tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post5523894224205259954..comments2024-03-18T12:52:48.117-07:00Comments on Mini-Microsoft: Reviewzapalooza!Who da'Punkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18205453956191063442noreply@blogger.comBlogger218125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-63223861937944853902010-09-23T00:32:55.584-07:002010-09-23T00:32:55.584-07:00Position: PM
Level: 62
Commitment: Achieved
Contri...Position: PM<br />Level: 62<br />Commitment: Achieved<br />Contribution: 70% <br />Merit: 0.5%<br />Bonus: 7%<br />Stock: 75% of target<br />Promo: noneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-32291305052957486322010-08-25T16:01:40.756-07:002010-08-25T16:01:40.756-07:00Position: SDET
Level: 61
Commitment: Achieved
Cont...Position: SDET<br />Level: 61<br />Commitment: Achieved<br />Contribution: 70% <br />Merit: 1.6%<br />Bonus: 7.00%<br />Stock: $9,800 USD (100% of target)<br />Promo: none <br /><br />1.6% merit? seriously??? My manager said that my feature getting cut had a lot to do with not being able to make a strong case for me. I guess consistantly having the best tested, most stable feature is not good enough.<br /><br />Is this worrisome?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-83997539089299372042010-04-28T19:55:26.250-07:002010-04-28T19:55:26.250-07:00To Friday, September 07, 2007 11:55:00 PM I heard ...To Friday, September 07, 2007 11:55:00 PM I heard instead of getting a pat o the back your were kicked out of the org!!!STARVIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16099232957976110358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-85982887540932293132008-10-03T00:31:00.000-07:002008-10-03T00:31:00.000-07:002007 ReviewPosition: PMLevel: 62Commitment: Exceed...2007 Review<BR/>Position: PM<BR/>Level: 62<BR/>Commitment: Exceeded<BR/>Contribution: 70%<BR/>Merit: 4%<BR/>Bonus: 12%<BR/>Stock: $20K (110% of Target)<BR/>Promo: 0%<BR/>New Base Pay: $113K<BR/><BR/>2008 Review<BR/>Position: PM<BR/>Level: 62<BR/>Commitment: Exceeded<BR/>Contribution: 70%<BR/>Merit: 4%<BR/>Bonus: 16%<BR/>Stock: $23K (125% of Target)<BR/>Promo: 0%<BR/>New Base Pay: $118KAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-20957322252449816322008-08-30T23:42:00.000-07:002008-08-30T23:42:00.000-07:00position: SDE IILevel: 61 (promoted to 62 in 2007)...position: SDE II<BR/>Level: 61 (promoted to 62 in 2007)<BR/>Commitment: Exceeded <BR/>Contribution: 20% <BR/>Merit: 7%<BR/>Bonus: 16%<BR/>Stock - $34000 USD<BR/>Promo: 5%<BR/>Base Salary: $92000 (before raise)<BR/><BR/><BR/>position: SDE II<BR/>Level: 62 (no promotion in 2008)<BR/>Commitment: Exceeded <BR/>Contribution: 20% <BR/>Merit: 4%<BR/>Bonus: 20%<BR/>Stock - $48000 USD<BR/>Base Salary: $103040 (before raise)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-40968167008799315682007-10-23T19:40:00.000-07:002007-10-23T19:40:00.000-07:00Position: Senior Test ManagerLevel: 64Commitment: ...Position: Senior Test Manager<BR/>Level: 64<BR/>Commitment: Achieved <BR/>Contribution: 70% <BR/>Merit: 2.5%<BR/>Bonus: 7.42%<BR/>Stock - $20400 of grant (80% of Target)<BR/>Promo: 0%<BR/><BR/>My GM (who came up as a developer through the ranks) does not seem to respect the test org and that showed with all of the pushback I got when I came in with a balanced model for him for the test org and I got a lot of push back. Why am I penalized along with my org for a guy who is new to the GM role??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-8845368423123313602007-09-29T05:59:00.000-07:002007-09-29T05:59:00.000-07:00Position: Tech SupportLevel: 58 -> 59Commitment: E...Position: Tech Support<BR/>Level: 58 -> 59<BR/>Commitment: Exceeded<BR/>Contribution: 70%<BR/>Merit: 6%<BR/>Bonus: 13%<BR/>Stock: $4,500<BR/>Promo: 5%<BR/>Base salary: $75k<BR/><BR/>I had a good year. It took a lot of hard work and I realize that I still have a long way to go.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-89605758223474409132007-09-27T13:31:00.000-07:002007-09-27T13:31:00.000-07:00Now a question. I have heard that your current man...<I>Now a question. I have heard that your current manager gets a say in whether or not you are levelled-up in the new position. Do you know if that is the case?</I><BR/><BR/>Yes. If they say you do not deserve promotion, HR will stop promotion. Additionally, if they give you promotion on hire, it goes from their promotion budget.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-85400280793630166572007-09-27T02:45:00.000-07:002007-09-27T02:45:00.000-07:00I just have to say that going through a series of ...