Promotions/Lieutenant Commander

			Member Resources

Promotions Ensign to... Lieutenant JG Lieutenant Lt. Commander Commander Captain Beyond Captain Edit this nav Lt. Commander If you’ve reached the rank of Lieutenant, you're doing pretty well. You've definitely got some experience under your belt, and you're probably even ready to become the “Chief” of your department, at your captain’s discretion (and assuming you don't have someone senior above you!). This is the time when you'll need to take stock of your position in our community and decide what your goals are. Do you wish to move into command? If so, what you do from here-on-out will begin to define who you are to the club at large. The staff of the organization will begin to notice your work, and will begin to form an opinion about your personality and what you contribute. Seek out opportunities to impress, and begin building your reputation now, so that when you're prepared to move into a command rank, plenty of people will be able to vouch for you. Lieutenants are ready for advancement to the rank of Lieutenant Commander when they continue to meet all of the requirements for promotion to Lieutenant, and in addition: Express a desire to move into a leadership role. The rank of Lt. Commander is one of the most senior aboard a ship, and those in that rank are expected to increase their level of participation to a new standard; leading teams, mentoring other simmers and so forth. If you don’t wish to move into command, this will probably be your final rank within the fleet where you will likely be a part of your ship's vital support staff. For those interested in an eventual command position, the rank of Lieutenant Commander can be preparation time for a staff/command role. Definitely e-mail your Captain directly and talk to him or her about moving into a command role, and ask what, specifically, will help you move in that direction. Pro-actively seek to facilitate the ship’s plot. Lieutenants seeking promotion can no longer rely on others to move the plot of the ship in specific directions. You should be studying carefully the sims of higher-ranked individuals, and seeking to emulate their best practices when it comes to the general plot arc, and specific plot twists. Facilitate one or more OOC activities of the ship (ship forum, ship website, ship wiki, etc.). While before, you were probably just helping out every now-and-again with ship OOC activities, it’s time for you to actually take on the responsibility of ensuring that one of these activities gets done. Again, talk to your CO or FO about what ship OOC functions need leadership. It might mean, for example, creating a character profile on the wiki for new members, and showing them how to access it, or one of many other helpful tasks. Participate in one or more OOC activities beyond the ship. If you haven’t already, you now definitely need to branch-out beyond your ship, and find out what fleet activities are looking for participants. Test the water, try some different things, and generally just see where you can be helpful. Activities like the Publicity Team, Community News Team, and Graphics Team are great ways to make an impression on staff members who can help you later down the road. Demonstrate that your writing abilities are among the best in your simming group and that your written English is proficient such that spelling and grammatical mistakes in sims are uncommon or rare. While the following items are not required for promotion, they are good to complete for the sake of preparing for your next rank: Review the Leadership Roster: the Leadership Roster is a list of all the roles, in our community, where someone has a responsibility of some type. Each Team, Guild, and Duty Post needs a facilitator, and this list will show you what positions are open or filled. You don’t need to take a leadership role at this point, if you don’t want, but this list is a great way to see what OOC activities you want to help out with. If you have a particular interest in one activity, it’s important that you get involved now, so that after your next promotion, if a position is open, you can move into that position. Review your forum profile: make sure your forum profile is current, with your current ship, current post, and IM contact information. Also click on the “Settings” tab and make sure your e-mail address is correct. Please do not ask for a promotion, nor pester or beg your CO about when you will be promoted. Promotions are considered on a case-by-case basis. Individual timelines can vary greatly from person-to-person as people learn and improve their skills at different paces. All Commanding Officers expect potential promotion recipients to consistently demonstrate the skills required for both the rank desired and the ranks previously earned on a long-term basis. How long you've been a member of the group, or how long you've held your current rank, are not factors influencing promotion. If you feel unfairly passed over for promotion, ask your Captain or First Officer what you can do to work toward your next rank. Figure out how to implement your captain's recommendations and make a plan with a clear set of personal targets.

	REV SD 239711.22