The Pattern #5 - Opportunity - (1/3)
The Pattern #5 - Opportunity - (1/3)
Part one of a three part series on moving from mid to senior
I recently got promoted from Mid to Senior Engineer, and I thought I would share my insights in a three-part article series for those looking to achieve the same. The opportunity to get promoted has to be available and to be considered is dependant on the perception of you, which is influenced by your skills.
In this article, I will be going over the opportunity aspect.
Opportunity
TL;DR To get a promotion it has to be available in the first place. But you might not be the only one competing for it so make your intentions clear to your manager. Think of the bigger picture what does it mean to be senior outside your organisation. Put together a promotion packet that demonstrates your work as a senior. There may be cultural expectations alongside the above factors that may require you to consider opportunities externally.
Availability & Intention
Make sure the role is available and your manager is aware that you want to move up
We all like to be rewarded for our efforts and so before putting in the work to get promoted to senior internally, it’s important to clarify availability of the role and your intentions with your manager.
Quite simple, right? But you would be surprised at the number of people that I’ve spoken to that haven’t clarified either with their manager.
They put in the effort only to get responses like "Sorry, we don't have the budget right now", "The position is no longer available" or, worst of all, "We'll consider you for the next cycle". Frustrating to hear to say the least.
This is what one-to-ones are for.
Instead of just giving status updates on your tickets (which really is what the daily stand-ups are for!) you should be using them for strategic discussions about your career.
In the context of working towards a promotion it should be:
About the work you’re doing to level up
Any status updates on the availability of the budget/position
So, up to this point, perhaps it’s been a little bit theoretical, what are some practical talking points?
Weaknesses - "I've noticed I have a weakness in this particular area. Are there any tickets in the upcoming sprint or quarter that can help me address that?"
Prioritisation - "I’m being pulled in multiple directions, can you help me prioritise the work?”
Certification - “I’m interested in sitting this certification, can you get the company to help pay for it?”
Progression Framework - “Can we put together a framework that outlines what it means to be senior”
Feedback - “Do you have any feedback for me on my overall performance?”
In addition to active support from your line manager, you also want support from your skip manager where possible. As I’ve already mentioned, there is always a political element in securing funding for a senior position or a salary increase. Other departments might be fighting for the same budget or you may even have intradepartmental competition.
Defining "Senior"
Understand what it means to be senior at your company
But let’s take a step back. What does it even mean to be a "senior engineer" in industry? There are many definitions and even more countless arguments about the definition online.
Is it years of experience? Is it quality of experience? Is it somewhere in the middle or a combination of both?
Big tech companies usually have a progression framework to help define this. This framework outlines the roles and responsibilities at each position. In an ideal world meeting all the competencies from your companies’ progression framework should result in you obtaining the promotion.
Of course, reality is different. Other factors come into play, but having this framework is key. Speak to your line manager to find out if you have one.
However, even if you do, I recommend creating your own. "Senior" means different things to different people, and you want to be considered senior across the industry. If you don't know where to begin, examples can be found online e.g. Dropbox
Why is this important? If you want to leave your organisation and what's considered senior at your place doesn't meet the industry standard, it will be challenging to get a senior position elsewhere.
Promotion Packet
Gather evidence in the form of a promotion packet
A promotion packet contains evidence demonstrating that you meet the criteria defined in your progression framework.
For example, if one criterion is "I demonstrate deep technical expertise in my area" you would include evidence of this in your promotion packet. You might say, "I demonstrated deep technical expertise by resolving…” and then detail the specifics.
I also included curated feedback from all the senior engineers I worked I collaborated with regularly. I asked for it at the end of each ticket and by the end of the review period, I had detailed feedback from about 20 engineers.
Here are the questions I asked:
What are some things I’m doing well?
How could I improve or develop further?
What have been my best achievements so far? What behaviours did you observe that led to these?
How engaged was I during the work?
Any further notes
When the senior position became available, I applied internally and had to do an interview. During the interview, I cited evidence from my promotion packet, which I had sent ahead of time.
If you've agreed on a progression framework with your manager, listed all the evidence that you've met the criteria, received excellent feedback and smashed the interview it makes it should make it very difficult for them to say no. Of course, they still can. I'm sure some people have experienced that. If that does happen, it might be time to move on.
Company Culture
Consider the intangibles to getting promoted
Beyond the progression framework there may be intangibles that need to also be met. You might be at a place where the people getting promoted are working significant number of hours beyond the contracted hours or are engaging in social activities that you're not comfortable with.
A great way to find out what those intangibles may be, is to speak someone thats recently got promoted. They will be able to give you company specific insights.
Once you’ve identified those intangibles its time to assess. Think about if the unofficial checkboxes you need to tick are ones that you would be willing to. If not, it's time to consider moving elsewhere.
External
The grass may actually be greener on the other side
Now imagine you’ve spoken to your manager and after assessing the situation, you’ve come to the conclusion promotion isn't available or realistic. At this point, you have two options:
Apply elsewhere for leverage: Get an offer externally. Either for more pay or a senior position. You can then leverage that offer to negotiate a counter offer with your current company.
Accept the external offer: If they decide not to match the compensation package/title increase, you can accept the senior position elsewhere.
A general rule of thumb is that if you've gone through the effort of applying elsewhere, you should consider leaving unless your current place is exceptional. This is especially true if you've been with them for longer than 2 years.
I hope you’ve found this article useful, leave your thoughts down below and watch out for the following 2 articles next time on Dragonball Z The Pattern!
Plugs
A collection of interesting links I’ve found from trawling the internet
Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread) - Sheikh Bandar Baleelah
C2PA - How do we know if content has been AI generated or not? Check out this video by Fireship summarising the work being done to help identify AI generated content
Prepare.sh - Latest real technical FAANG (+ others) interview questions with practical labs
Dribbble - Website for showcasing coolest website on the internet, great for web design inspiration
Midjourney - Check out MJ if you want to be able to create AI generated images. Note: it does, sadly, require a monthly subscription