Hey everyone, just a little context before I jump into the question. I am a career product manager. I work with education products and have experience building new products in startups ($0-$20mil) and for big tech ($400mil+). In my previous role, I was a Senior Product Manager, and I oversaw ~1300 SKUs (print and digital) with 55,000 active subscribers and ~$55mil of direct revenue. I also managed a team of 7 direct reports.
A little over a year ago, I was recruited to a small “family owned business.” They are reputable and a household name. When I was approached by the recruiter, they built a new role for me focusing on new product development at the Director level. I negotiated my salary to be exactly what I asked for and made the transition. I was told that I could expect annual raises and a 10% Bonus that was 5% Company Performance and 5% Employee Performance (I have this all in writing from the recruiter – along with the terms of my salary and benefits). I could write my own portfolio, I would have no direct reports, and I essentially just managed myself and my schedule.
I had a great year! In one year, I went from 0->3 products in my portfolio and from $0->$18mil in revenue.
My supervisor had nothing but praise and I scored well on my performance review (all Meets/Exceeds). When raises were announced, I asked my supervisor what I could expect and was told that a % is approved by the board and that applies to all employees. I waited and eventually got a letter from HR. The letter stated “because you are at the max salary for your hiring range, you will not receive an annual salary increase and will instead be paid a lump sum of the % two weeks from today. Just a reminder that this lump sum will be taxed as a bonus.” Nowhere in the interview process or subsequent year of working was this ever discussed. My supervisor seemed just as surprised as I was. I was directly told that the only way for me ever to get a raise is to get a promotion. Unfortunately, the Sr Director or VP titles require direct reports, and their is no pathway for me to add direct reports.
Now, at the same time, I started asking about bonuses. Turns out they do not do “Employee Performance Bonuses” it is all a % based bonus approved by the Board. I had assumed that since my bonus was 5% employee performance and I did a great job, I would get some bonus, now that is in question.
Should I stay or should I go? I immediately told my wife that I will not be here in one year, I already know that I cannot get a raise and their is no possibility of a promotion. This feels like a dead end. I was hired to build a portfolio but I do not have any possibility of career growth. Am I missing something? Am I jumping to conclusions? This feels super shady that none of this was explained or in the handbook or is directly opposite of what the recruiter told me – are there legal consequences if I choose to leave?
Edit: just some spelling mistakes 😉