My mother taught me another important lesson from her work experience: Promotions have nothing to do with actual work. They have nothing to do with accomplishing tasks and little to do with how effective or pleasant your peers think you are. Promotions are the biggest lie in corporate america and possible in history (yes I’m being a little dramatic).
At my Mom’s first job she noticed that everyone on her team was being promoted around her while doing less work. She finally became fed up and asked her boss why everyone was getting promoted when she wasn’t. Her boss responded “You didn’t ask.” The thought that promotions were for those that asked and therefore people that thought they deserved them, instead of who their bosses thought deserved them was staggering. So during my first job when I encountered a similar situation I did ask. And I was severely rejected.
Like most companies, mine claimed that there was a list of objectives to getting a promotion and once you achieved them you received one (if there was an opening of course). These objectives are part of the regular annual performance review process. However, when I discussed these metrics that I had met with the head of our account she claimed that yes there was a checklist, but being ready for a promotion was not a box that you can simply check. I have to admit I was furious.
I had given this company my absolute all for a year to the detriment of my personal relationships. I had done everything they had asked of me and was then told that what was between me and the promotion was some indescribable, intangible idea. If that was in fact the case my team should have just set up that vague criteria in the beginning instead of a checklist that was apparently useless.
That was when I decided to not rely on others or strange intangibles to receive promotions or step into roles I wanted. When I was at my second job I was approached by several recruiters, including a friend, who asked if I was ready to move on and be promoted again. I responded saying I hadn’t even been in this new position a year, wasn’t it too soon? They said no. It turns out they were right and I got that new job and a promotion.
This series of events also helped me realize that the years of experience requirements on job postings are mostly bullshit. They are a guideline, but not at all a rule. I have applied for and received jobs when I had half the ‘required’ years of experience. Getting a new job and a promotion with it has little to do with the arbitrary requirements they put forth and more to do with your overall skills, such as if you can get your hands dirty and figure things out without anyone telling you and if you can inspire others to help you.
My third job found me receiving my third promotion in two years and actually replacing someone who was a level higher than even the latest promotion I had received. At my current job I have received a few inquiries about promotion positions despite only being in my current role for a year.
All these experiences have taught me a valuable lesson. If you want something, go get it. Don’t sit by, play by someone else’s rules and then wait for them to reward you (like I did). If you want something and value staying at that company, ask for what you want. And if you don’t get it leave and find it elsewhere.
I originally thought it would be difficult to find another job with no or little experience or receive promotions through job offers, but it has not been that difficult. I am ecstatic that I broke out of the system corporate america built and so happy I chose a profession that allowed me to easily do that (most people stay at agencies an average of 2 years).
Interesting things happen when you’re free from the stress of trying to live up to someone else’s impossible expectations. The blogger on Brave New Life even mentioned that he was shocked when after deciding that he was quitting soon and mentally checking out of work he received the highest performance score possible (more than he did when trying his hardest) and even received a promotion. Live free. You’ll be surprised by the results.