VPs: internal promotion or external hire?
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Anonymous
| I’m VP at a Fortune 500 and was promoted into the role when my former supervisor left. I started off in an administrative role just out of college. The vast majority of the C-suite in my company became C-suite through a series of internal moves including posts in other countries and in positions outside their traditional wheelhouse. It all depends on the company. VP or C-suite is all an intense work load. |
Anonymous
This is accurate. Making VP will often require a geographic move to manage a business unit or a function. However, people in their late-30s and early-40s don't want to move. They have kids in school and/or an established group of friends/family, etc... In other words, they have deep roots in a community. This is often why accepting a promotion to VP is such a difficult position - it's not the increased workload, which such people are often carrying already in order to be considered. That said, in today's post-pandemic world, many companies are considering remote VP hires, albeit with the caveat that there will be substantial travel. Less disruption to the family, but even more stress on the VP. Likewise, taking positions outside of one's wheelhouse requires learning new skills and/or knowledge, which adds to the stress. Getting up to speed is often done on your own time, and the same for getting industry certifications, which also takes away from family and friends. |
Anonymous
| NP but I’m in a similar situation right now. I think the answer is that it’s really hard to know. It seems that going external is more of a sure thing, since as people mention there’s no preconceived idea of who you were prior and you’re immediately in a position of authority. Internal can be good too, but you’re trusting a lot of people to actually make it happen and typically that can take longer, but not always. |
Anonymous
It does typically take longer for internal promotions. But you're a known commodity with deep connections throughout the organization. Some people at my company left for higher roles when there weren't any available for a few years, then came back when higher roles opened. This is riskier, but faster. |
Anonymous
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I'm also a VP at a Fortune 100 company (big multi-national).
I agree with a PP that it's not about the title, but the responsibility. Also, the pay scales can really vary. For example, a Senior Director at my company earns about $350k. Also, some companies really push the promotions from within. You should factor that into the equation as well. |
Anonymous
| Getting your first VP job internally is great for your resume but after that you will make a lot more money joining a new company. Yes, there is certainly risk joining a new company but 3-4:years at any company is now the new normal. You need to manage your career and not assume that one company will take care of you. |
Anonymous
| Thanks so much! I agree i think it is easier for me to get an external promotion but then i think the day-to-day and the actual work would be a lot harder since I would not know who to tap. Then again, a fresh start might be an incredible accelerator too. Im ok financially, but I do want to build myself a longer runway. I dont want to be forcibly retired. |
Anonymous
Then take charge of your career. Embrace the unknown. Courage is being afraid, but doing it anyway. |
Anonymous
| The thing with getting to Vp level is - it’s not entirely up to you. Your current company will decide for you. You will either be on the track to achieve that level through promotion, or, you will be passed over for promotion and you will need to go external. If you’re on the track OP that’s great. Get the title. If however you’ve been at a Director level for a long time and not getting the shot at the big role, you need to find out how you are being viewed for future leadership roles. Sometimes you need to move out to move up. Don’t take it personally. It’s just how the cookie crumbles. Its what I had to do. No regrets as I had great experiences early promotions etc. And those experiences have served me well. Yes, you need to learn the ropes and learn who is who. But that simply takes time. And you have a different filter now than you did 10 years ago so you can cut through clutter pretty easily at a new company. |
Anonymous
| Thanks so much. I'm coming from the industry leader so it is tough to let go. I don't know if I am on track for sure for internal promotion but I do know my name is being thrown around and a skip level SVP told me I was a "known rising star"... For whatever that is worth. My bigger issue is that I think I might only get one shot at being VP so I want to be able to deliver enough so I am not kicked out (I have seen some quick turnovers) and can actually go for advisory board roles in the future for smaller companies. |
Anonymous
| Rising star is kiss of death! They ate gonna work you like a dog and you are not gonna see that promotion. Start looking |
Anonymous
Not always. At my company there is a timeline and requirement for managers of rising stars to get them placed in appropriate reach roles so that they aren't lost to the company. This is fairly new. |
Anonymous
Depends on what action they to back up the comment. If they move her to a stretch assignment, awesome, they mean what they say. If they put her in a 'leadership program' that's a stalling mechanism to keep her there for longer without actually having to promote her. Regardless, for me the Rising Star comment would set an expectation of promotion in the next 12-18 months. |
Anonymous
+1 Stretch assignments, Leadership Programs, and similar "rewards" are helping to grease the skids for promotion in the next 12-18 months. Promotions do, in fact, often take that long to make happen. VPs are often given a set number of promotions they can give out, and unless someone leaves, there isn't going to be room. This is why you should use your mid-year and annual reviews to get some straight answers. Your boss won't be able to commit to anything outright, but you'll get signals as to whether you should stay or leave. By the way, it's always a good idea to explore the market to determine what you're worth in title and compensation. |
Anonymous
| What actually prompts my external thoughts is because our company just defunded my stretch assignment for OP24. All that work down the drain. I know I learned a lot from it, but I wanted to launch it. We hit all our milestones and knocked them out of the park. I even had some news coverage. And now... done. Clean up. My manager tells me I have no need to worry, that people were really impressed I got things off the ground but that it was beyond our control... so part of it is frustration |