Tech Promotions Realities
Comments discuss the realities and criticisms of internal promotions in tech companies, highlighting politics, manager self-interest, job-hopping as a better path, and the gap between performance and advancement.
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That's not how you get promoted
Most promotions happen by moving jobs anyways, so eh.
That's general HR pep talk.In reality promotions mostly happen in organizations due to political lobbying with the powers.Even in these 'decent' tech companies you will see some people getting rapidly promoted and moving up the hierarchy, while genuine performers are stuck in the process and minutiae. Its just what kind of leverage your manager has with the upper management.
Same thing in other faang companies, even with employees, who got the promotion and got hunting for another one. You won't get promoted for supporting an existing project.
How else would the people proposing and working on these things internally get promotions?
It's more because someone at the company is trying to get promoted.
Who needs promotion? I just want more money
While opaque companies might not release raise figures, everyone generally knows that a promotion involves a raise, in addition to any status bump (assuming no real increase in responsibilities). So promotions can serve as a proxy for raises, causing the same ego issue.
I've found that that's mostly a fig leaf. It was the primary reason I left places. When I asked how to get the promotion and got that response, I got the promotion by moving to another company.And of course I performed well in the new role, because it never was about performance. It was about people not expecting juniors to grow so quickly to medior, or about not having a free "promotion slot" this year, or it's just not a priority, or other organizational stuff.
1 is correct. You can't expect the person to get better when promoted, rather you move them to the job they are already (almost) doing