<I>I just have to say that going through a series of informationals and interviews since I got my numbers a few weeks ago, I've landed a new position on another team that actually resulted in me getting a promotion and a raise. So, for those of you who think you've been stuck for too long at your level, http://career is your friend. Look for openings a level above yours, and interview to your heart's content.</I><BR/><BR/>Thank you for the message of hope. I'm ready to change teams. However, I have been outperforming my level for the 18 months I've been in it, and didn't look forward to dooming myself to another couple years in it by changing teams.<BR/><BR/>Now a question. I have heard that your current manager gets a say in whether or not you are levelled-up in the new position. Do you know if that is the case?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-60284615369334191902007-09-21T17:06:00.000-07:002007-09-21T17:06:00.000-07:00I just have to say that going through a series of ...I just have to say that going through a series of informationals and interviews since I got my numbers a few weeks ago, I've landed a new position on another team that actually resulted in me getting a promotion and a raise. So, for those of you who think you've been stuck for too long at your level, http://career is your friend. Look for openings a level above yours, and interview to your heart's content.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-57462931174537863112007-09-18T19:58:00.000-07:002007-09-18T19:58:00.000-07:00Question 4 was: How many folks have left the compa...Question 4 was: How many folks have left the company after receiving the Kim rating? I am definitely looking now.<BR/><BR/>The answer is "You definitely should leave. This is the company's way of saying you don't have a future in the current role and need to find a different career."<BR/><BR/>**************************<BR/><BR/>To look more specifically at the question that this person might be asking: Does this person need to leave the company, their career, their team, or their manager? In other words, is it the entire company's way of saying to the person that they need to leave and actually find another career? Because if they're so limited to the point where they need to actually leave the company and find a new career, it seems like they'd qualify for the Kim I rating.<BR/><BR/>To resurrect the "Not-so-limited Kim" thread from November, the Kim II rating smacks of office politics. Yep, it is sure as heck is that brilliant Jack Welsh management thing, but mutated into a new kind of Microsoft thing that wants to have its cake and to eat it, too ('cuz I don't think that Jack Welsh's original distribution has the wierd 10% I and 10% II subcategories). Didn't Jack Welsh's distribution have the cojones to say, "You're not up to par, so we need to fire you/put you on a performance plan, and we realize you may well leave the company as a result?" <BR/><BR/>This new MicroWelch mutated thing has mixed messages:<BR/><BR/>Message 1: "You're one of those 'solid' contributors that actually performs useful work for the team, so we can't give you the Kim I rating which indicates that you might need to be fired or put on a performance plan."<BR/><BR/>Message 2: "Instead, we want to give you this 'new' subcategory of the Jack Welsh 10 percent rating. This new rating says, We want to keep you doing the work on the team, but we want you to know you're this 'special' kind of limited. And this means we don't really want to reward you or promote you. But hey, keep doing that great work you're doing!"<BR/><BR/>Just food for thought. Also, I don't that the original question #4 was actually answered. The question was asking how many people have left the company after such a rating. <BR/><BR/>In other words, how many people did thus:<BR/><BR/>a) Simply swallowed the Kim II rating and stayed on their current team (and maybe just contributed less to "live down" to their Limited potential)?<BR/><BR/>b) Found new opportunities within the company where they were truly appreciated, and "lived up" to the potential that they really had?<BR/><BR/>c) Were so angry that they felt strongly enough to leave the company?<BR/><BR/>In other words, how well is MicroWelch/Kim I and Kim II strategy working?