Use Your Google Hall Pass To Go After A $65K+ Promotion — Without Paying For My Coaching Out Of Your Own Pocket.
My Scope Audit shows you whether the work you're doing right now is actually building the scope and evidence you need for your next level — or keeping you stuck doing more at the level you're already in.
Then we use what we uncover to build your promotion strategy, get the next-level expectations clarified with your manager, and make your impact undeniable to Senior Leadership.
The 30-Day Verdict
In the first 30 days we do the scope work together. If you don't then have in writing from your manager exactly what your next level requires — full refund.
The $65K Level Floor
When you're promoted, your first-year comp increase will be at least $65,000.
The Two-Cycle Guarantee
Get promoted within your next two promo cycles — or I'll keep coaching you free until you are.
I'm Marie Horvath, an approved Google supplier. For eligible Google employees, my private 1:1 coaching may be fully covered through Hall Pass, subject to Google's approval.
So if you qualify and Hall Pass covers the engagement, you can go after your next level with private 1:1 coaching, three written guarantees, and $0 coming out of your own pocket for my program.
Get My Free Scope Audit →Answer a few quick questions about your current level, role and next promo cycle. If you qualify, you'll immediately get my 10-minute Scope Audit and can book a free Strategy Call to review it with me.
Hall Pass coverage is subject to Google's approval. Two-Cycle Guarantee requires next-level scope to be agreed in writing with your manager within the first 60 days. Complete guarantee terms apply.
Before You Work Harder For Your Next Promotion…
Find Out If You're Working On The Right Things.
This is where a lot of talented people at Google get trapped.
They're told they need more scope. So they take on more.
More projects. More cross-functional responsibility. More difficult problems. More people depending on them.
And six months later, they're exhausted… but no closer to the next level.
Because:
That's why I start with the Scope Audit.
In about 10 minutes, you'll score the meaningful projects on your plate from 1–7 across three dimensions:
Success in six months
Can this produce a meaningful, defensible result inside the window that matters?
Importance
How much does the organization actually care whether this succeeds?
Altitude
Does this work demonstrate impact at the level you're trying to reach?
Then you'll answer two questions most people don't ask until it's too late:
Here's what I've found:
They're working hard. They're doing valuable work. They may even be getting praised for it.
But they're investing their limited time in projects that aren't building the strongest case for their next level.
The Scope Audit exposes that before you sacrifice another promo cycle finding out the hard way.
And if you qualify to work with me, you won't have to interpret the results alone.
Bring your completed Scope Audit to your free Strategy Call.
I'll go through your grid with you, identify the project most capable of carrying your promotion, and help you formulate the exact next-level scope you need to clarify with your manager.
You Were Good Enough To Get Into Google.
So Why Are You Still Hearing "Not Yet"?
You've already proven you can perform in one of the most demanding organizations in the world.
You solve hard problems. People trust you. You take on responsibility. You deliver.
And maybe your manager keeps telling you:
"Great work." "You're on the right track." "Keep doing what you're doing."
Then the promo cycle comes. And the answer is still:
Maybe you've responded the way high performers usually do.
Work harder. Take on another project. Become even more useful. Wait for the work to speak for itself.
But at L5–VP, that can become an extraordinarily expensive strategy.
In the Scope Audit cost illustration, one level represents a minimum of $65,000 in base-salary growth before bonus target and refresh.
Stay one level late for five years and the cumulative opportunity cost can exceed:
And $65,000 is the smallest step. These are the total-compensation steps I work from with clients:
| L5 → L6 | about $65,000 |
| L6 → L7 | about $165,000 |
| L7 → L8 | about $300,000 |
| L8 → L9 | about $700,000 |
Approximations at grant value, weighted toward equity rather than base. They vary by level, location, role and individual circumstances — illustrations, not figures I can promise anyone.
This is no longer just about getting a better title.
One level change can be worth more than five years of merit raises.
And if you're already creating next-level value, another year of "not yet" deserves a better answer than: "Keep doing what you're doing."
Your Performance May Not Be The Problem.
Your Project Portfolio May Be.
At this level, simply being excellent at your job is no longer the whole game. Senior Leadership cannot evaluate what they cannot see. And the work consuming most of your time may not be the work building the clearest case for your next level.
