Frustration with promotion delay

[creighton0123]

Quick explanation:

 

I have worked for my company for four years now. When I started, my team was two: me and my coworker. He was promoted to manager... of me. Since then, the team has grown from 4 to 9. My manager is now leaving and it has created a void for a new manager to be promoted.

 

In the past, when he has gone on vacation, I was asked to be acting manager of the team and have done a stellar job - noticed throughout the entire company as being effective, organized, and innovative. In the four years, I have filled the manager void for a total of 14 weeks (vacations + paternity leave + travel to foreign office).

 

Now my second line manager, despite avid praise of my ability to lead the team in my manager's absence, wants to hire externally and claims "I don't have experience", but my industry is one such that you have to be given a shot at management in order to gain experience...

 

I'm stuck in a loop now. I need experience to... get experience?

 

I talked to him today and explained that I am a very good choice for the role. I know my coworkers, how they deal with various management styles, their strengths, and their weaknesses. I am familiar with our platform. I am familiar with our processes. I am trusted and respected by other workers in the company and am a top performer. And I have done the job before for 3 and a half months over the last four years.

 

I am in a position now where my second line manager is "mulling it over" and will give me an answer sometime "in the next three weeks".

 

I even went so far as to pitch that this is a great step in my career path, would save the company money and time in hiring and bringing on board a third party manager, and is the exact situation my second line manager has been grooming me for (team leadership).

 

Why three weeks? We're a small company of 105 employees in three different offices. Other folks have been promoted internally to leadership roles without hesitation.

 

I asked him and he just said he "wants someone to bring in new ideas or tactics, but sees the pros and cons of hiring externally vs. promoting me".

 

I... just don't get it. My coworkers and other folks caught wind of this through no fault of mine (second line bounced this off of another manager who didn't keep her mouth shut) and their all flabbergasted - even the other manager.

 

But of course, he adds, "it's not about me"..... when it is, actually, about me and the next logical step in my career path.

 

Needless to say, I'm venting. I'm frustrated. It's a no brainer decision. On top of that, promotions in a small company are so few and far between. Who knows when the next chance is going to come. Perhaps another four years?

 

It sucks that I have to wait three weeks to get an answer. I love this company, my coworkers, and my job and I want to work to make the company successful. I want to build a career in this company, but the same old job for years and years on end does not a career path make.

 

I have to play substitute manager for three more weeks, bringing my total up to 15 weeks to decide that I'm not a good fit, and then play substitute manager for another five to six weeks while we hire my new permanent boss to "relieve me".

 

In what world does this make sense?

[pink_sugar]

That sounds frustrating, but sadly so many businesses are like this. If you don't get the promotion and you really feel the need to move forward with you career, I wouldn't hesitate to start looking for other work. You don't owe this company anything.

[creighton0123]

That sounds frustrating, but sadly so many businesses are like this. If you don't get the promotion and you really feel the need to move forward with you career, I wouldn't hesitate to start looking for other work. You don't owe this company anything.

 

Yeah. I kind of agree, but the thing is I want to move into the management path and to do that without a management background, I need to put time in with another company and hope another management job opens up - only to have the possibility of the same thing happen.

 

I'm just tired of this "You're qualified enough to fill in, but not to get the position when it opens up."

[jellybean89]

To me, it sounds like the hiring manager isn't impressed with your abilities.

 

Maybe talk to him about his hesitation to promote you?

 

Most companies usually hire from within if there are qualified applicants..saves time, money and it is a big boost to the employee and the company to have an internal candidate promoted because they have knowledge of how the company runs.

 

Maybe also ask for a 90 day probationary period to see if it is a good, permanent fit? I don't think it would be a good idea to get argumentative with him or imply it's a no-brainer to him. It's also not good that the others in the office know about this.

[Smthn_Like_Olivia]

I'm really sorry you're dealing with this and feeling this way, but I know what you're going through. My previous boss strongly believed in promoting from within. He felt it helped mold and grow his team to be stronger and we only only filled positions from outside when there was no one qualified or interested in what was available. This made our staff want to stay on long-term because they could see growth for themselves within the company.

 

Now I have a new boss and he is of the exact opposite mindset. He disregards experienced internal candidates and always seems to go searching outside first. Morale has been sliding and all of our managers are unhappy and have begun looking for jobs elsewhere. In a situation similar to yours, we had a manager running her dept for 3 years. Suddenly they decided to create a director position for her dept. The boss told her, "Don't bother to apply. You're not qualified." How could she possibly not be qualified when the only change was really her title and pay and having another direct report under her?? She took a position with another dept shortly after.

