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Hello,
It's been 7 years and I have not received a promotion in the two jobs that I held. I am a software engineer in the bay area. I was promoted in the jobs I held before that. In the first company, I am not exactly sure why I wasn't promoted even though I had never received a negative review but I never spoke with my manager about my career goals and thought if I do my work well then I will automatically be promoted. In my next job in a big company I was in 4 different teams in 3.5 years because of internal changes and managers moving out as well as priorities changing. Some job interviewers do ask this question as to if I was promoted and I was wondering as to how should I handle this?
Have you been looking for a promotion? Is everyone else around you being promoted? Have you sought responsibility at that next level? If you have been, but are being overlooked - you may want to have a 'heart to heart' with your manager/colleagues and get some insight to how your work/attitude is being perceived.
I went seven years without a raise, much less a promotion, a while back. Management kept putting me off with bonuses. They simply didn't want to commit to a higher level of compensation that they'd be obligated to provide every year. After taking on loads and loads more responsibility, and effectively making myself indispensable (as much as the product we sell itself was indispensable), I finally had to sit down with the boss' boss and his boss and say exactly what I wanted (a promotion and salary bump to account for all the intervening years of missed salary increases), making clear that I was ready to walk otherwise. The bump didn't make me whole (since it only increased my salary going forward - it wasn't effective retroactively back six of the seven years) but it did put me "back on track". However, let's be clear: It was the clear and unequivocal readiness to leave that made the difference.
(And here's an argument in management's favor: I still did "leave" to some extent. Over the next several years I had anemic raises, though so did practically everyone else in the nation - this was during the Great Recession. I also didn't get another promotion, but that's to be expected - the promotion I received bumped me into the highest technical position in the company. However, some really negative strategy moves by management prompted me to relocate halfway across the country, anyway. So all they really bought with the promotion and big salary bump was one year of loyalty. In retrospect I'm sure they feel was not enough to justify the salary bump. If you read these forums regularly, you'll see that the general impression today is that the only way to really increase compensation reliably and significantly over time is to jump from company to company. It's almost like the cable company or the cellular phone service providers - they need to provide great incentives to get you to join them, but once you're with them you're mostly a cash cow to be milked.)
I'm in the same business and it's been something like 25 years with no promotion. Often enough if you want to move up it has to be a "diagonal" move to better position at another company. You can talk with your management, but be aware that it's in their interest to string you along for "next quarter" even if there really isn't any chance.
Hello,
It's been 7 years and I have not received a promotion in the two jobs that I held. I am a software engineer in the bay area. I was promoted in the jobs I held before that. In the first company, I am not exactly sure why I wasn't promoted even though I had never received a negative review but I never spoke with my manager about my career goals and thought if I do my work well then I will automatically be promoted.
That so reminds me of a cartoon where a kid is starting his first job as dishwasher thinking they'll notice his hard work and be a manager one day...
41 years later he's still thinking the same thing...Funny, but sad too.....
You don't get rewards for doing your job...that's what you get paid for. Promotions and increases in pay come from doing things over and above what you're paid to do. You also need to ask, if you feel that you have earned the right to. Simply showing up on time and performing your duties will not get you there.
Hello,
It's been 7 years and I have not received a promotion in the two jobs that I held. I am a software engineer in the bay area. I was promoted in the jobs I held before that. In the first company, I am not exactly sure why I wasn't promoted even though I had never received a negative review but I never spoke with my manager about my career goals and thought if I do my work well then I will automatically be promoted. In my next job in a big company I was in 4 different teams in 3.5 years because of internal changes and managers moving out as well as priorities changing. Some job interviewers do ask this question as to if I was promoted and I was wondering as to how should I handle this?
What is your end goal? Individual contributor level? Manage people? Take on more project ownership?
Many companies suck at creating career progression for engineers outside of managing people.
It's been my experience that if you want to move up the corporate ladder, there are two ways to do it:
First option: Stay with your current company and move up the ladder. This requires charisma. Or family connections. Or good looks. Or you have to be friends with the boss. Or some combination of the above. Otherwise you're not likely to go anywhere. Personally, I was born without any of these advantages/abilities.
Second option: Get a better job at a different company. I only have significant experience in two lines of work: heavy equipment repair and aircraft engineering. But in those two lines of work, this holds true. If you want a promotion... the most efficient method of obtaining it often is to switch companies. Not saying that's right... just saying that's how it is.
You don't get rewards for doing your job...that's what you get paid for. Promotions and increases in pay come from doing things over and above what you're paid to do. You also need to ask, if you feel that you have earned the right to. Simply showing up on time and performing your duties will not get you there.
It's true. If you want to move up, you have to take on the responsibility of the level you hope to reach BEFORE being promoted to it. After proving yourself capable of handling it effectively, then you request a promotion to bring your job title and salary in line with your performance. People who understand that rise through the ranks. Those who don't wash dishes for 40 years.
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