That creates the visibility gap:
The difference between the next-level impact you are actually creating…
and the next-level impact Senior Leadership can clearly see and defend when your name enters the calibration room.
Your first skill set made you excellent at the work. I call the skill set that closes this gap:
And the first move is not another course. It's an audit.
Are You Promotable Next Cycle?
And If The Org Cuts 10%, Are You Protected?
Different question. Same skill set.
My Scope Audit is a 10-minute diagnostic designed to show whether the projects consuming your time are actually building the evidence required for your next level. And it can reveal something uncomfortable very quickly:
Ten minutes. Three scores per project. One verdict.
Score every meaningful project from 1–7 on:
Success in six months
Can this project produce a meaningful, defensible outcome inside the window that matters?
Importance
How much does the organization actually care if this succeeds?
Altitude
Does the scope demonstrate impact at the level you're trying to reach?
| Project | Success in 6 months | Importance | Altitude | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | |
| Project A | 1–7 | — | 1–7 | — | 1–7 | — |
| Project B | 1–7 | — | 1–7 | — | 1–7 | — |
| Project C | 1–7 | — | 1–7 | — | 1–7 | — |
Round 1 (R1) is your gut. Round 2 (R2) stays blank until you've verified the scope.
Then score the grid twice.
Round 1: Your gut.
What you currently believe about the project.
Round 2: After you verify the scope.
Talk to your manager. Check the dependencies. Confirm what success actually means. Then score it again.
And before you invest another quarter in a project, there are two questions you need answered.
Those two questions expose some of the most expensive career traps inside a large organization.
Which One Is Keeping You At Your Current Level?
The Horizontal Trap
You get bigger projects.
More visibility inside the team.
More praise.
More responsibility.
But not more level.
Invisible Work
The project is difficult.
It consumes enormous energy.
You may even save the organization from a real problem.
But the work never becomes clear next-level evidence.
The Long-Horizon Trap
The work is strategically important… eventually.
But there is no meaningful six-month checkpoint Senior Leadership can evaluate in the coming promo cycle.
The Verbal Scope Trap
Your manager says you're operating at the next level.
You take on the responsibility.
But nobody puts the next-level expectation in writing.
Later, you discover you were:
The Thin-Margin Trap
You load your portfolio until every project is barely surviving.
Everything gets done.
Nothing becomes undeniable.
And at the end:
Nothing In The Calibration Room Is Decided On Memory.
It Is Decided On What Was Written Down — And By Whom.
The Scope Audit doesn't end with a score. It leads to a concrete artifact: a scope-and-six-month-checkpoints email to your manager.
The goal is to get clarity before you spend another promo cycle trying to prove yourself against an unwritten standard. The email culminates in a simple agreement:
Now you know what the target is. Your manager knows what the target is.
And you can build the next six months around evidence that actually matters.
That written clarity is so important that I put money behind it.
Three Guarantees.
Because "Just Trust The Process" Isn't Good Enough.
These guarantees apply when you enter the coaching engagement with me. They do not apply to the free Strategy Call.
The 30-Day Verdict
No more vague “not yet.”
No more guessing what would finally make the answer yes.
The written scope artifact we build together from the Scope Audit is what this guarantee is built around.
The Level Floor
The final engagement terms will state the applicable remedy and conditions.
The Two-Cycle Guarantee
Guarantees apply to the paid coaching engagement and are subject to the complete written terms. The free Strategy Call has no obligation.
And Google May Already Have A Benefit That Can Cover The Engagement.
I'm an approved Google supplier. For eligible Google L5–VP employees, the engagement may be fully covered through Hall Pass, Google's professional-development benefit — subject to Google's approval.
On your Strategy Call, I help you prepare the request you send to your manager. That means the sequence can look like this:
- 1. Complete the Scope Audit.
- 2. Qualify for a Strategy Call.
- 3. Bring me your grid.
- 4. Identify the project most capable of carrying your promotion.
- 5. Write the exact sentence you take to your manager.
- 6. Prepare your Hall Pass funding request.
If Hall Pass covers the engagement and you meet the guarantee conditions, the only thing you're investing is your time.
