{"id":21974,"date":"2013-12-10T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2013-12-10T16:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/tuesday-qa-what-if-ive-never-been-promoted\/"},"modified":"2013-12-10T09:00:55","modified_gmt":"2013-12-10T16:00:55","slug":"tuesday-qa-what-if-ive-never-been-promoted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/tuesday-qa-what-if-ive-never-been-promoted\/","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday Q&A: What if I\u2019ve Never Been Promoted?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Question: <\/b><\/p>\n

I have over 10 years of work experience but no promotion to management. How does that affect my application?<\/p>\n

Answer:<\/b><\/p>\n

You may be familiar with this optical illusion<\/a>:<\/p>\n

One of the lines looks bigger than the other because of the other lines\/arrows around it. But really, both lines are the same size.<\/p>\n

Why do we bring this up? No, we\u2019re not trying to mess with your sense of perception. We\u2019re sure you feel dizzy enough from trying to keep up with all your apps. So we\u2019ll stop being coy and just give it to you straight.<\/p>\n

Your experience matters in relation to the experience of your PEERS.<\/p>\n

Basically, whether or not your lack of promotion will affect your app depends on how this looks in comparison with your peers both in your specific company and in your specific industry<\/i>. If everyone else around you is getting promoted and you\u2019re not, it won\u2019t look good. But if no one<\/em> gets management after ten years, then it\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n

That being said, even if you don\u2019t have a promotion in your profile, you CAN make yourself stand out in a few other ways. And by “can” we mean “must.”<\/p>\n

It may happen that you DO have leadership experience even without a promotion.<\/p>\n