Thread regarding Intel Corp. layoffs

Something most people don't know is that managers have their hands tied by HR in this area. There are GL3-6 and GL7-10 categories, and each category is usually given a 10% promo budget each year. This means that if you and 9 other team members were all hired at the same time in the same grade group, it could take 10 years for your turn at a promo regardless of how good you are. GL3-6 and GL7-10 are ranked separately but follow the same process. Getting from GL6 to GL7 is more difficult because now you're competing with more senior people who know how to play the game. Again, only 10% get a promo. Depending on your manager, being smart and working hard can actually work against you. Politics, nepotism, and making your manager look good are required for promo consideration.

Intel rating and ranking was a piece of shiitt for over two decades that failed it.

No offence but given the current state of company affairs worrying about promotions feels a bit lame.

1. It takes about 5 years to gain enough expertise, technical depth to be ready fir the next grade from grade 7 onwards.
2. It gets harder to go from gr9 to g10. In addition to your skills, there should be business need and enough scope for a new pe or Sr pe or fellow. Beyond gr9 your manager has little control. It is what thepe committee thinks of your future potential.
3. The promotion process varies from org to org with different levels of transparency.
4. Many factors beyond your control can play a negative or positive role in your promotion. Things like reorgs, change of management, sponsors etc.
5. A lot of external joins expect promotion ever 2 to 3 years and get disappointed, frustrated when the Intel system doesn't meet their expectations.

Actually, being at a lower grade than you aspire to is an advantage at times of budget cuts and CPMs. Usually, people at high grade levels (Grade 9+) get hit the worst. Especially, in cases where a person has been promoted to a high grade and was unable to deliver the expectations of that grade, they can easily find themselves in the talent pool before leaving the company shortly afterwards. The tricky keyword here is "expectations", which are never clearly communicated and hard to measure for the employee. Such gray areas are always dangerous for people at higher grade levels. My take on this is "Stay low, stay safe" during budget cut times as far as Grade levels go. As long as you have the power to influence different levels of management based on your experience and skills, not getting a Grade promotion is not necessarily a bad thing. I say this is a pretty powerful position to be in at Intel if you are able to make it happen.

I see large variations in time spent in Grades too. In my organization, it takes about 12 to 16 years for people to be promoted to PE (Grade 10) level. Becoming a PE is an exception because there are many politics involved. If your sponsor thinks you will be valuable to him/her, your corner will be fought aggressively and you will become a PE sooner rather than later. I have seen cases where certain people's PE package was presented each year for 2-3 years back to back until that person was promoted to PE level. If your sponsor likes you, you will go far faster than others regardless of your true impact in the organization. When you see a PE and find it very surprising given their limited capability and impact, you can rest assured they are a PE because of their manager and not their ability.

You should be talking to your boss during 1:1s. They have limited resources for promo and raises. If you are not discussing it and others are then they will probably get it before you. If you have been in grade for 96 months then you may have a problem unless you are a grade 9 or higher. The higher grade you are at the longer you can be in it.

1. Talk to your manager if your time in grade is bothering you.
2. Be prepared to get a promotion without a lot of extra money.
3. Be prepared to get a long list of reasons on why you can't be promoted yet.
4. Realize some of the reasons are quite possibly real.
5. Time in grade increases as grade increases. "Too long" is somewhat subjective.
6. If grade is important to you and it ain't happening at Intel... don't forgo the job switch to get what you want.
7. It can look odd if you've spent a lot of time in the same grade... more so in a lower grade... more so to a manager not familiar with your history.