Thread regarding ExxonMobil Corp. layoffs

Everyone ought to just openly share their seniority, and salary, you know like the government does. Employers want it hush hush so they can pay less...

In the 1980s, we defined hipo as 30 by 30. CL 30 by age 30 (a period of very high attrition between 1976 and 1983, with oil prices sky rocketing). Rex Tillerson was CL 30 by 30. This has now slipped to CL 30 by age 35 (slower business environment). If you are YEE10 and only a CL 25 and making only 159k you are not high potential, even if your boss says you have CL 34 potential (a trick to make you feel good...Don't believe this...the message is CL and Salary today. not promises tomorrow). In past we never said anything about potential except 3 plus levels for anyone until they got to CL 28. There are hundreds of people ahead of you. I personally know many 35 year olds making nearly 300k and are CL 29. These are the people that will get to CL 34 before you, yet they are only 7 years older. You are too late and are a lowly CL 25 (unlikely to get to CL 27 by age 40 if you are second quintile) to catch up if you are nearly 30. Game over. Also if you are second quintile in CL 25, you will be 3rd of 4th quintile if you get promoted and must rank against CL26/27.

After the merger, an HR study in ECI showed a 30% chance for a person with technical degree to get to CL 30 (ECI study, so it was an international study but it excluded EUSA). Same study showed 50% attrition within 10 years of hiring of MPT (Pip was normal process..so do not be suprised by 50% in 10 years...that is 5% per year). Odds are higher you will quit than get to executive level. XOM is back to normal attrition, what is happening now is NORMAL. But for those that stick with it., there is one in three chance of becoming an Exec.

If they shuffle you off to one of those lithium mines in Chile, that could be a great opportunity. Take it!

@1sol+1cFUdSAF - I was in the same boat as you.. hired in experienced at CL 25, YEE 10, about 7 yrs back in emre.. similar salary.

I found out my salary was 4K higher than a fresh graduate.. I was pretty pi---d. Talked to manager and he said perform well and it will improve. I did perform well, went into top Q and got good raises but I am still behind many HiPOs.

For many of my experienced colleagues who couldn't play the rank game, their salaries continued to languish.. many left, those who remain continue to complaint

@1bgv. You are absolutely correct. Expat benefits not only have seen a significant decline, it appears Cartus and/or the local affiliate HR dig in to avoid making payments. Very bad sign for an International company. That attitude goes along with potential divestments.

@1sol+1cFUdSAF YEE is age-18, and you’re likely a bit “behind” a bit due to the lack of significant raises in the last 2 years, if you stick around things may improve but I wouldn’t hold my breath

is YEE age - 18? OP, I'm an exp hire with 10 YEE CL24, and make 125k...granted I'm a VG performer. everyone here saying 159k with YEE10 is low..WTF is wrong with me? I'm in downstream as well. sure raises have been min/none last couple years since I joined but this makes me feel like cr-p...

International is barely worth it now and you have to fight your own company when it comes time to claim benefits that are clearly given to you in the expat handbook.

Sometimes I wonder if tmo and I work for the same company....

OP … you have very little chance of ever making executive level. High performing CL 25/26/27/28 are very much a dime a dozen and as others point out on this board the current performance assessment system can cause large drops or gains in any given assesemnt period. In reading your post, it sounded like you think you may have a positive vector for many years to come. If you believe this, you are both tremendously naive and very stupid at the same time. You have no real a hope of making exec level based on your current CL.

International check-box only has meaning if it really puts a hurt on your family.
Like - a parent has pancreatic or your oldest daughter a junior in high school.
That is the only criterion for this - that you prove you really want it above all else.
And it is still likely you'll top out at 27 or so.

You, OP, are actually in the perfect position to change employer.
Your wife is stable so you can 'play the field.'
Just a thought.

At least in EMIT, there are tons of people with potential 34, but an extremely low number of jobs above 27 or so. The math simply doesn’t work out, and “potential” is completely fake. Only when your potential is 36+ will you have a decent chance of hitting 29-30 by retirement, otherwise expect to be done at 27-28 like a previous poster mentioned.

10 YEE and CL25 sounds like they forgot to promote you quickly enough

Your potential will surely drop, it’s too late

I’ll tell you that your potential is not really 34, they probably glaze over your potential during ranking discussions today but one day it will drop based your cumulative CL and YEE falling behind slowly over time

OP. I assume you are MPT. YEE 10 and CL 25 not spectacular. Are you in a sponsored supervisor position now? I think you were misinformed about your potential. Your situation sounds so far off base, i wonder if you really know about your wife's potential. Actually, sounds like a troll post.

@OP I was in the same boat a few years ago, spouse had a great job (with arguably better potential than mine) but we took EM opportunity to move abroad for my job and she quit hers. Pros and cons to that decision of course, but now that we’re back home I feel we probably should have just stayed here and prioritized her career.

Answer to Post Question: Not 34. Best case 30.

@kie don't feel bad. The rest of the world have it the same as Europeans. when I first knew the Americans' salaries from this board I had no mood to work for weeks

For what it's worth, in the recent workforce studies done in other countries, people with potential of CL 34 were impacted. Many are no longer with the company. And I hope some managers in the know who read this share some statistics, but many of us suspect most people with potential of 34 do not actually reach 34. I'm 25 now, and I'll be lucky to retire at 26.

And even if you get very lucky, I'm not sure the exec pay of quadruple or quintiple of $159K is worth it for both of you, given that your spouse has to give up her higher paying job. Top two quintiles isn't that rare, as someone else pointed out. Have you had double promotions more than once? Ranked top 10 out of hundreds? Gotten your RSUs and other semi-secret perks? If you had you'll know you are taken care of, but then I guess you wouldn't be asking here. Those people in that club already know who they are.

