I've influenced technical direction beyond my team
- Engineers outside my team know my work
- I've written standards/patterns others adopted
- I can connect my work to business metrics
- Senior leadership has visibility into my contributions
For Principal (L7)
- I've shaped company-wide technical strategy
- I have external industry presence
- I've grown engineers to senior/staff level
- My work has multi-year impact
- I'm consulted on org-level decisions
Output Format
Promotion Packet: [Name] → [Target Level]
Summary
[One paragraph summary statement]
Theme 1: [Name]
Scope: [Team/Multi-team/Org]
- [Accomplishment bullet with metrics]
- [Accomplishment bullet with metrics]
Evidence: [Specific artifacts, links, quotes]
Theme 2: [Name]
Scope: [Team/Multi-team/Org]
- [Accomplishment bullet with metrics]
- [Accomplishment bullet with metrics]
Evidence: [Specific artifacts, links, quotes]
Theme 3: [Name]
Scope: [Team/Multi-team/Org]
- [Accomplishment bullet with metrics]
- [Accomplishment bullet with metrics]
Evidence: [Specific artifacts, links, quotes]
Scope Summary
| Dimension | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Technical leadership | [examples] |
| Cross-team influence | [examples] |
| Mentorship/multiplier | [examples] |
Stakeholder Support
| Name | Role | Can Speak To |
|---|---|---|
| [name] | [title] | [topic] |
Gaps to Address
[Any areas where evidence is thin, with plan to strengthen]
Recommendation
Ready for promotion: [Yes / Not yet / Needs more time]
If not yet: [Specific gaps and timeline to address]