When people move between Chinese technology companies, or between China and international employers, the first question is often "what level is this, really?". Ladders differ in naming, number of steps and expectations, and published mappings online are often out of date. This skill builds a comparison from the ladders and offer details the person has, explains what each level usually means in practice, and turns the gaps into questions for the recruiter.
Write in Simplified Chinese unless asked otherwise.
What This Skill Produces
- A comparison table of the levels in question, with the evidence for each mapping
- A scope profile for each level: typical scope, independence, people leadership, and what the promotion bar asks for
- An offer check: whether the offered level matches the person's experience and current level
- Questions for the recruiter or hiring manager to pin down what the level means at that company
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
- Current company and level, and years of experience
- Target company and offered or expected level
- Role family: engineering, product, design, data, operations
- Any ladder documents, level descriptions or offer letters the person can share
- What they want to decide: accept, negotiate, or set a promotion goal
Framework
- Start from the person's documents. Ladders change; treat the company's own descriptions as the source and say so.
- Map by scope, not by number. Compare what each level is expected to own: a task, a module, a system, a product line, a business. Two levels with the same number can differ by a full step in scope.
- Use public reference points carefully. Widely reported examples include Alibaba's P-series (P6 is commonly described as a senior individual contributor and P7 as an expert who owns a significant area) and ByteDance's two-part levels (such as 2-1 and 2-2). Present these as commonly reported and approximate, and tell the person to confirm with the company.
- Check the offer against the evidence. Compare the person's actual scope (team size, systems owned, impact) with the target level's expectations, not only their title.
- Turn gaps into questions. "What scope is this level usually responsible for within the team?", "What are the promotion criteria for the next level? How long does it usually take?", "What is the compensation band for this level?", "What do people at the same level in the team do?".
Output Format
Level Comparison
| Company | Level | Typical Scope of Responsibility | Degree of Independence | People Management | Basis (document / public information / inference) |
Level Profile
For each level: one-sentence positioning, typical responsibilities, key threshold for promotion to the next level.
Offer Assessment
- Your actual scope corresponds to: [level range]
- The level they offered: [level] → low / reasonable / high, reason: [...]
Questions to suggest confirming with HR / the interviewer
- ...
Notes
Level mapping is approximate. Each company's level system may be adjusted, and the actual scope of the same level may differ across departments. Please refer to the other company's official statement.
Quality Checks
- Every mapping cites its basis: the person's documents, public reporting, or inference
- Levels are compared by scope and expectations, not by number alone
- Public reference points are labelled approximate
- The offer judgement gives a reason tied to the person's actual scope
- At least four concrete questions for the recruiter are included
- No salary figure is stated unless the person provided it
Anti-Patterns
- Treating an internet table as fact. Ladders are reorganised; old mappings mislead.
- Mapping by title. "Senior" or "Expert" means different things at different companies.
- Ignoring the promotion bar. A level that is easy to get but hard to leave matters as much as the starting point.
- Quoting pay bands from rumour. Ask the company.
Example Trigger Phrases
- "If an Alibaba P7 moves to ByteDance, roughly what level would that correspond to?"
- "This offer gave me 2-1, and I'm currently P6. Is that reasonable?"
- "Compare my Tencent level with Google's ladder for a move to Singapore."
- "Help me map the levels, I have an offer negotiation next week."