Watching promotions happen makes you wonder whether performance is really the deciding factor or if knowing the right person is the trump card.
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@wt For engineering - up until G11 (to some degree G12) would be OK if your line mgr care about your performance, and he/she is a decent technical person. G13 or above is all about who you knows and hangs out with...
My director in dead seriousness told me to stop working hard and start working smart. By that he meant, no one cares if you do ki-ler work, they only care what you're seen doing that aligns with cheer-leading the latest "brilliant" mgmt idea.
At the time I thought what a useless PoS (that part was right), but 20+ years later, I can 100% say he was sadly right that the only thing that matters at Cisco is highly visibly kiss the right butts. And remember, those butts got there by doing the same thing, so there's no mystery why almost all of middle/upper mgmt is the best politicians and otherwise incompetent.
@wt i found my experience very similar. "being visible doing a bad job" was more highly regarded than "head down doing a good job without making a big deal of it". totally bass ackwards way of running a team.
Unfortunately, I found it very hard to get promoted. I would say it is definitely who knows YOU, and making that who has any say in your future, look good. Good luck, but if it money the you crave, you have to leave to get an actual increase to your compensation.
Being CCIE at Cisco means nothing. They trumpet career certifications to all and sundry but when their own staff have the certifications it means nothing for career advancement. BS, PPT and politics are what matter inside Cisco. I couldn’t believe it when I started there and left within the year. Terrible, toxic company to work at.
@p4 Lol....if Cisco starts requiring CCIE for G12s, most of the executive/mgmt line will be gone. And it will wipe out any mgmt recruiting.
@p4 I was G11 and got axed, along with plenty of other G11s. I was promised G12 for years.....that never happened. I didn't kiss enough butt.
Having worked at companies which were able to produce release after release after release on time and budget without spending most of their money on bug fixing and I know why Cisco could never do this I can say with absolute certainty performance is not a significant factor in promotions.
G11 in CX is the sweetspot. Don't cross to g12 unless you want a higher chance of getting laid off. The Liz automatic promos was a very bad thing for non-performers - they will all be let go here in the future once they enforce requiring CCIE for g12.
fkn stupids wok hard at the Cisco not one fives a fu-k eye woks 2hrs in the every the day not one knowed so y u woks hard? Crazy fk peeple
When you look at the time commitment most people make to get one bump up the ladder...you have to wonder if its even worth it (particularly given Cisco's preference for "dry promotions").
If you want real advancement, you leave.
It’s all about who you know and how you mark yourself. I’ve seen so many PAs and PE’s who couldn’t punch their way out of a paper bag suddenly promoted as visionaries. It’s all about their manager wanting their recognition more so than the person working for them
See the PEs : look at their network , how they listen and talk to various levels .
There are so many smarter than PEs not getting that promotion, and got layoff instead.
The standard practices apply at any companies.
It's not what you know, it's who you know.
ask any CX g10 or g11 (oops wait i mean g11 or g12). it's nothing to do with performance