[cwalv]

This kind of "perf review" hacking works ~everywhere; how well it works correlates with how entrenched the organization is (i.e., how hard it is for new players to disrupt).

You don't have to play the game the same way to work there. But it helps to accept that others will play it, and manage your own expectations accordingly.

[palata]

> This kind of "perf review" hacking works ~everywhere

I don't have tons of examples, but in my experience:

* This worked in toxic environments. They deserve it.

* This doesn't work in a functional environment, because they don't have those bullshit metrics.

If you have to rely on those tricks, it's time to look for another job.

[seattle_spring]

Which big, well-paying companies do not have "those bullshit metrics"? I know for a fact that Meta, Google, Stripe, Airbnb, and Oracle all lean heavily on performance review cycles based entirely on ridiculous metrics. Getting ahead there requires you to play the stupid games GP is suggesting.

[astrange]

The original post doesn't mention anything quantitative ("metrics"). Did this get sidetracked?

> Depends on what you are looking for. I’ve turned half baked ideas into white papers for plenty of praise. I’ve used them to make my Jira tickets seem complicated and complete. I’ve used them to get praised for writing comprehensive documentation.

This is about giving people a good impression of you so they'll write strong peer feedback.

[chipsrafferty]

And those are all examples of companies nobody should work for

[bdangubic]

If you work there, as OP said, it's time to look for another job.

[seattle_spring]

Totally, if you're willing to trade in your half-million or more annual compensation for $150k or less. My point is that it's an unfortunate game you have to play if you're working for places like that.

[johnnyanmac]

>Totally, if you're willing to trade in your half-million or more annual compensation for $150k or less.

I will take 60k at this point. I've been living ono half of that for almost 2 years now.

I have no idea how anyone is navigating this job market. Maybe it's just 10x worse and most people here are in the Bay area that's a tiny bit more shielded from this.

>Their number is absolutely miniscule compared to the number of big-tech jobs.

give it another year of layoffs. We'll get there.

[bdangubic]

the coolest thing "the big tech" was able to do is convince a whole bunch ridiculously smart people that they only place they can make $500k is with them. I personally (I am just one person) know more than 10 people not working for big tech making (some significantly) north of $500k as SWEs and doing awesome sh*t (unlike I would un-intelligently guess most of big tech employees)

[seattle_spring]

Sure, there are some jobs that match your description, likely for people that can brand themselves "AI engineers" for a rocketship company like OpenAI. Their number is absolutely miniscule compared to the number of big-tech jobs.

[palata]

Yeah, I think another problem is that TooBigTech is able to pay insanely for... what do they bring to society again? Was it social media and ads? Anyway, all that desirable stuff /s.

[bdangubic]

But it helps to accept that others will play it

Feel for you or anyone surrounded by such others but it is most definitely not everywhere - that is used to justify your presence in a place of work you should not be