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-10349803353943659002007-09-18T10:22:00.000-07:002007-09-18T10:22:00.000-07:00Position: sdetLevel: 60 -> 61Commitment: ExceededC...Position: sdet<BR/>Level: 60 -> 61<BR/>Commitment: Exceeded<BR/>Contribution: 70%<BR/>Merit: 6%<BR/>Bonus: 16%<BR/>Stock: $19,000 (200%)<BR/>Promo: under 3%<BR/><BR/>I've only been here a couple years, but I've been promoted each time. I expected my promo this year, since I worked my ass off last year. I didn't expect my other numbers to be as high as they were, for some reason (but maybe that just comes with the promo).<BR/><BR/>I'm certain that my 59 -> 60 promotion was due to being hired out of college (I probably could have performed at level 60 at the time I was hired). I'm certain that my promotion this year is because I happen to have one of the better managers in our group, who really pushes for her directs to do more ambitious work than they need to, and at review time sells them well.<BR/><BR/>Though many of the testers on my team are not all that technical, I've found that being a dev-ish tester not only provides for a great deal of growth potential in the 59-62 range, but is also rewarding and also gains you a lot of respect.<BR/><BR/>The usual pecking order of dev/pm/test is present in my group, but I still call BS on the testers who feel we're doomed to complete inferiority. I think the devs and PMs on my features recognize me as a peer in terms of technical abilities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-34222006943821696212007-09-17T20:12:00.000-07:002007-09-17T20:12:00.000-07:00>> Question 4: How many folks have left the compan...>> Question 4: How many folks have left the company after receiving the Kim rating? I am definitely looking now.<BR/><BR/>You definitely should leave. This is the company's way of saying you don't have a future in the current role and need to find a different career.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-49911852570728996892007-09-17T20:09:00.000-07:002007-09-17T20:09:00.000-07:00>> Why on earth was it seen as a good HR move to c...>> Why on earth was it seen as a good HR move to cook up a 10/70/20 distribution on the contribution rating<BR/><BR/>This is Jack Welch's brilliant idea.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-65552022081978639962007-09-16T21:26:00.000-07:002007-09-16T21:26:00.000-07:00Hey Mini (or any other folks who are reading this)...Hey Mini (or any other folks who are reading this): I have a few questions regarding the Kim contribution rating (10%/Limited 2).<BR/><BR/>Question 1: Does anyone know if HR keeps statistics on how many folks are given this rating after only 1 year at level, versus who have been at level for 2 years, 3 years, and so forth? I asked HR and no response.<BR/><BR/>Question 2: How many folks reading this actually received the Kim contribution rating after just being promoted the previous year? Since I'm asking the question, I'm also willing to answer it (I did). <BR/><BR/>Question 3: Why on earth was it seen as a good HR move to cook up a 10/70/20 distribution on the contribution rating, rather than implementing a 25/25/25/25 distribution? Under the current brilliant plan, it's guaranteed complete and utter demoralization for those being told they're in the bottom 10 percent. Granted, bottom 25 percent wouldn't be too hot either, but it would be slightly more balanced and less whacked than the current distribution.<BR/><BR/>Question 4: How many folks have left the company after receiving the Kim rating? I am definitely looking now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-50082444389819585942007-09-16T13:59:00.000-07:002007-09-16T13:59:00.000-07:00I so agree with the PM post above on "return curve...I so agree with the PM post above on "return curve philosophy".<BR/><BR/>I basically surfed this year. I do have an insane number of reports and they all of them felt they "grew" (IE. contributed and learned) last year. <BR/><BR/>Position: SDET Lead<BR/>Level: 62<BR/>Commitment: Exceeded<BR/>Contribution: 20%<BR/>Merit: 6.5<BR/>Bonus: 16<BR/>Stock: 35K (200%)<BR/><BR/>So I have finally decided to move on to a different team in the next few weeks. All I have done over the year is gone to meetings, cracked jokes and told a few people how they were not aggresive enough. I didnt get a GS this year (I did get one for every other year at MS). I actually wanna start something on my own in the next few years and came to a conclusion that I was wasting my time in my current group. <BR/><BR/>Bottom Line: To get a good review score, hang-up and crack jokes with the right folks (IE. suck up). They folks above you know that you can do their job and will not push you as you WILL take