Promotion Playbook
Everything you need to know about getting promoted at top tech companies. No fluff. No generic career advice. Just the strategies that actually work.
Step-by-Step Guides
How to Write a Promotion Packet That Actually Gets You Promoted
67% of employees who deserve a promotion don't get one. The difference between those who do and those who don't? A structured packet that speaks the committee's language.
The Self-Assessment That Actually Gets You Promoted
Your manager can't promote you even if they want to. Here's the document that changes that - a self-assessment built around what committees actually evaluate.
The Complete Guide to Tech Promotion Levels: Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple
L4 at Google, E4 at Meta, SDE II at Amazon, 62 at Microsoft. What do these levels actually mean, what does each promotion require, and how much is each one worth?
Performance Review Self-Evaluation Examples That Lead to Promotions
Your self-evaluation is the raw material your manager uses to build your promotion case. Write it badly and even a supportive manager cannot help you. Here are examples that work.
47 Performance Review Phrases That Actually Get You Promoted
Committees do not promote people who 'helped with' projects. They promote people who 'led the migration that reduced latency by 40%.' Here are 47 phrases that demonstrate the difference.
How to Quantify Your Impact When Your Work Feels Unquantifiable
Promotion committees want numbers. But your best work might be mentoring, reliability, or reducing tech debt. Here is how to quantify impact that does not come with a built-in dashboard.
What Promotion Committees Actually Look For (From People Who Have Served on Them)
The number one reason promotions get rejected is not weak work. It is insufficient evidence of impact. Here is what committee members are actually looking for in your packet.
How to Build a Career Development Plan That Actually Leads to Promotion
Most career development plans are a checkbox exercise that collects dust. Here is how to build one that maps directly to your company's promotion criteria and gives you a clear 6-month path.
Promotion Packet Examples: Weak vs Strong, Side by Side
Most promotion packet examples are empty templates with square brackets in them. Here is the actual difference between a paragraph that gets deferred and one that gets approved - same work, rewritten.
How to Show AI Impact in Your Promotion Packet
Committees do not promote people for using AI any more than they promoted people for using an IDE. Write the leverage, not the tool - and know which parts of your case AI has quietly made weaker.
Company-Specific Guides
Google Promotion Packet: What the Committee Actually Looks For
Google's promo committee spends an average of 3-5 minutes per candidate. Here's exactly what they look for in those 3 minutes - and how to make every second count.
Meta Promotion Packet: How to Navigate the PSC and Get Promoted
Meta's PSC process changed significantly after 2023. Fewer promotions, higher bars, and more scrutiny on impact. Here is how the process works now and what your packet needs to include.
Amazon Promotion Document: Writing for the OLR Process
At Amazon, your promotion document must prove you are already operating at the next level. Here is the OLR process, the document format, and how to frame your impact using Leadership Principles.
Microsoft Promotion: The Connect Process and What Gets You to the Next Level
Microsoft's promotion process runs through Connect reviews and calibration sessions. Your manager proposes, skip-levels endorse, and HR calibrates. Here is how to make every step work in your favor.
Career Advice
Passed Over for Promotion? Here's What Actually Happened
It's not your work. It's your documentation. Promo committees spend 3 minutes per candidate and they can only evaluate what's written down.
When to Ask for a Promotion (The Timing Nobody Talks About)
Timing accounts for roughly 40% of promotion outcomes. Most people submit too late, with too little documentation. Here's the calendar that changes that.
What Your Manager Wishes You Knew About the Promotion Process
Your manager isn't the bottleneck. The committee is. And they've never seen your best work - unless you put it in a document they can read in 3 minutes.
The $100K Mistake: Why Engineers Stay at the Same Level for 3+ Years
The median time between promotions at FAANG companies is 2 years. If you've been at the same level for 3+, you're leaving $100K+ on the table. Here's why.
How to Ask Your Manager for a Promotion (With Exact Scripts)
The promotion conversation is not about asking for a favor. It is about aligning with your manager on a plan. Here are the exact scripts that make that conversation productive.
Senior to Staff Engineer: Why It Is the Hardest Promotion in Tech
Only about 8% of Senior engineers get promoted to Staff in a given cycle. The jump requires a fundamentally different type of evidence. Here is what changes and how to prepare.
How Long Does It Take to Get Promoted? Real Timelines by Level
Time in level is a floor, not a trigger. Here are the real ranges for every step of the ladder, and the four things that decide whether you hit the low end or the high end.
Your Manager Will Not Champion Your Promotion. Here Is What to Do.
Your manager wanting to promote you is not the same as your manager being able to. Four things could be happening, they look identical from where you sit, and only one is about your performance.
How to Get Promoted When You Work Remotely
Remote workers are not judged as less competent. They generate less ambient evidence. Once you see it as an evidence problem rather than a fairness problem, there is a lever on it.
Comparisons
Brag Document vs. Promotion Packet: Why One Gets You Promoted and the Other Doesn't
Brag docs are great for remembering what you did. Promotion packets are great for getting promoted. Here's why the difference matters more than you think.
GetPromoted vs. Career Coaching: $79 in 10 Minutes vs. $500/Hour Over 4 Weeks
Career coaches charge $200-500/hour and take 3-4 sessions to build your promotion case. GetPromoted does it in 10 minutes for $79. Here's an honest comparison.
Staff Engineer vs Senior Engineer: What Actually Changes
A senior engineer owns the solution to a problem they are given. A staff engineer decides which problems are worth solving. The jump is a change in kind, not degree - which is why so many strong seniors stall.