Potential in EM doesn't mean a thing now. Look, in 2018 March, Downstream had potential to double its earnings by 2025. Who'd have thought of our debt situation now. Well, technically DS still has that potential, and I do wish to see that happen for the sake of colleagues who are staying (i.e. not me), but I seldom hear that potential mentioned now.

Your CL and salary are too low for a 10 YEE to be considered high potential

@gmd+1cFUdSAF Completely agree, I also wonder how some of these executives made it so far. was it because they were able to play politics or get lucky? But yet we have more talented people who will never get to the same level. Quite discouraging

@kie European salaries are lower, hence CL is lower for the same job.

Probably it’s own thread, but has anyone ever had their potential increase? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this happening EVER.

Same potential (from year 1….funny how it never changes), and was probably at the same spot at your YE too. Think I may make CL 32 by retirement if I am lucky. …all the best-performing peers with whom I started are in exactly the same place, with only one person making what appears to be a hi-po track. The poor-to-average-performing peers have all resigned over the years.

So having started where you started, I feel like I have a good career. My biggest frustration, though, is seeing the quality of the people above me and legitimately not understanding how they got so far. I started with some dang smart people who are all struggling along in that ‘might be a low-level executive someday’ category….and nobody can seem to break through to be more. But looking up, there are so many mid-to-high level executives who seem to have been promoted past their area of maximum contribution years ago.

International is no longer lucrative, and possibly not even breakeven anymore. In addition to your wife’s career considerations, you will be going down to one salary and may not even be fairly compensated for aspects of your move. In fact, through the move process you will probably feel like a second-rate employee, while the company’s HR folks and contractors send you through the most nonsensical policies you could imagine.

Once you move, you will be in a different rank group in a different culture, where some aspects of your performance may just simply not translate.

An international assignment is a fabulous life experience, but don’t expect it to hurdle your career to new heights. Probably same-same from a total potential standpoint.

Do not sacrifice anything. Potential 34 is actually not very high to offer you high probability of achieving the highest levels of executive. If you had been told 38 or even 40+ then you would be in the protected elite and most likely at a higher CL today with higher salary and bonuses. Anything below a 38 is easily NSI at some point as many have already pointed out.

As a European MPT with more than 25 years of experience in the company, this is either a troll post, or us Europeans in Downstream have, and are being taken as total mugs! Here, we can barely dream of reaching a 28...!

That salary is LOW for a CL25. Next 4-5 years, even with “promised” CL bump to 26 “might” net you an additional 10-15% under the guise that the company doesn’t have money to dish out normal CL bump raises (used to be 15-20% depending on group and band)

Not to mention the fact that once you hit 26 you’re in an entirely different rank group - and you will be ranked against those with more direct reports, etc.

you’re the secondary earner in this scenario. You won’t pass 200k base for at least 5-7 years…..

Take it for what it’s worth but personally would not move internationally with this company right now - zero chance

Are you already a supervisor? If at 10 years and not supervisor for the most part in upstream you are not tagged for management.

You have a spouse that will make more than you and you're considering derailing her career to move internationally (where she most likely will not be able to work)?

Look at the overall gain of keeping your wife employed and on track. You most likely will be the trailing spouse.

@OP Your potential is getting PIP'd within 9 years assuming 8% PIP/year. Good luck! LOL

If your potential is 34, that probably means you’ll retire at 27-28.

I love this talk of CL, salary curve and potential. It depends on your age if you have a few years to go till retirement then stay the course. If you have more than ten years till retirement good luck. In one PADP cycle you can go down to NSI and be out. The PIPs will continue for the next few years. They are getting rid of high pay employees and replacing them with contractors. Some young people were talking about career development and the future of the company. We just had a town hall to try to alleviate the worry of the career stability of the employees. Nothing was said that proved to me that I have a long future at exxon. Instead of career development I can only hope for minimum career retirement. If I can stay till 56 or longer then I will. Only the protected can make it to at least 60 or higher. I do not trust anyone at this company. The supervisors will cut you with no feeling and not protect you from PIPing. We are being gutted at EMHC with cr---y contractor support IT,HR, building services. The upper management does care about the work being done just cutting cost.

OP is a classic case of delusional disorder, or otherwise, ill intentioned. EM has sold to all of us the "potential" for decades. Where are we now? Year by year 8-10% PIP, if not by quarter. Sober up folks.

Your chances of making it to executive are about 1% and VP 0.02%. If your wife has a great job with promotion potential then you should definitely not take the international assignment and stay on a middle of the road track. There will be far less stress and your family will be better off

Don’t derail your wife’s career without careful reflection. Only 5% of employees ever make it to executive (CL 30+). Vast majority of executives peak between CL 30-32. The odds of getting to CL 36 approach those of winning the grand lottery.

Candidly, in the race to executive, there is nothing remarkable about a CL 25 ranked in the top 2 quintiles. Dime a dozen. You might get there one day, but understand the odds if that is driving your decision about what to do now.

Good luck.

Dude, just live the good live and let your wife pay the bills.

If she makes more just let her peg you. Then you will both be happy.

Doing an international move when your spouse has that high of earning potential vs your potential of 34 not worth it. Don’t let them su---r you into the single income locked In for whole career bit.

You’re in a great situation overall! I can’t comment on salaries, I’ll leave that to others with first hand info. You should keep in mind that money isn’t everything though … whichever career you prioritize will keep your family comfortable, so consider the other factors for their happiness