Internal advancement is very difficult - Sales Specialist TruStage Employee Review

When I was hired, I was told that there were plenty of internal advancement opportunities. That's certainly true for some people, based on the conversations I've had with several employees over the years. But many very talented people get stuck in their roles for years, applying for dozens of internal positions without success. My manager flat out told me that advancement depends on who you know. I work in a very isolated area, so I actually have almost no connections to other departments within the company. I've tried to make myself more marketable by acquiring new technical skills on my own since joining CUNA. And, even though the company covered my tuition for graduate school work in data science, I've been turned down for every role in that area due to "lack of experience." (My GPA is a 4.0, by the way). I don't get what I'm doing wrong, honestly. I've given up on moving into a new role at CUNA. I'm looking outside the company. Difficult during COVID, but necessary at this point.