💥The Truth About “Upskilling” They Don’t Want You to Know

You're not here to make their org chart more efficient. You're here to get yours.

👋 Happy Friday Eve, Legends!

Are you really growing at work or just getting better at doing more with less?

Because let’s be honest — most “development” these days looks more like extra labor in disguise.

Back-to-back meetings.

“Stretch projects” with no stretch in your paycheck.

A Slack shoutout instead of a raise.

And according to last week’s poll?

72% of you said your company doesn’t offer formal upskilling at all.

So even the illusion of training isn’t happening for most people.

This week, we’re pulling the curtain back on corporate upskilling theater.

Because not all “development” develops you.

Let’s talk about what’s really going on when companies push training, why it benefits them more than you, and how to flip the script, without ending up in HR purgatory.

🙌 Oh… and don’t miss what’s hiding after the final word this week... 👀

🧨 THE RANT –“We Have Food at Home” of Career Development

Let’s be honest.

Upskilling has become the HR version of “we have food at home.”

They promise growth.

You get a 6-hour webinar narrated by a man named Gary who hasn’t managed anyone since Y2K. — you know, the year we all thought computers were going to explode and take our 401(k)s with them.

You complete the course.

You take the survey.

You wait for the growth that should follow.

Well, you don’t get it.

You get a badge.

And the company gets to check a box labeled “We Invest in Talent.”

If you’re starting to feel like these trainings aren’t for your benefit, you’re not being cynical.

You’re might be correct.

📊 REALITY CHECK

Let’s start with the data they don’t mention during the kickoff Zoom call:

Better yet?

Here’s the kicker…

When companies freeze promotions, they often increase “learning initiatives.”

Because if they can’t pay you more, they’ll hand you a LinkedIn badge and call it a raise.

🛠️ WORKPLACE SURVIVAL TIPS OF THE WEEK

♦️ Flip Their Training Into Your Leverage ♦️

1. Pre-Negotiation Framing

Situation:
You’re asked to complete a training or certification that solves a team-wide problem but no one mentions reward or recognition.

Steal This Line:
“This aligns with [team goal], and I’d love to take point post-certification. Can we define what success and recognition would look like?”

Why It Works:
Research on pre-negotiation framing shows that early agreements make outcomes more likely to stick. Managers forget contributions unless they’re framed strategically upfront.

👇️ Pro Tip:
Send a summary email confirming your commitment + intended contribution.
Example: “Excited to complete this. Just confirming the plan to revisit how this translates to visibility or growth after.”

If it’s not in writing, it didn’t happen. Period.

2. Run A Development Audit

Situation:
You’re being voluntold to attend a training clearly built to juice internal metrics, not your resume.

Steal This Line:
“I’m focused on aligning my time with long-term growth. Can we walk through how this supports my goals, or if there’s a better fit?”

Why It Works:
Research shows that ambiguity causes top performers to over-function. This flips the dynamic. You’re not resisting. You’re clarifying your value focus.

👇️ Pro Tip:
Create a Development Value Tracker
✔️ List trainings you’re offered
✔️ Note who benefits (you, the team, or company dashboards)
✔️ Flag which ones build external career capital

If the only thing it helps is your boss’s quarterly report, it’s not your growth. It’s their CYA.

🔦 Subscriber Story Spotlight - The Excel Trap

💬 Real Talk

This happens all the time. And most people internalize it.

🔊 Covert delegation disguised as professional development.

• You learned a valuable automation skill.

• You quietly saved the company hours of manual labor.

• Your manager repackaged that as his contribution.

‼️ I say switch things up‼️

Turn the work into a portfolio asset by framing it like this: “Automated [X process] → saved [Y hours/month] → adopted by [Z teams].” 

That’s not just a task, that’s a case study. Use it on your resume, in interviews, or on LinkedIn to show tangible impact.

Better yet, teach it for money. There’s real demand (and real dollars) for tutorials that walk people through Excel automation step-by-step.

People pay for pre-built templates, time-saving tools, and workflows they don’t have to build themselves. Platforms like Gumroad and Teachable make it easy to turn your skill into a product.

🗣️ Want to tell your story?

We feature real ones every week, yours could be next.

💩 You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up

JOB TITLE: Elevator Operator

 🎯 FINAL WORD

🔮 Next Week: Quiet Cutting

Because why fire you when they can just make you miserable enough to quit?

We’re breaking down the silent corporate strategy of “quiet cutting” — when companies don’t lay you off, they just reassign you to a soul-sucking role and hope you get the hint.

⚡️ Before You Go…

Your voice matters.

At least here, it does.

📩 Prefer to email?

We love hearing from you, and yes, we actually read every single email.

Your feedback tells us what to double down on, what to ditch, and which workplace nightmares to tackle next.

👉️ Got an idea? Something you wish existed — like an eBook, course, or even a done-for-you service?

👉️ We’re toying with adding stuff like quizzes, giveaways, prizes — and hell, if we’re feeling feral enough, maybe even a podcast.

👉️ And when the time’s right, we’d love to build a community where none of us are stuck surviving work alone.

🙏 Help us help you. Want that? Tell us.

💪 We’re here to support, empower, and raise hell — together!

📬 [email protected]

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That’s all for this week, legends. 👋 

📝 P.S.

If nobody’s told you today:
You’re doing better than the system deserves.
You’re surviving something that wasn’t designed to sustain you.
And that’s not failure.
That’s power.

📣 Know someone who just got “offered a growth opportunity” that looks suspiciously like unpaid work?

Forward this to them before they start thanking the company for the extra labor.