English Upgrade #15: Career English — Salary, Promotions, and Job Moves

Thuan: I’ve been at the same company for 3 years. I want a promotion. I know I deserve it. But every time I try to talk to my manager about it, I freeze. The words don’t come out right in English.

Alex: Career conversations are the highest-ROI English investment. A well-phrased salary negotiation can be worth $10,000+. A good interview answer can be worth an entire job offer. Let’s make sure your English matches your skills.

Asking for a Promotion

Thuan: Where do I even start?

Alex: Don’t surprise your manager. Career conversations should be telegraphed well in advance.

Step 1: Signal Your Interest (2-3 Months Before)

“I’d like to talk about my career growth in our next 1-on-1. I want to understand what the path to [Senior/Staff/Lead] looks like and what I need to focus on.”

Step 2: Understand the Criteria

Question	Phrase
What’s expected?	“What does success look like at the [next level]? Can you share specific examples?”
Where am I now?	“In your assessment, where do I currently stand against those expectations?”
What’s the gap?	“What are the 2-3 areas I should focus on to be ready for promotion?”
Timeline	“What’s a realistic timeline for this, assuming I make progress in those areas?”

Step 3: Build Your Case

“Over the past 6 months, I’ve:

• Led the migration to microservices — reduced deployment time by 60%
• Mentored 2 junior developers — both now contribute independently
• Improved code review turnaround from 3 days to 1 day
• Handled the Q4 incident — zero data loss, 30-minute resolution

Based on the criteria we discussed, I believe I’m performing at the [next level]. I’d like to formally discuss promotion.”

Step 4: The Promotion Conversation

Moment	Phrase
Opening	“Thanks for making time. I’d like to discuss my promotion to [level].”
Presenting evidence	“Here’s what I’ve accomplished that aligns with the [level] expectations: [list].”
Addressing gaps	“I know [area] was a gap. Here’s what I’ve done to close it: [actions].”
Asking directly	“Based on this, I’d like to be considered for promotion in the next cycle.”
If “not yet”	“I understand. Can you specify what I need to demonstrate? I’ll work on it and we can revisit in [timeframe].”

Salary Negotiation

Thuan: This is the most uncomfortable conversation in any language.

Alex: Agreed. But it’s also the most financially important. Here’s the framework:

Research First

Before negotiating, know your market value:

• Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, LinkedIn salary insights
• Talk to peers (if comfortable)
• Recruiter conversations (even if not job-hunting)

The Negotiation Script

You: “I’d like to discuss my compensation. I’ve researched the market for a [title] in [location/industry], and the range is [X to Y]. Based on my contributions — [2-3 achievements] — I believe my compensation should be at [specific number or range].”

Manager: “That’s above our current budget.”

You: “I understand budget constraints. Are there other options we could explore? For example, a one-time bonus, additional PTO, a training budget, or equity? I’m open to creative solutions.”

Key Negotiation Phrases

Situation	Phrase
Stating your ask	“I’m looking for a total compensation of [X], which aligns with market rates for my experience and contributions.”
Justifying	“Over the past year, I’ve delivered [X], which directly impacted [business outcome].”
Flexibility	“I’m open to discussing the breakdown — salary, bonus, equity, other benefits.”
Counter-offer	“I appreciate the offer of [X]. Can we meet in the middle at [Y]?”
Final push	“Is there any flexibility on this? I want to make this work for both sides.”
Accepting	“Thank you. I’m happy with this package. I appreciate you working with me on it.”
Walking away	“I appreciate the offer, but it’s below what I’m looking for. Can we revisit this in [timeframe]?”

What NOT to Say

Don’t	Why	Say Instead
“I need more money because my rent is high”	Personal reasons aren’t negotiation leverage	“My market value, based on skills and contributions, is [X]”
“If you don’t give me a raise, I’ll leave”	Threats damage relationships	“I want to stay. Let’s find a number that works”
“My friend at [company] makes more”	Comparisons seem petty	“Market data shows the range is [X to Y]”

Job Interviews

Thuan: What about when I’m interviewing at new companies?

Alex: The most common English mistakes in interviews aren’t grammar — they’re structure. Use STAR for every behavioral question:

The STAR Method

Component	What to Say
Situation	“In my previous role at [company], we were facing [problem].”
Task	“My responsibility was to [what you needed to do].”
Action	“I [specific actions you took].”
Result	“As a result, [measurable outcome].”

Example: “Tell Me About a Challenging Project”

S: “At my company, we had a legacy monolith that was causing 3-4 outages per month.”

T: “I was asked to lead the migration to microservices while keeping the existing system running.”

A: “I designed a strangler fig migration strategy, prioritized the highest-risk modules first, and set up a dual-run period where both systems processed requests. I also mentored the team on microservice patterns.”

R: “Over 6 months, we migrated 80% of the system. Outages dropped from 4 per month to zero. Deployment frequency increased from weekly to daily.”

Common Interview Phrases

Question	Strong Response Opener
“Tell me about yourself”	“I’m a tech lead with [X] years of experience, specializing in [area]. Most recently, I [achievement].”
“Why are you leaving?”	“I’ve grown a lot at my current company. I’m looking for [specific growth opportunity] that aligns with this role.”
“What’s your weakness?”	“I tend to [real weakness]. I’ve been working on it by [specific action].”
“Why this company?”	“Three reasons: [specific thing about company], [role alignment], and [growth opportunity].”
“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”	“Leading a larger engineering team and contributing to architectural decisions at scale.”
“Do you have questions for us?”	“Yes — what does success look like for this role in the first 6 months?”

LinkedIn and Resume English

LinkedIn Headline Formula

❌ “Software Developer at XYZ Company” ✅ “Tech Lead | Scaling distributed systems | Turning complex problems into elegant solutions”

LinkedIn Summary Structure

“I lead engineering teams that build [what you build] for [who benefits].

Currently at [Company], I focus on [area]. My team recently [achievement].

I care about [values: code quality, mentoring, scalable architecture].

Previously: [1-2 relevant past roles].”

Resume Action Verbs

Weak	Strong
“Responsible for”	“Led” / “Drove” / “Owned”
“Worked on”	“Designed” / “Built” / “Implemented”
“Helped with”	“Contributed to” / “Collaborated on”
“Made changes to”	“Optimized” / “Refactored” / “Improved”
“Was part of the team that”	“Co-led” / “Partnered with [team] to”

10-Minute Self-Practice

The Career Pitch (5 min)

1. Write your “Tell me about yourself” answer (target: 60 seconds)
2. Include: current role, key achievement, what you’re looking for
3. Say it aloud 3 times — get it under 60 seconds

The Salary Rehearsal (5 min)

1. Research your market rate on Glassdoor / Levels.fyi
2. Write: “I’m looking for a total compensation of [X], based on [reasons].”
3. Write a counter-response: “Can we meet at [Y]?”
4. Practice saying both aloud — calmly and confidently

What’s Next

Your career English is interview-ready. Next post: The Busy Person’s Self-Study System — a 15-minute daily routine to keep improving without textbooks.

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This is Part 15 of the English Upgrade series. Related: English for Tech Leads Part 9: Salary Negotiation for deeper negotiation strategies.

Also see: Tech Coffee Break #10: Interview Prep — technical interview prep pairs with this career English guide.