Being in Cisco for more than a decade at the same grade (G10). Have changed 3 groups just because I never get promoted because of favoritism or nepotism. I am very good at my work and every manager I worked with has always liked my professionalism and how productive I am in the team. But when it comes to promotion, everyone has come up with some lame reasons. Have also noticed they promote only male members in the group over a woman. ( no offense to anyone ) With my current group, I was hired as a replacement for G12 Engineer as he moved out of Cisco. At that time my manager mentioned for internal transfers they can not change the grade but he can promote me in 6 months. But it is over 2 years now and he is not talking about promotion. My IPF rates are always good. My career at Cisco is stagnant. It is very demotivating and depressing. Sharing the thoughts here to see if anyone hasve gone through a similar experience at Cisco.
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Maybe you are from the wrong caste and/or cronyism not favouring you
I onboarded as a G4! 4 years made it to G8 and there I sat, doing the work of my superiors at the low low price of a G8. Other coworkers somehow got promoted to g10 but we're still make less than me! I was a G8 for 3 more years before I saw the writing on the wall and GTFO'd. When I had discussions with my mgr and was told I could get promoted or pay raise faster by leaving than sticking around, I understood that Cisco had no interest in keeping me around. I was a strong contributor at a global level, but the politics were strong in services. The CX and V2 MOM changes as well as the LRs and ELT party's were sickening.... I'm glad I left. I've been much more successful outside of Cisco.
Some people at Cisco are from the same village. You will have a hard time, if you are an outsider (meaning an American). Probably best to leave, if that is the case.
Same thing happened to me. I was hired in at G10, but quickly realized that was a demotion from my prior company. I did get a bump to G11 within 4 years, but then spent the remaining 8 years at G11, with many promises to promote me to G12, but it never happened due to favoritism and nepotism. Part of that was probably my fault...I moved around in Cisco to find work that interested me, but always seemed to land in groups with long histories (and I was the outsider).
As one poster mentioned, you have to work at a level higher than your current grade, which I did......but I could never overcome the "friends and family" promotions. It s—ed. I should have left long before I did.
Apply to other companies that value bureaucracy and powerpoint... GE, AT&T, Comcast, Boeing, HP, IBM, Verizon
I am getting recruited because of the work I did at other companies. Cisco is Green mush ... avocado +toast. Learn some new skills, volunteer and then add those skills to your resume. Powerpoints do not get you ahead in life.
Ten years at the same tech company especially Cisco is a huge no no. You should have been out years ago, no offense.
Seize the day. And if you have to do it elsewhere, don’t hesitate.
I left. Night and day.
At that time my manager mentioned for internal transfers they can not change the grade but he can promote me in 6 months.
BS. Internal transfers can go up or down one grade. If the role is a grade lower than your current grade, the new manager can choose to bring you in and keep you at your current grade/pay, but that's a big hit to his/her budget and not likely to happen. Likewise, managers can accept people from one grade below and "promote" them.
It sounds like they s—ered you into accepting the transfer as a lateral move and saved their budget to make themselves look better up the chain at your expense.
My story was exactly the same. Got laid-off in 2016 after 10 years @ G10 in IT. Always got solid yearly reviews and although not every year, regularly got RSUs and raises. The grade jump never came.
Found another position inside before leaving but decided to go. Had another offer outside and writing was on the wall. Has been great ever since. More money and no more yearly 'Hunger Games'.
The Cisco of old is no longer. Get what ya can, learn a ton and when the upward curve starts to flatten (or you are over 45....whichever comes first), start planning your exit. Party is over.
As a manager at Cisco, I was not allowed to promote employees who were excellent candidates but was able to hire outside Cisco at the higher grade.
This went against my personal philosophy and management approach at other companies (15+ yrs experience in mgt before Cisco at tier one international companies).
Hence I went back to PM roles until taking the CEP in October.
People judge you by the people you associate with / the company you keep. I did not want to continue as a Cisco manager as I was embarrassed for their ignorance of how to grow and foster a positive work environment and how to develop an excellent team.
Cisco is a pretty sad place to be if you are in the growth phase of your career.
Get what can from Cisco while doing a good job for the company, but realize how the company is and always keep an open mind that you will probably have to go elsewhere to advance your career to the meet your ultimate personal goals.
Life is great outside Cisco. I was bounced around like a pingpong ball and hated every day of my 4 years there. Got LRd thankfully and have recruiters calling weekly. You will be way more than fine. Get the f outta that hole.
Huh. Why would you stay at Cisco for 10+ years without a promotion? Only if you are in the Lawrenceville or Boxborough office would it make sense to stay for 5 years without a promotion.
I was in the same position. 10 years no progression. Only when I told them I was leaving did they try and 'fix' it. But for me it was too little too late and I left.
My advice would be to look outside of Cisco. Internal moves are nearly pointless if what you really want is grade increase.
You're a typical Cisco employee.
You should move on when the economy getting back. Don't waste your time in Cisco unless you are planning to retire in the next few years or waiting for the next layoff package. A lot of young talents are leaving Cisco for Google Cloud, Amazon, VMWare, Nvidia, Microsoft and more. Cisco is a very toxic company. The so-called the best place to work. It is a big lie. It is only applicable to those have connections with the top, those mediocre leadership and no technical innovation, other than stealing things from other. That is why CIsco was sued and ask for $1.9B damages. That is why our revenue in legacy products are shrinking. Losing revenue to our competitors like Zoom, Arista, even worse lose the Pentagon deal to HP.
Move out. You are being discriminated. I know many stagnant at 10 years or so. Leave Cisco. Not worth it
Get your resume updated and start looking outside. Find out what your true value is. Going from G10 to G11 is not a huge bump. The money is getting to a G12 and that is very hard to do. In order to get promoted at Cisco one must do work at 2 levels above current role. Then you are looked upon not as getting to the next level but can you make the level after that? Right now there is a huge cost reduction effort and a desire to keep the workforce at G10 and below.