Get promoted · Build your case
A brag document template that starts with your manager’s bar
A good brag document template starts with the bar: what your manager said the next level requires, in their words. Every win you log then lands under the part of the bar it proves, and the gaps show up on their own. Copy the template below into any document.
Why start with the bar?
Most brag document templates start with a list of accomplishments. A list shows you were busy; it doesn’t show you’re ready. This one starts with the test, dated, so every entry answers the question your manager will actually ask: does this show the next level? It also shows the moment you’re ready to ask.
What’s in the template?
The bar first, then your wins sorted under it, what isn’t shown yet, and the rest of the log. Copy it into any document and fill in the brackets.
# Brag document: [your name], [your role]
Period: [start] to [end]
## The bar for [next level], in my manager's words
Asked on [date]. What they said: "[as close to their words as you can]"
1. [Criterion one]. I could show it with: [a piece of work]
2. [Criterion two]. I could show it with: [a piece of work]
3. [Criterion three]. I could show it with: [a piece of work]
## Wins, by criterion
### 1. [Criterion one]
- [Date]: What I did. Who or what it affected. The result, with a number if there is one. [Link to proof]
### 2. [Criterion two]
- [Date]: ...
### 3. [Criterion three]
- [Date]: ...
## Not shown yet
- [Criterion]: what would show it, and the work I'll ask for to get there.
## Everything else (the log)
- [Date]: What I did. Who or what it affected.
## Next conversation
- What I'll ask for: [the level, or the work that closes the biggest gap]
- What I'll ask next: what's the gap to the level after this one?How do you fill it in?
- The bar. Ask your manager what the next level requires and how they’ll know you’re there. Write it down the same day, dated, in their words. Turn anything vague into something you could show with a piece of work. What it takes to get promoted.
- Wins, by criterion. Each entry says what you did, who or what it affected, and when. Put it under the criterion it proves. A criterion with nothing under it is the next piece of work to ask for.
- Not shown yet. Be honest about it. Naming a gap before your manager does, with a plan to close it, is part of the case.
- Everything else. Log it all, and judge it later. Routine work stays here, out of the case.
- Next conversation. Once most of the bar is shown, ask for the level. Below that, ask for the work. How to ask for a promotion.
In Winsly
Next Level is this template, kept for you. Paste in what your manager said and Winsly turns it into a clear bar. Each win you log is linked to the part it proves, and the page shows what’s shown and what isn’t yet. Your review case is drafted from it, and every line shows the win it came from. Next Level and your review case.
