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Great topic, one that I have seen on Blind often (like you said) but not talked about in general.

My favorite part of this article was the fact that your manager pushed you to go for it! It just shows that great managers really push the best out of their reports and can honestly change someone’s life for the better.

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Oct 3, 2023·edited Oct 3, 2023Author

Yea, I always see this come up every few months.

I had no stable manager at the time. But it was one of my previous managers who pushed me and was my supporter from the sidelines. Yes, they are a great manager.

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Awesome article! Thanks for sharing your journey and being real with us. One extra tip that worked wonders for me in reaching the Staff level: Make friends beyond your team and boss. I had great connections with managers from different teams, my higher-ups (even the director if you can swing it). These are the folks who'll vouch for you when promotion time rolls around. It can smooth your path to promotion, especially if your manager situation isn't the steadiest or they've left the company before your promotion.

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Thank you.

Indeed. You hit the nail there. Staff level promotions never happen in silo. Support from other leaders and directors smoothen the process.

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Working with your manager long-term is the key! Building that relationship intentionally pays back later in your career.

I also have those fears of talking about promotion. I feel like I have the biggest ego in the room and people would dismiss me as "too cocky" :)

But something that helped me is to avoid talking about the promotion itself. Instead, I talk about what are the skills and criteria that I have to make progress on to the next level. Doesn't matter if I make it in 1 year or 4 years, I focus with my manager on reviewing the criteria and making sure I'm taking the right actions.

Still, while I say to people that it doesn't matter to me if I make it in 1 year or 4 years, internally I have my own goals. I think it's also important to keep myself accountable.

Thanks for the post Raviraj!

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Thanks for sharing. Yea working your manager is the key.

Talking about skills and criteria is a good approach. Though I recommend talking about promotions explicitly. If it is approached with the growth mindset it will be taken well by the manager. Bringing it explicitly ensures your manager also understands the timeline you have in mind.

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Makes perfect sense, you don't get it if you don't ask for it. I'll apply it more for myself. Thanks for the advice Raviraj!

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