I hopped around different companies after 1 year and never got a promotion. I interviewed for a big tech and they asked me if I got promotion. I said no. Then no follow up. What’s the best answer in my situation?
(This is also partially because of my performance)
Hi there,
That is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I'm happy to give you my perspective on that:
Unless the situation with your past employers was rather puzzling based on your CV (e.g. odd naming of roles that would suggest otherwise), in closed questioning, you can almost always expect that the interviewer wants to know your reasoning/ the “Why?” of your actions and thoughts. It is still odd that the interviewer didn't ask about your reasoning after your rather brief answer, but I cannot assess the situation from the outside.
Without knowing more details about your situation (e.g. how many employers that you hopped around are we talking? how related were those companies and roles you had?), I would advise you to display such times of seeming discontinuity (as this might be the real reason why interviewers ask such rather obvious questions) rather as a search for professional and personal development. In best case, there is a common theme to your past employers and roles where you can show what you learned from each of them and why hopping around employers was a very conscious decision. Still, I would advise you to clearly state that you would now want to bring in your experience over a long time at the new employer (otherwise, interviewers might fear you would exit again after a brief time).
In case you want a more detailed discussion on what is the best way to answer such behavioral questions, please feel free to to contact me directly.
I hope this helps,
Hagen
Hi!
If promotion is not common after 1 year, then there's no need to be worried.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Anto
Hi there,
No promotion after 1 year is perfectly reasonable!
All you need to say is something along the lines of “I was deeply embedded in the team and was on track for promotion, but left after 1 year. Promotions generally happen after 2 years just for your reference"
Hello,
I would say that 1 year would be a pretty quick turnaround for a promotion! I thought Ian's advice on giving a reference timeline for a promotion in your response is great advice (i.e. for your reference, it normally takes 2 years to get a promotion). But also be sure to emphasize your leadership, initiative, and good work in your role - you don't necessarily need a promotion to show that you have been a good worker.
Hi there,
Well, if you had no promotion, then you can speak instead about what are the distinctive results you had in that period.
Just shift the topic of the conversation to what makes you shine.
Best,
Cristian
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