Question for people w/Corporate experience

[misskitty100]

When working in a large corporation, how do promotions or advancements usually take place?

Is the employee offered a higher level job based on current merit or do employees usually have to apply for posted jobs, interview etc?

[JenniferJJ]

At the company where I am contracted to, both. There are 20 positions posted on the internal website. However, I have never seen very high level positions posted and I know that some people in lower and mid-level positions move around without a position being posted.

[funniegrrl]

Usually companies have rules about open positions being required to be posted for a certain length of time and all applications considered. This doesn't mean that a meritous employee can't be steered / earmarked for a position, but USUALLY the boss isn't going to walk in and announce that you simply have the job. They are going to at least go through the motions of opening up the position according to procedure.

[blazedog]

It really varies.

If it is an existing job which has gone vacant for some reason, large corporations generally post it and circulate by e-mail. This is done for legal reasons and also because many corporations genuinely want to create an atmosphere in which employees feel there is growth and mobility. This would also be true of new positions. In these circumstances, you send in a resume and there is generally a formal interview process.

There are also circumstances in which an employee is promoted and there is no job posting. IM experience, this occurs most often with a newly created position built around a current employee's skill set - i.e. a Director will be promoted to Senior Director or Vice President. In these circumstances, there is no interview - it is either a pleasant surprise or will be discussed by the "boss" as part of the company's needs.

Of course, if you want to advance in a company, it is always wise to be proactive -- i.e. talk to your supervisor, request more difficult work and network with other people.

[ktg0930]

In my experience, I have been promoted within a large corporation due to merit, but it is not a promotion into a new (vacant) position. It's been a title change and salary increase after demonstrating proficiency in the current job (i.e., research associate promoted to advanced research associate) over time. Generally, more responsibility/opportunities came with the new title. Newly created or vacant positions were posted internally for a certain amount of time before they were posted externally. Employees were welcome to apply for posted positions.

[Peweh]

In the corporation I'm employed by, each job function usually has several 'tiers' within it and you can be promoted within the job function based solely on merit (think Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, etc.). In switching job functions (such as moving from Project Manager to coach of the Project Managers) they may identify candidates and encourage them to apply but they also have to post the job listing on a website, like Blazedog said for legal reasons, probably so no one can say "I didn't have the opportunity to apply for..." The website is viewable by external & internal candidates and HR screens the resumes to identify who actually gets interviewed by the hiring manager. I think they would have to do the same even if a new position were created with a candidate in mind.

[Canice]

In my experience, I have been promoted within a large corporation due to merit, but it is not a promotion into a new (vacant) position. It's been a title change and salary increase after demonstrating proficiency in the current job (i.e., research associate promoted to advanced research associate) over time. Generally, more responsibility/opportunities came with the new title. Newly created or vacant positions were posted internally for a certain amount of time before they were posted externally. Employees were welcome to apply for posted positions.

That's definitely the case in my (former) field. The only "posted" jobs I recall were for low level positions.