Analyst to Associate Promotion - Disscussions with Boss
Hi, I'm working for my boss who is an MD at a smaller shop, and it's been two years now that I've been an analyst here. We definitely do not have a structured HR/process by which we get raises or promotions. Since being here, I haven't received an extra promotion (when I signed the offer they met my salary requirement with a "promotion" after a couple months to make sure it was a mutual fit at first) but since then there hasn't been any progression from a role / salary perspective.
I mentioned this to him and said that I definitely want a promotion and raise. The first time I mentioned it he said "oh wow didn't know it's been two years, congratulations, yeah this is definitely something we can work on and talk about what you want to do from here on out"
...fast forward a week, no progress being made, I walk in and ask about the promotion and he gets pretty defensive and violent and says "I'm the entire decision maker here and I've been busy / haven't had the time" and yelled at me for pushing so hard. I got pretty upset with that frankly.
...fast forward a few more weeks and finally when I was sitting down with him on an unrelated task, he mentioned that there will be a process and that this woman who's kind of HR will be the one handling the paperwork / mechanics of the promotion. And that it would be sort of an interview where he finds out from me how I've liked the job so far and what I want to do going forward. That made me really happy and bullish on the future because finally it seemed like progress was being made.
...fast forward to a week from that and we're here now, no mention of it whatsoever and in fact the only thing I've been talking with "HR" about is how I'm now handling recruiting for a new analyst... basically fresh out of college / 1 year experience. This is making my blood boil as clearly he hasn't said anything to our "HR" and I'm being asked to recruit someone and pay him the money that should be going to me and the others within my group. And the worst case scenario being which I'm recruiting my replacement so he doesn't have to pay me more and just sees me as expendable.
Really not sure how to proceed now. Even in the best case scenario I want to GTFO of here because the carelessness with which I've been treated has rubbed me the wrong way. And I hate the associate / VP above me as well. (feeling is mutual) But how should I frame the conversation with my boss about getting this promotion? I want to be able to recruit as an associate with a big pay bump (pretty embarrassing actually, I only make 75k right now not including bonus and want to bump that up to 100k upon my promotion.) Should I be more aggressive? Should I be recruiting to leave? Should I use an offer as leverage in these discussions?
Take control by looking for a move to another shop; probably a better one. Once you start to move down this path you will be less frustrated. You are frustrated because you are at the whim and timetable of others who really don't care about your career progress. You'll feel in more control of your opportunities once you don't rely on this one possible opportunity. Don't use another offer for leverage; use it to leave.
You can still bring this up where you are now when the time seems right but no sense in waiting to look for other opportunities.
A few things to do:
1) Set up a formal meeting to discuss this item specifically, from reading the post it seems like this gets brought up during meetings on deal-related items or just random office drop-ins. I'd schedule a meeting specifically to discuss the item of promotion. In that, iI would make your statements clear - "My goal is to be up for promotion by xxx month" and then discuss whether or not you're on track for that, and if not, what your gaps are.
After that meeting, I would definitely also speak to HR and let them know of the discussion had. As you insinuated, there is obviously a gap/barrier between what the MD is saying and what HR is aware of, so you need to connect the dots.
2) Like whatstheplan mentioned above, start looking elsewhere as well. If you don't like your Associate/VP now, the relationship won't get any better just because you're an Associate. Also, just know that given how broken this issue is with an Analyst-Associate promotion speaks volumes of the set-up of the shop overall. What's going to happen when you're ready for an Associate-VP promotion? What is an Associate bonus like? Will you day-to-day tasks be any different as an Associate vs. Analyst given the size of the shop (honestly speaking, it probably won't). There are a lot of red flags here for a scaling perspective and career progression standpoint.
Lastly, if you do recruit elsewhere, just know you need to be committed to leave your firm. There is no upside to recruiting elsewhere and then letting your company match. 1) there was a reason you were recruiting elsewhere to begin with. (2) You have all the leverage right now, once you decide to stay, you have no more leverage (not completely true as IB associates are in high demand), (3) you don't know if they do match pay, that they won't screw you over at year-end or next year's raise, (4) risk burning bridges/relationships with your MDs, so now you'll stay at a shop where you don't like the VP/Associate and the MD may not like you anymore. Just a lot more cons than pros imo.
Remember - at the end of the day, its your career so you need to take control of it. Even though your boss/superior/HR's role might be to help you with that, its not their career, so you cannot rely solely on them. You have to take ownership and push the needle forward and champion your own progression.
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