3 years of dedicated work in silence
But 0 promotions.
6 months of owning my growth
It changed. I got my much awaited promotion.
Wondering what made the difference ?
I stopped waiting to be discovered.
I still remember it was a Thursday evening. After finishing my tasks , I went in to my manager’s cabin to go for a tea.
He seemed tense. He was occupied with making a monthly repot and also replying to customer’s queries regarding hiring. He had to send the report on next day.
I asked him. “Can I help ?”
He smiled and showed me his monthly report deck, which was yet to be updated for the current month.
I said – “ I will update it for this month”. He shared that deck to me. We went for tea.
While having a quick tea break, he explained the process how he used to update the report every month.
I made notes. Accordingly I prepared and sent the report deck on Friday morning for review. After couple of corrections, we shared the report in evening.
My manager could answer all customer questions. He was happy !!
Note this: Nobody asked me to take it. I volunteered.
For 2 months, I owned it with minimal support. By month 4, I was collecting data from other teams and running the entire deck.
That’s when I learned something crucial:
Growth doesn’t happen in one step. It happens by the loop.
I started treating my career like a system. I call it “Growth Loop”
→ Deliver (build trust first)
→ Expand (add value beyond your role)
→ Showcase (speak in business language)
→ Ask (yes, actually ask)
→ Repeat (let it compound)
After 3 loops, I wasn’t just a tester anymore.
I owned testing. I owned by responsibilities. I solved stakeholder problems.
Here is my learning:
Hard work is good. But it doesn’t help your career growth.
Your work only counts when it reaches the right people.
Therefore, stop waiting to be discovered.
Start spinning your Growth Loop.
PS: What do you do beyond your assigned tasks?
#testing #qa #growth #manual #growthloop #visibility
