This former Meta engineer, who quickly rose through the corporate ranks, says you shouldn't 'aim for promotions'

"Careers are long and not always linear. At least, that's how Rong Yan, now the chief technology officer at HeyGen, thinks about it. So his best advice for those who want to climb the tech ladder: Don't aim for promotions. "Don't make promotions the objective of your work," he said on "The Peterman Pod" recently. Things are going to get "painful" if you focus too much on promotions, he said."

"Over the years, he said he has noticed that those he has mentored can make themselves miserable when they strive for a promotion. "Don't do that," he said. "When you start to get into that mindset, you start to count your happiness or your career growth toward something that you don't have full control over." It's better to control the things you can control. "Learn how to adjust, and you'll be a better self afterward," he said."

Careers are long and not always linear. People should not make promotions the objective of their work. Focusing too much on promotions can create pain and misery. Promotions lie partly outside individual control, so tying happiness or career growth to them undermines well-being. Controlling actions and responses to circumstances leads to better development. Learning to adjust to changing situations improves professional resilience and personal growth. For those who still pursue promotions, timing matters: consider the wider team and company context and put oneself in a manager’s position before asking for a promotion.

Read at Business Insider