So my friend Sarah went from coffee-fetching intern to VP in literally five years.

Five. Years.

Meanwhile, I was still trying to figure out if I should ask for a raise after three years in the same role. The audacity, right?

But here's what's wild - she wasn't some trust fund kid with connections. She was just strategic as hell about every single move she made. And after picking her brain over way too many glasses of wine, I realized her path wasn't luck. It was calculated.

Let me break down the exact moves that actually worked.

She Treated Her First Job Like a Masterclass

Okay, real talk.

Most of us spend our first job complaining about grunt work and counting down to 5 PM. Sarah? She was studying everyone above her like she was preparing for the world's most important exam.

She literally kept a notebook. Wrote down how her boss handled difficult clients. How the director ran meetings. What the VP said in her emails that got instant responses.

Obsessive? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely.

Within six months, she could predict what her boss needed before she even asked. That's not being a people pleaser - that's being indispensable.

The 18-Month Rule Changed Everything

Here's where it gets interesting.

Sarah never stayed in one role longer than 18 months. Not because she was flaky, but because she figured out something most of us miss - the biggest jumps happen when you switch roles, not when you wait for promotions.

Her timeline looked like this:

Intern → Junior Coordinator (internal promotion at 10 months)
Junior Coordinator → Senior Coordinator (different company at 16 months)
Senior Coordinator → Manager (internal promotion at 14 months)
Manager → Senior Manager (different company at 18 months)
Senior Manager → Director (internal at 15 months)
Director → VP (same company at 12 months)

Each move came with a 15-30% salary bump. By the time her peers were getting their first 3% annual raise, she'd already doubled her starting salary.

Wild.

She Made Herself Impossible to Ignore

This is where most advice gets it wrong. Everyone says "work hard" and "be visible." Cool, but how?

Sarah did three specific things:

First, she always had a solution ready. Not just problems. If something was broken, she'd walk into her boss's office with two potential fixes and her recommendation. Game changer.

Second, she documented everything. Every win, every project, every time she saved the company money or landed a client. She kept a running "brag sheet" that made performance reviews a breeze. When it came time to discuss negotiation strategies, she had receipts.

Third - and this is key - she volunteered for the projects nobody wanted. The messy ones. The cross-departmental nightmares. Why? Because that's where you meet senior leadership. That's where you prove you can handle chaos.

The Network Hack Nobody Talks About

Sarah didn't just network up. She networked sideways and down.

She became friends with the executive assistants. The IT guys. The people in other departments who had zero connection to her work. Those relationships? They paid off in ways she never expected.

The EA who gave her a heads up about an opening before it was posted. The finance guy who taught her how to read P&L statements during lunch. The marketing director who recommended her for a task force.

Your network isn't just LinkedIn connections. It's the person who knows when opportunities are coming before anyone else does. Understanding professional networking strategies meant building real relationships, not just collecting business cards.

She Got Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Honestly? This was the hardest part to watch.

Sarah constantly put herself in situations where she was the least experienced person in the room. She raised her hand for presentations to the C-suite when she was still a coordinator. She asked to shadow VPs in client meetings. She applied for roles she wasn't "qualified" for on paper.

The rejection was brutal sometimes. But here's what she told me: "Every no gets me closer to a yes. And every time I'm in over my head, I learn faster than I ever could playing it safe."

Meanwhile, I was waiting to feel "ready" for opportunities. Spoiler alert: you never feel ready.

The Money Conversation She Had Every Single Time

This is probably the most important part.

Sarah never accepted an offer without negotiating. Not once. Even when she really wanted the job. Even when the offer seemed good.

She had this whole email script she'd tweak based on the situation. And she always asked for more than she thought she'd get. Her rule? Add 20% to whatever number felt comfortable.

The worst they could say was no. But most of the time? They came back with something better than the original offer.

She also made sure every move included either a title bump OR a significant salary increase. Never just one or the other. Because titles open doors, but money pays bills.

What She Wishes Someone Told Her Earlier

When I asked Sarah what she'd do differently, she got quiet for a second.

Then she said: "I wish I'd understood earlier that loyalty to a company doesn't pay off the way loyalty to your career does."

Ouch.

She spent her first year feeling guilty about looking at other opportunities. Like she owed her company something for hiring her. But companies don't owe you anything, and you don't owe them anything beyond doing your job well while you're there.

She also wished she'd started building her personal brand earlier. Not in a cringe way - just documenting her work, sharing insights, being visible in her industry. By the time she became a director, she had people reaching out to HER with opportunities.

The Reality Check

Look, I'm not gonna lie and say this path works for everyone.

Sarah worked her ass off. She sacrificed weekends sometimes. She made career moves that meant relocating twice. She had to deal with toxic workplace situations and learned how to recover from setbacks that could've derailed everything.

But here's what I learned from watching her: fast-tracking your career isn't about working harder than everyone else. It's about being more strategic. More intentional. More willing to bet on yourself when it's scary.

It's about knowing when to stay and when to go. When to speak up and when to observe. When to play it safe and when to take calculated risks.

Where She Is Now

Sarah's been a VP for eight months. She's 29.

Is she done climbing? Hell no. She's already eyeing C-suite roles and has started exploring opportunities in the creator economy space because she's fascinated by how business is changing.

But she's also more selective now. She's not chasing every opportunity that comes her way. She's building something sustainable instead of just checking boxes on a career ladder.

And honestly? That might be the most important lesson of all.

The fast track isn't about speed for the sake of speed. It's about being intentional enough that every move counts. Every job teaches you something. Every role sets you up for the next one.

So yeah, from intern to VP in five years is possible. But only if you're willing to treat your career like the long game it actually is - even when you're moving fast.

Anyone else out here trying to figure out their next move? Because I'm definitely taking notes for my own career now.