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Promotion congratulations

Congratulations on your promotion.
What to write.

Name the new job, name one thing they did to get it, and stop. A promotion card that only says congratulations could have been written by anyone.

The messages below are sorted by who you are to them. Change a detail so it is true, then sign.

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Published 22 September 2026 · Updated 22 September 2026

Promotion messages

Pick one, put their new title in it, and sign.

Short

About time. Congratulations.
Well deserved, and overdue. Enjoy the new desk.
They finally noticed. Congratulations on the promotion.
New title, same you. Well done.
Nobody worked harder for this. Congratulations.
The job got the right person. Well done.

For a colleague

You have been doing this job for a year already. Glad the title caught up.
Congratulations. I still expect you to answer my questions, only now with more authority.
You took the account nobody wanted and made it the one everybody talks about. This is why.
Well done on the promotion. Lunch is on you now, I believe.
You earned this on the days nobody was watching. Congratulations.
Please do not become a person who says bandwidth. Otherwise, huge congratulations.

From a manager

Promoting you was the easiest decision I made this year. Congratulations.
You made the case for this yourself, in the work, every week. Well done.
The team already went to you first. Now it is official. Congratulations.
You will be very good at this. Ask for help early and often, as you always have.
Well done. Now go and do for somebody else what you did for the graduates this year.

For your boss

Congratulations on the new role. We are pleased for you and a little nervous about who we get next.
You backed this team when it was not the obvious thing to do. Well deserved.
The best thing about your promotion is that it proves they read the reports. Congratulations.
Well done. Whoever inherits us has a lot to live up to.

Funny

Congratulations on the promotion. Your calendar sends its condolences.
More money, more meetings. Net result unclear. Well done anyway.
You can no longer blame management. You are management.
Promoted at last. Your mum can stop asking.
Congratulations. The password to the good printer is yours now.

Card, email or message

A quick message on the day is fine from anyone. A card is for when several people want to say something, and it should be signed by all of them rather than sent five times over.

If the promotion was announced to the whole company, wait for the announcement before the card goes round. A card that arrives first is a leak.

Keep it to their work. Do not mention the pay, the person who did not get it, or the reorganisation that made room.

One card from the whole team

Set the day, send one link, and it opens for them that morning.

01
Add the date.
The day the promotion is announced, or their first day in the new role.
02
Choose who to ask.
Their old team and their new one. Each person gets one link and writes once.
03
Everyone writes their own words.
Signed, in their own hand. They read it on their phone and keep it.

Create a card

Pick a design

Questions

Do you congratulate someone on a promotion in person or in writing?

Both, if you can. Say it to their face on the day, and add a message to the team card so they have it afterwards.

What do you write to a coworker who was promoted over you?

Something honest about their work, and nothing about the process. If you cannot write that yet, sign the card without a message and say it in person later.

Is it too late to send congratulations a week after?

No. A late message that names what they did well is better than a fast one that does not.

Should the whole team sign one card?

Yes. One card signed by twelve people is read and kept. Twelve separate messages are read once and lost.

Part of group cards at work.

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