Promoting from within is admirable UNTIL it means more of the same old thing.
Pros
Benefits are great. Salary is good. Location is very good. Being a part of something bigger than just your job is rewarding.
Cons
While there is some very leadership at the top, the narrow-vision in filling mid-level and senior-level management slots is disappointing. We had a position open and after a search where an external candidate was head and shoulders over internal candidates, they chose the internal guy. Now we have another Corporate Director position open and everyone is waiting to see what happens. It would be nice to get someone who can manage and who has technical skill, but they will probably select another internal guy. Promoting from within is great, but it can be very stagnating as it can promulgate a "group think" mentality. We lost out on a woman who could have led us in interesting directions for 'more of the same' and I, for one, will not be surprised if this happens again.