How should a start-up conduct a performance review/evaluation for a promotion?

Question

I work for a very technical and niche start-up as a Frontend Developer. For context, we have 3 F.E. devs and 3 B.E. devs. I was hired as a vaguely-level intermediate developer, and after about nine months at this company, my F.E. lead is advocating for me to be a Senior developer. The only issue is that the company hasn't done internal promotions before, and they're a bit stalled whilst considering how to best handle the process. There's also some ambiguity in measuring a Front-end developer's skills - especially compared to a back-end developer; Our CEO is also a seasoned back-end developer, so he understands technical skills but is unclear on how it maps to Front-end skills.

What are some things I can bring up to my company's leadership on how to measure my skills and value? Such to help facilitate a conversation around my promotion.

Alex Chiou · Accepted Answer

I recommend proposing some version of 360 feedback to your company's leadership. Here's some useful resources to help there:

What are some things I can bring up to my company's leadership on how to measure my skills and value?

I would stay away from the word "measure" when it comes to software engineer performance, especially for senior engineers. It's just so hard (and fundamentally incorrect) to reduce the value of a software engineer to numbers. I would talk to your company's engineering leadership about establishing some sort of formal engineering career matrix that lays out expectations at a high-level for each software engineering level. If you end up going down that route, 2 factors to consider are scope and impact. Here's some useful resources there:

How should a start-up conduct a performance review/evaluation for a promotion?

Discussion

Other Great Discussions