When Hall Pass covers the engagement, you receive my coaching with $0 coming out of your own pocket for the program — subject to Google's approval.
One note on timing: promotion cycles run roughly every six months — one alongside GRAD, one outside it — and the committees that decide sit after the appraisal, not during it. Which means the scope you can point to in writing has to exist before the cycle opens, not once it has. Separately, Hall Pass runs on the calendar year: allowances expire at the end of December whether or not they're used.
This Is Not A Cohort. It Is Not A Course. It Is Private 1:1 Work With Me.
I've coached professionals at Google and other major technology companies, and I have firsthand experience with how advancement decisions are made inside large organizations. I've delivered executive coaching inside Alphabet, and I'm an approved Google supplier.
My clients have collectively secured:
But the aggregate number is not the most important proof. The important question is: does this work for someone at your level?
Marie helped me focus very clearly on the things that make me different from a lot of other people, and the things we honed in on were the ones that actually bring me joy in my job. She helped me negotiate a really great contract.
Marie would hold up a mirror and ask me the tough questions to really rethink where I'm limiting myself. It literally changed the trajectory of my career. I'm working at a completely different level, and I'm genuinely excited about not just what I'm doing, but where I'm going.
I've seen drastic improvement across the board. A number of people including my own director, manager, and cross functional stakeholders said to me: something happened, your presentation style changed.
I'd been ready for the next level for a long time. Marie gave me the framework and the language to actually get there.
Through her coaching I'm in a position of significant increase in base salary. So it's definitely been very tangible. I'm also in a better mental space with my new colleagues.
When my role was on the line, Marie helped me reposition fast. The income I protected paid for the coaching many times over.
I joined looking to escape an unhappy role. I got a better position with a 50% raise, and eventually moved into a CTO role with a 50% total compensation increase.
I've gained a lot of confidence holistically and I'm performing at a different level. The biggest shift was in my mindset: I started thinking about business outcomes.
Marie helped me see I was underestimating the value I bring to the table. She looks at the whole picture and gives you the frameworks to decide from a place of clarity.
I doubled my salary moving from Tesla to my next role. The money I invested in Marie's coaching, I got back within a few months with my new compensation package.
I was immediately skeptical, but after our first call that skepticism was gone. There hasn't been a single week I haven't left with the feeling I can immediately apply what I've learned.
She really helped me negotiate my offer and gave me the confidence to increase the ask. Don't hold yourself back. Just go for it.
Marie's coaching changed how I showed up in the most consequential moments of my role, and it kept me in the seat I'd worked hard to earn.
I stopped thinking about my career as a series of jobs and started running it like a strategy. That shift changed everything.
Marie's coaching was critical in my decision to make a move. I walked into the negotiation knowing exactly what to ask for, and why.
Individual client experiences. Results are not typical or guaranteed.
What Does Another Late Level Actually Cost?
The obvious cost is the raise you did not get. But that is only the beginning.
- A level change affects your compensation baseline.
- Your bonus target.
- Your refresh.
- The projects you are considered for.
- The people you work with.
- The scope you are trusted with next.
- And the evidence available for the level after that.
Using the Scope Audit illustration, one level represents a minimum of $65,000 in base-salary growth before bonus and refresh.
Stay one level late for five years and the cumulative opportunity cost can exceed:
And there is another cost that does not appear on a compensation statement. The mental loop.
Rehearsing the conversation at 2am. Wondering what you are missing. Doing the math on whether you should leave.
Bracing for Sunday because Monday means going back to a job where you are carrying more responsibility without knowing whether it will ever translate into the next level.
The goal is not merely a promotion. It is certainty about what the next level requires — and a written plan for getting there.
This Is Deliberately Not For Everyone.
This may be for you if:
- You work at Google or an Alphabet company.
- You are currently L5 through VP.
- You are already performing at a high level.
- You are taking on substantial scope but are not certain it is the right scope.
- You keep hearing some version of “great work — not yet.”
- You want your next-level requirements clarified in writing.
- You want private 1:1 attention rather than a cohort or generic course.
- You are willing to do the scope work with me that the guarantees require.
- You want to advance without playing politics.
