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Ask HN: How do you handle talking to your manager after missing a promotion?

4 points by throwaway203719 ↗ HN
I have been with my company for a few years. Over the past year or so, there's been a huge management change.

We had been a small agile team and have grown like crazy with a bunch of new processes and managers added into the mix. I recently learned that I was not given a promotion due to reasons outside of my technical ability or developer velocity. During my previous reviews leading up to this, there was never any indication that those reasons would hold me back and I specifically talk to my manager a few months ago telling them I want to get to the next level, and they told me they didn't see any reason why I wouldn't.

The new management that came in are making a huge push for diversity and most of the promotions were diverse co-workers, which is great.

But now I'm not sure what direction to go in? It's obvious to me that I'm not respected at the company. I'm not a 10x developer. I'm not diverse. My big skill is that I can get features working and I volunteer to work on hard problems that have no clear solutions.

I still like my company and I do enjoy working with my co-workers.

I'm planning on talking to my manager about what I can do better, but its really obvious to me now that my company just sees me as just a worker cog that is probably a dime a dozen.

I'm not 100% sure how to handle the talk with my manager and how do I make myself more indispensable from here on out?

8 comments

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gubsz
Sounds like it's time to look elsewhere. The fact that this "huge push" wasn't made clear to you prior to the promotion process sounds like your manager really dropped the ball.
[dead] npc_george123
You need to check your privilege. Those who are diverse must eat the fruits of your labor at the expense of your family and career.

I would walk away. They don't value your contributions. You have bought into this toxic mindset - you think these racial promotions are "great". Until this diversity fad passes, be cautious about whether a prospective company cares more about signaling or delivering real value.

new_guy
> how do I make myself more indispensable from here on out?

The only way to make yourself truly indispensable is start your own company. No-one can fire you or treat you bad when you're your own boss.

Regarding your current situation it's pretty clear they shit all over you, it's time to move on.

Trias11
If company policy is going in the direction you don't prefer - I think you may want to start looking for alternatives.

Priority in diversity usually means that technical skills and capabilities of workers will be considered after "diversity quota" matching.

You may find yourself in uphill battle going forward.

That said you have skills and abilities to build products that solve problems for everyone regardless of race/gender/color - which means you just need to move toward environment that support what is really important: skills, creativity and productivity.

Gibbon1
> how do I make myself more indispensable from here on out?

Don't ever do that. Managers pigeonhole indispensable people.

gatherhunterer
You should mention that you feel you are ready for a promotion as soon as you have that feeling. If you feel that you have been passed over you should ask what made you less qualified for promotion. Eventually you are either being lied to or you are promoted. Unless you have been told that your being white has disqualified you then you have no reason to think that you are simply not the most qualified candidate.

Also, referring to non-white people as “diverse people” is incredibly tone deaf and your lack of ability to address race in a responsible manner may be seen as a liability were you given a more prominent role. That specific phrasing has been dragged through the mud repeatedly. Don’t talk like this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nlXKZHeghcY

yellow_lead
Where did OP imply that they are white, or that non-white people are diverse? Apologies if I missed it.
twblalock
Don't blame your lack of promotion on a diversity drive.

If the company does not respect you and thinks you are "just a worker cog that is probably a dime a dozen", as you wrote, then you probably won't get promoted whether there is a diversity drive or not.

Getting promoted is not really about being indispensable either. I know plenty of indispensable people who don't get promoted.

Getting promoted is about proving you are ready to take on more responsibility than you currently have -- leadership of a team, or technical responsibility for more important projects, for example. Expectations will be higher if you get promoted. Somebody thinks you won't be able to meet those expectations. That is what you need to change.

When you talk to your manager about this, you should focus only on your own ability to meet the expectations for a promotion. Do not mention the diversity drive or compare your job skills to anyone else's in the company -- that is not going to get you anywhere.