The Great Promotion Scam
Un-Brainwashing Your Career Mindset
I need you to understand that you are currently being brainwashed. By the end of this article, I aim to un-brainwash you.
Promotions are a scam. And here’s how and why I know they are.
Corporate America positions promotions as the ultimate career goal, but this narrative is a complete lie. Here’s how it typically goes:
You start at your job level.
You are given a career ladder to follow.
You wait on factors beyond your control to climb the ladder.
You are encouraged to believe you’re not qualified until external factors tell you otherwise.
You finally get that promotion, only to realize you’re doing the same tasks.
Writing emails, attending meetings, and using internal tools may be slightly different or more in-depth, but it's essentially the same work.
Most of us aren’t doing rocket science. It's a collection of emails and tasks. As you progress, you might chime in more with your input, but the core responsibilities remain unchanged.
A huge hack employers use is to delay your promotion until the annual review. There’s not much difference between you or the company from July to January, yet you’re made to believe otherwise. This often leads to taking on extra tasks or overworking to prove your worth, all while employers gain power over you by withholding the promotion.
The Carrot on the Stick Effect
The career development conversations you’re having are delusional. Career coaches often buy into this too, selling strategies to climb the corporate ladder. Most have never worked for themselves full-time and are still in the brainwashing cycle. This creates a feedback loop of more brainwashing between you and your coach.
My Perspective
I stopped working in corporate America in March 2023 to work for myself full-time. At 27, with a 3-year-old business, here’s a day in my life now:
Creative and PR Director: I decide on interviews, appearances, and accolades. I bypassed waiting decades for a director-level role by simply choosing to do it.
Chief of Finance and Operations: I oversee all revenue streams and products, including brand deals, creator fund payouts, digital product sales, physical merch sales, and speaking engagements. I decide on agency partnerships versus bootstrapping.
Head of HR: I decide what to hire out to contractors versus doing myself.
Project Manager: I manage multiple projects simultaneously.
CEO of Everything: I oversee and make all executive decisions.
All this is because I chose to do it, not because I waited for corporate America to give me the role.
If you have an objection to my observation, check yourself first. Who benefits from you thinking like that? It’s not you. It’s a voice implanted by the internalized success brainwashing from your job.
Final Thoughts
The traditional career ladder is designed to keep you waiting, overworking, and under the control of your employers. By opting out of this system, you can take control of your career and achieve your goals on your terms. Don’t wait for a promotion that may never come. Always be job hopping whenever you can!
Xoxo,
Gabrielle