their job. Apart from that, its all about politics. But remember, if your a lead/manager, ALWAYS do the right thing for your team. Ignore the crap next door and make sure you grow superstars. If nothing else they'll thank you one day and make all this worth it. <BR/><BR/>PS: If you think I am a troll, they you clearly have no idea how our cash cows work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-78730360495435050232007-09-16T03:16:00.000-07:002007-09-16T03:16:00.000-07:00Position: SDETLevel: 60Commitment: AchievedContrib...Position: SDET<BR/>Level: 60<BR/>Commitment: Achieved<BR/>Contribution: 70% <BR/>Merit: 3.5%<BR/>Bonus: 9.xx%<BR/>Stock: $6K USD (100% of target)<BR/>Promo: noneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-73371536158104899952007-09-15T08:52:00.000-07:002007-09-15T08:52:00.000-07:00Position: SDET2Level: 61Commitment: ExceededContri...Position: SDET2<BR/>Level: 61<BR/>Commitment: Exceeded<BR/>Contribution: 70%<BR/>Merit: 4.8%<BR/>Bonus: 12%<BR/>Stock: $15,000 USD <BR/>Promo: NoneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-19814742409365359312007-09-15T02:18:00.000-07:002007-09-15T02:18:00.000-07:00i worked for andrew sinclair in livemeeting. He g...i worked for andrew sinclair in livemeeting. He gave me 20% increase on merit but has not promoted me for 3 years. My colleague (test mgr) just got his next stripe adn i am feeling neglected, should i simply leave?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-4014345092495855442007-09-15T02:16:00.000-07:002007-09-15T02:16:00.000-07:00I'm leaving MS too but I'm a star performer and I ...I'm leaving MS too but I'm a star performer and I better not interview you coz I won't be hiring you.<BR/><BR/>--------<BR/><BR/>take the ego out the door dude ... go screw a local companyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-49455963010368842162007-09-14T10:22:00.000-07:002007-09-14T10:22:00.000-07:00I am currently considering coming over to MSFT and...I am currently considering coming over to MSFT and was hoping someone could please share with me what the level range is for an MCS Senior Consultant as well as what the average base salary range would be for this position.<BR/><BR/>Any words of advice during the negotiation process? What can I ask for that is typically given?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-48220591255508450492007-09-14T01:08:00.000-07:002007-09-14T01:08:00.000-07:00==>What is the average time between promotions for...==>What is the average time between promotions for lower levels (59-61)? I keep hearing from my chain that they have a 25% promo budget so average time is 4 years. The higher the level the slower the rate of promotions<BR/><BR/>That is what I was told before too...when I hit my 4th year in 59 and I pushed for it knowing manager were using quota to promote leads, I got screwed... Lots of people get 1 promotion per yr in MS. You just have to be at the right place at the right timeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-72497190207089390372007-09-11T23:04:00.000-07:002007-09-11T23:04:00.000-07:00I was thinking about switching teams, but did not ...I was thinking about switching teams, but did not want to compromise my review. After the review is locked, is it possible to change numbers of an IC, by, say, moving the 20% to a more loyal employee? Around what date are numbers actually locked?<BR/><BR/>Thank you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-28266198667389844972007-09-11T18:54:00.000-07:002007-09-11T18:54:00.000-07:00Today its announced that my manager's manager is a...<I> Today its announced that my manager's manager is also quiting MS. That means I will have to speak to his Manager about review... Is it advisable to talk this to a manager at that level about my review and ask him/her to change my numbers ? This really frustrating ..</I><BR/><BR/>Unless you were outrightly screwed just drop it... they won't change your numbers anyway. I've known a rew people who've barked up this tree and it is leads nowhere. YMMV.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-20384884990914023962007-09-11T17:04:00.000-07:002007-09-11T17:04:00.000-07:00Today its announced that my manager's manager is a...Today its announced that my manager's manager is also quiting MS. That means I will have to speak to his Manager about review... Is it advisable to talk this to a manager at that level about my review and ask him/her to change my numbers ? This really frustrating ..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com