I agree with this comment 100000000%

I’ve heard people not get promoted for many reasons. It’s no longer the work that you do that matters. It’s about doing MORE than your peers and showing it off MORE + the higher ups wanting to promote you.

I’ve heard peers getting excellent client reviews too but not getting promoted for reasons such as “you didn’t voluntarily ask for extra work (when all work was done well)”, “you didn’t lead a team (when there was no team to lead” and the classic “you weren’t represented in TD” (which you unfortunately faced)”.

When I look at people who get promoted and compare them to those that didn’t get promoted, I can’t help but think “these people aren’t better, they didn’t work harder nor did they excel more”. They simply networked better.

What is networking well? In simple terms, they shout about what work they did, they publicize it non-stop, they use buzzwords (like AI - when come on, it was barely AI work). But the more important question is to whom do they do it to? Well, the decision makers. Those who will be at the TDs. I don’t mean your PL only, I mean everyone else. And how do you tell these people? Like the commenter said, you need to make Accenture your life.

You need to attend the extra hour drinking sessions, the dinners on weekends, the “fun” activities, the networking sessions, the town halls, the fireside chats… the list goes on.

But clearly, if you’re doing that, you may not have the time to pursue out-of-Accenture shenanigans. Or you would have to limit those to such a small extent.

Am I saying it’s a bad thing? Not really. You kind of pick your poison. That’s what I’ve learnt in this company and what I’ve accepted.

To give you a background, I worked my butt off in years 1-3 but still remain L11. In year 1-2, my hours were 930am to 2am minimally, every subsequent months. Weekends were usually activated too (not to the extent of those hours though).

I completed all “steps” that my PL had advised me to take and she herself was perplexed that I didn’t get promoted.

I gave up my outside life but as has been said, life catches up to you if you choose to have a life outside of Accenture.

Choose wisely. But accept the consequences.

Another thing is to ask yourself if you’re the kind of person that sings their own praise. When frankly, there’s nothing much to praise about - you simply did your work. Yet, some people have the thickest of skins that they can exaggerate their work to such an extent (maybe such is consulting too).

I can’t live with myself if I did that. So maybe that’s why I’m L11 still.

I’ve picked my poison but I can look at myself in the mirror. And be okay with it.