 

IMO, the 3 weeks excuse is just a stall tactic. He will use this time to interview and consider other candidates, and when he's found someone, he will tell you they decided to go with someone else. I would start looking for something somewhere you can grow and excel your career and talent. Good luck.

[creighton0123]

Olivia,

 

Well, the time is half up now and the job hasn't even been posted online. There is zero movement to bring in candidates (company policy is to list online, since we have a tool to track interviews). I have been the de facto manager during this time and the team is doing quite well and is fairly organized. Right now, however, the team is so small that there are no other viable candidates for the position. Most of the team is less than one year and doesn't have the knowledge, discipline, or desire to manage the team.

 

I do currently have standing offers from two other managers in the company to move over to their teams, and their teams have a history of career drive for employees. Only problem is I'm not sure I would be very happy doing those jobs.

 

Correction: Just noticed that the job posting for external interviews just went up. A slap in the face, if you ask me.

Edited April 20, 2014 by creighton0123

[ChatroomHero]

Move to the other department. I have been through this type of thing. I will tell you that if your boss only received applications from five 18 year olds with 0 experience and without even a high school diploma, one would be your new boss in a couple of weeks.

 

 

You have proven you can do the job. he knows that, you know that. You are at a point where either you need to call him on it or move on, either a different department or a different job. He gave himself a 3 week buffer hoping you would forget about it, he just delayed having to confront the issue for at least 3 weeks.

 

 

Frankly, you were never considered. You can call him on it and let him know that when they hire your new boss you don't feel qualified to fill-in and train that person based on the fact he already said you were not experienced enough, or you can leave the company or go to a new department.

 

 

When you go to the new department or company, you need to "sell" yourself as being motivated and let them know upfront if you are not moving up through the ranks you will not be happy and you will not sit still. It's a skill to sell yourself like that, but if you move to another department where the manager has already asked you to join, it should be easy to tell that person that you will plan on moving up through the ranks regardless of which company it is with.

 

 

Probably not a great example but when I had a boss say something completely jokingly like, "oh, I'll fire you"..."or I'll dock your pay"..."or I'll make you work all weekend", I have replied, "Well fire me on a Thursday because I want a 3-day weekend before I start my new job". The simple fact is I let them know, that I know my own value and remind them I do have other options.

[Eternal Sunshine]

Sadly you need to move on. I would start applying for other positions. If you stay after an external candidate is hired, frustration and unhappiness will eat away at you....

[jellybean89]

I agree.

 

If an external posting has been posted, that signals no internal candidates were selected.

 

Focus your time and attention to the other offers and decide if one of them is a better fit. If neither are interesting or motivating to you; maybe its time to start looking outside your current company.

[creighton0123]

Quick update:

 

Manager received pressure from above him to concede and had me put together a management plan. Come next week, I will be given a trial period as team manager for three months. They will take the job posting down during that time and not look for alternatives.

[Radu]

Quick update:

 

Manager received pressure from above him to concede and had me put together a management plan. Come next week, I will be given a trial period as team manager for three months. They will take the job posting down during that time and not look for alternatives.

 

Some potentials :

- he does not like you, or who you are

- he had someone in mind when he posted it, a buddy, a distant relative, etc ...

- he is one of those ppl who strongly believes in hiring ppl from outside to promote and in his own passive-agressive way is trying to enforce it

 

Either way, you made yourself an enemy for someone on top of him intervening on your behalf, so tread carefully ... his next step if he wants to make his plan work is to prove you are not good enough in these next 3 months ... either to hire that/different person or to get some revenge.

[TAV]

I think you should have taken one of the other offers and worked your way up into the organisation from there; who knows even back to the department you came from in the job you want. I see it happen all the time in my workplace. People leave for a year or so and then come back (or are asked to return), able to make demands and get the salary or job they wanted originally.

 

If I did not have 2 kids to feed and the added perks of working my schedule around them, I'd be doing that because like you I've been waiting for a promotion for ages (meanwhile had 2 different line managers who indicated on my year review that I would make a good team leader) and overlooked because the higher up manager is an old dinosaur who is uncomfortable puttting a woman in that position.

 

That's not to say I will not do that in future.

 

I hope your 3 month trial will go without hiccups and/or internal politics and you will get fully promoted. Good luck!!

[Standard-Fare]

This sucks, but pouting about it in the interim period isn't going to get you anywhere. Instead you should put in 200 percent effort to show that you ARE the right person for the job. Go over the top.

 

If the weeks pass and you aren't chosen, then it's time for you to get a new job.

[creighton0123]

Just wanted to update everyone. After a fair bit of back and forth, I was granted the promotion.

 

Took a fair bit of convincing, but I am now settled into my new role and performing at a much higher level than my manager anticipated.

 

:-D