This is not the right program if:
- You are currently L4 or below. We'll give you the Scope Audit and stay in touch for when you reach L5.
- You're above VP. That is a different problem and a different engagement — we'll discuss if we can help based on the root cause of the problems you would like to solve.
- You want the result without taking part in the scope work.
- You are looking for someone to manufacture evidence you have not earned.
- You want to manipulate Senior Leadership or game the process.
- You are unwilling to get next-level scope clarified with your manager.
The guarantees have conditions because you still have to do the work. The Second Skill Set does not replace excellence.
See If You Qualify To Work With Me.
This is private 1:1 work with me, so the first step is not buying anything. It is determining whether the engagement is appropriate for your level and situation. The qualification quiz takes about 60 seconds. We'll ask:
- Whether you currently work at Google or an Alphabet company
- Your level
- Your role
- Your next promo cycle
- How long you have been at your current level
- What appears to be standing in the way
If you are Google/Alphabet L5–VP and qualify:
- You'll receive my Scope Audit.Complete it before your call.
- You'll be invited to book a free Strategy Call.Bring your completed grid.
- I'll go through your rows with you.Together, you'll identify the one project most capable of carrying your promotion.
- You'll write the exact sentence you take to your manager.The goal is to turn vague expectations into written next-level scope.
- I'll help you prepare your Hall Pass funding request.For eligible employees, the engagement may be fully covered through Hall Pass, subject to Google's approval.
The Strategy Call is free. There is no obligation to enter the coaching engagement.
And the three guarantees apply only if you and I subsequently decide to work together.
Get Promoted, Not Praised.
You have probably already received plenty of evidence that you are good at what you do. The question is whether you have the evidence Senior Leadership needs to see for your next level.
Because another "Great job." followed by "Not yet." is not a career strategy.
The Scope Audit gives you a place to start. Ten minutes. Three scores per project. One verdict.
Then, if you qualify, bring the grid to me. Find the project that can carry your promotion. Put the next-level expectation in writing. Build the evidence. Prepare the Hall Pass request. And stop leaving your next level to memory, assumptions, and hope.
When you work together, the engagement is backed by three written guarantees — including the Two-Cycle Guarantee, subject to its conditions.
One level change can be worth more than five years of merit raises. But there is another outcome I want for you too:
Ninety days in, you stop rehearsing the promotion conversation at 2am. You stop bracing for Sunday. You stop doing the math on whether you should leave because nobody will tell you what "not yet" actually means.
You know the target. You have it in writing. And you know what work matters.
Questions
Is this only for Google employees?
The program is designed for professionals at Google and Alphabet companies. Qualification and program fit depend on level and situation.
What levels is this for?
This specific 1:1 engagement is for L5 through VP.
L4 and below receive the Scope Audit and can stay in my community until the timing is appropriate. Above VP requires a different engagement.
Is the Strategy Call free?
Yes. The Strategy Call is free and carries no obligation.
The three guarantees apply to the paid coaching engagement if you and I subsequently decide to work together.
What is the 30-Day Verdict?
When you enter the coaching engagement: in the first 30 days we do the scope work together and take it to your manager. If you do not then have, in writing, exactly what the next level requires from you, you get a full refund.
What is the Two-Cycle Guarantee?
Promoted within your next two promo cycles, or I keep coaching you free until you are.
Condition: next-level scope must be agreed in writing with your manager inside the first 60 days. See complete guarantee terms.
What is the Level Floor?
When you are promoted, your first-year comp increase will be at least $65,000. See complete guarantee terms.
Can Hall Pass cover the coaching?
I'm an approved Google supplier. For eligible Google L5–VP employees, the engagement may be fully covered through Hall Pass, Google's professional-development benefit — subject to Google's approval. If Hall Pass covers it, you receive my coaching with $0 coming out of your own pocket for the program.
On your Strategy Call, I help you prepare the request you send to your manager.
Is this a group program?
No. This engagement is private 1:1 work with me.
What happens after I qualify?
You receive the Scope Audit, complete your grid, and book a free Strategy Call.
On the call, I go through your rows, help identify the project most capable of carrying your promotion, help formulate the exact scope sentence you take to your manager, and help prepare the Hall Pass request when applicable.