i*****0
发帖数: 1113 | 1 http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2008/11/achieving-senior-level-63-
Fun part:
Thanks to Mini for the great information. Some considerations, based on my
own career:
- The best way to get to level 63 is moving around, and getting promotions
as you move. I know some managers will tell you that HR doesn’t want
promotions during internal transfers. Yet, when you have 2 or 3 offers at
the end of very hard interview loops, which one are you going to choose: the
team that listens to HR or the team that listens to the “market”? Will a
team that needs exactly the skills and interests that you have pass on you
because of some HR guideline? Would they give you the level if you were not
already a Microsoft employee? Bottom line: Don’t be shy of asking for
promotions during internal transfers. Nobody will be shy of firing you if
you make a big mess. Go for the team that offers the best package right
during the transfer. Do not accept promises, or you will be already
disappointed with your new team as soon as some promises don’t materialize
(and believe me: you will lose your patience long before some promises
materialize). Obviously, this is advice that you may not apply during the
current hiring freeze, but keep it on your mind for the future.
- At times the focus on the level may not be the most important strategy in
the long term. I have some colleagues now stuck with a career that they don
’t really want because they move up too much. For example, some are
principal individual contributors that just stayed for too long in a group
and became essential, but now want to move on and cannot do that, either
because their skills are obsolete or because they simply cannot go to a new
startup team at such high level without any management responsibility, and
they are untested managers. If you think you will follow the management
career path then get in such role as early as possible. In my own experience
, even after being a great developer for 2+ years, with straight 4.0 scores
at that time, and despite having Dev Manager roles before Microsoft, I would
be turned down on informationals for Dev Lead positions with the simple
question: Have you been a Dev Lead at Microsoft? At that time, I understood
those questions as being just an excuse that the manager used because he or
she didn’t like something in my skills or personality. Nowadays, having
been there and moved up, I would highly prefer someone that already
succeeded as a Lead at Microsoft than a star individual contributor. The
skills are different, and part of the failure of this company is exactly due
to losing star individual contributors that become mediocre leads, in all
disciplines. The team that gave me the Dev Lead title made a bet on me, and
they were not disappointed, since I worked hard to prove myself at that
title (despite having to wait a little longer for a level promotion). And do
you anticipate what happened when I made the next move to Dev Manager
position? And what is happening now trying to move up after becoming a Dev
Manager? Titles are important, and don’t let anyone make you believe
otherwise. And, ironically, some titles make your manager automatically have
to “adjust your level after a certain time”, in order to comply with
certainly HR guidelines.
- Buy your principal a coffee, hear everything, and don’t follow everything
. Remember: what worked for some other person, at some other time, may not
work today. Someone that 20 years ago made something as “complex” as
Notepad may today be a VP, whereas if you make Notepad today you may not
even get a pat on the back. Be very careful, because some people may tell
you about this or that great thing they did, and only mention that they are
(or were) married to this General Manager, or that they have been in the
team since it was only 2 people, and the other person today is a VP. Advice
from anyone at Microsoft for 10+ years is great to hear, but hard to follow.
Even with all good intentions, they can even be ineffective mentors (
although I still highly recommend the mentoring program, as long as you
change your mentor every year). |
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