Network Into A Promotion

yes, it's all about who you know

Who
To
Target

Middle Manager (outside your org structure)

  • Departments you want to work in
  • Using tools you want to work on
  • Meet Through:
    • Internal Mentorship Program
    • Similar Interests Group
    • Happy Hour

Find Out From Them:

  • Higher-level info about the roadmap
  • If their team is hiring
  • Tea (as ammunition)

Common Manager Pitfalls

  • Managers are Territorial (for a reason)
  • Could Think You're Trying To Date
  • Sometimes a longer-term yield
  • Engineering Managers are often just a senior developer with a fancy hat 🎩

Skip Level

your grand-boss

  • Has Limited "slots"
  • You must be an objective source of intel
  • Must understand skip-level's goals
  • Will not protect you from direct action from your manager (but may reassign you if things are Bad)
  • Focus on opportunity finding
  • Establish Similarities to break a blockade

Find out from them:

  • What teams have an opening
  • What teams are "about to have" an opening
  • Cool new projects being planned requiring you to learn a shiny new thing
  • How to get promoted

Common Skip-Level Pitfalls

  • Can read your intentions like a book, don't pretend
  • Is focused on execution (like ELT)
  • Is necessarily more detached than you realize (don't show weakness)
  • Is searching for Intelligence and Critical Thinking, won't usually be swayed by a Narrative
  • Don't assume they're stupid or won't understand something, just that they have prioritized something else for a reason
  • Don't assume you know what their job is unless you've held that job before

Executive Leadership Team (ELT)

  • Has very limited slots
  • Does not care about the same things you do (imagine they're an alien)
  • Cannot obtain reliable intel on their own
  • This Relationship will Fast-Track you
  • This Relationship Will Paint A Target On Your Back

Find Out From Them

  • Which Managers Might Get Fired
  • Cool New Projects
  • Whether or not something is Actually Important
  • What your manager's OKRs are
  • What your department's OKRs are
  • Tell them about serious company problems 

Common ELT Pitfalls

  • Again, is an alien intelligence
  • Don't assume you know what their job is unless you've held it before
  • You are as valuable as the information you have or can get for them or the work you do and no more
  • This is a business relationship, They'll see you as a Seedling unless you can prove otherwise and are selective about seedlings
  • They're very overwhelmed, they'll forget about your problem unless you make it a fire or a big obvious ROI
  • Do not come to them to resolve trivial issues or fights between you and another team member (makes you seem immature)
  • They highly value knowing how big of a problem something is going to be (but come with data)
  • Problems *are* promotion opportunities

Developer Evangelists

  • A helpful, highly networked friend to have
  • Usually fun tbh
  • Will help you get involved with conferences, etc
  • Wants to teach and present
  • Has limited time & social energy (don't flake on a 1:1 time)

Find Out From Them

  • How to be internally visible at your company
  • What Marketing Things the CEO Has Their Ego In
  • How to best spend your vacation I mean L&D budget
  • Who in the industry is hiring

Common Pitfalls

  • Not Really Your Friend (an ally)
  • Cannot Keep A Secret (will sell it)
  • Highly sought-after friend
  • If they come after you for friendship, they want something, usually free work not related to your OKRs

Network Internally

By LizTheDeveloper

Network Internally

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