Internal Promotion, but a bit weird...

Badger_Lady

Hellooo!

I've not historically had much luck with these, which is why I tend to "self-promote" (leave) on a fairly regular basis, but this is a bit of an odd one. Bear with me.

I started 1 year ago, in a job I'm perfect for. They knew that after 20 minutes of interview, when they offered me the job outright and relocated me 100 miles. There was even mention at the time of me seeking promotion to the next band fairly quickly.

Six months later, my line manager left. "Great!", I thought, her job's perfect for me... but they decided not to replace her so the job was never advertised and I simply started reporting into a different person. That person is now taking over (at least temporarily) the top job, two bands above me, but I'll still be reporting straight into him.

Recently, with the whole "anniversary" thing, I've been getting twitchy about job prospects and talking to my boss about "where this is going" and "what I need to get there". We agreed that I'm outperforming my role and should be looking at stepping up to the next band, although we're yet to work out a plan of action.

In the meantime, they start advertising for this new job - my same job title, same job description, reporting into the same guy, on the next band!

Well, I stumbled across it (no mention from boss) and emailed him asking for authorisation to apply. He said more than happy to do so and advised me on areas to concentrate my application on.

Thing is, I've got a heavy dose of women's intuition that this role has already been earmarked, indeed created, for someone else who works in a different team. For the last few weeks, he's been sitting near us, getting copied into our team emails, and coming along to most of our project meetings. And whoever gets this role will be working on that project.

So I'm finding it really hard to work up the motivation to really go for this - are they just pandering to me by letting me apply? Is it really possible to get passionate about a job application when you know you're going to be gazumped? If they were serious, wouldn't they have mentioned it in all my career discussions???

I want to go through with it to show "enthusiasm and ambition", and because it would be stupid not to apply for "my job with more cash", which is basically what this amounts to.

Help / thoughts???

therealdessie

I sort of agree with your intuition, and I think it's fair to say that they would welcome any application because they likely have to... but this idea of self promotion worries me. You say you've been there a year, and you're ready for a promotion? I would be worried if I was the line manager that you'd be ready to move on six months later - that might be why you weren't considered. Sometimes you have to stick something out that you don't like/can easily do for a period of time just to show you have commitment.

Badger_Lady

See what you're saying, but the fact is I'm a fast developer - they even mentioned promotion when they were hiring me! And let's face it, you don't get to be Managing Director by committing yourself to a low-level position.

Anyway, this job basically is my current job, so hardly a case of "not sticking to it". I move on usually once every two years, onto a higher level of seniority on one solid career path (same discipline, same industry). When I first got my current job, I thought it might be a keeper, but when you keep getting "Exceeds Expectations" on your performance reviews...

From the boss's point of view, it's a case of "use me or lose me"

butterflylady

Hi Badger Lady,
I agree totally with your routine of leaving a job after 2 years so you can improve your career. I tend to do the same myself, although I have no set in stone career plan, I normally end up getting bored and if my skills aren't used to there full potential then i do move on.

Conor_3

butterflylady wrote: »

Hi Badger Lady,
I agree totally with your routine of leaving a job after 2 years so you can improve your career.

And how far up the management ladder has that got you?

therealdessie

I think you've answered your own concerns there, Badger. If you weren't given the job in the first place then something must have held you back, and I think that would be your lack of commitment. No company wants to take someone on who will leave them at the drop of a hat if they don't feel they're getting what they've deserved, and nobody will promote someone who only sees it as a short-term opportunity.

I've had plenty of promotions in my time and each career move I have made has taken me further up the management scale, but I've done that by proving I can stick out my job for as long as it takes and make improvements within my sphere of influence. I have never told an employer that if they refuse to recognise my brilliance then I'll go to someone who will, because my employers are experienced people who know when and how to recognise achievement - and do when it's merit-worthy.

Badger_Lady

^ Well hang on, I never "threaten to leave"! I just make it clear that I'm going places, and that is usually recognised - the girl who originally employed me thought it was brilliant that I was so ambitious and kept going on about how the sky was the limit at my new company.

I don't think anyone can criticise my method - I've more than doubled my salary in the last 4 years and now have a CV that could get me almost anywhere (the company I work for and role I've played are internationally recognised).

I've literally blown everyone away with my performance here and made it clear that I'm more than happy to stay and continue working on the same path as long as there's room for me (i.e. no glass ceilings). And my boss is at least ambitious as me, meaning he has no fear of my own ambitiousness.

And I'm not sure what you meant by "If you weren't given the job in the first place..." because this has only just been created.

And ideas of "more experienced" can vary - at my last employer, they had a rule that "to be this band, you must have 5 years experience; to be this band you must have 8...", yet that didn't necessarily reflect the employees' abilities. If I can learn quickly, why shouldn't I achieve promotion earlier? I've been doing my job 5 years and, according to my last employer, I would need at least 12 years' experience to work at my current level.

The Director of my department was 32 - how did he get there at that age; by waiting 5 years between each promotion?

Anyway, all off topic - my main question is how to get motivated about applying for a position that my boss has deliberately created in order to bring an external person into the team... in other words, a job I've got no hope of getting (this time around).

How to I drum up enough enthusiasm to really get my employers thinking about my future?

Zazen999

Badger_Lady wrote: »

Anyway, all off topic - my main question is how to get motivated about applying for a position that my boss has deliberately created in order to bring an external person into the team... in other words, a job I've got no hope of getting (this time around).

How to I drum up enough enthusiasm to really get my employers thinking about my future?

Hi
I have known jobs created for specific people; and unfortunately they often fail to live up to the dream.

I have also known others to come along and sweep the original person off the board; so it is possible.

What has this person got going for them? You need to outshine them in those ways, as well as what you already do.

I'm more interested in why a job at one grade is the same job at another? Is there anything in there that brings the job role to a higher level? I don't know what you do so am just clutching at straws but more financial management; people management, higher profile etc??? More results expected???

I would also seriously question why your boss didn't give you the nod; perhaps before you apply you need to have a quiet word around why you weren't being encouraged to apply for the role in the first place; is there something that you aren't picking up on [although your intuition knows what, it just doesn't know why]. Why was this not put into your plan of action????

Alternatively, if you are doing a fab job in this role; they aren't going to want you to move up are they? Esp not if they can get you at the same price. So, you do need to decide whether if you go for it and don't get it, is your future there short term only?

Badger_Lady

Thanks Zazen

I've heard through the grapevine that this role has been created specifically to oversee a large-scale project (though this isn't mentioned in the advert). At the moment, my job is to oversee major projects, but this particular one is more like a program and therefore more involved than usual, although the role itself is essentially the same. It's also exactly what my boss has been talking to me about being my next career step.

Does that help to clarify what I'm yapping on about? The band changes don't automatically make me "somebody else's boss" or involve any great change, they just enable me to work on bigger and more exciting things. That's also why proving excellence at the moment can only help.

The chap who I now know has been invited to apply, is actually who I took over from - he made a sideways move into a separate team last year. His major advantage is that he's been in the company for decades and therefore knows the company's systems much more intricately than I do. I don't know much else about him, having never worked with him, except that from talking to other team members he had a pretty rough ride here and he'd be hesitant about coming back into our team.

Yes, I think my biggest concern is why my boss didn't bring it up. He's sat there in a catchup saying, "Badger, I think we need to get you into a position where you're managing programs at a higher band level"; exactly that position comes along within a week and he doesn't mention it??? The only (positive) reason I can think for this is that they want proof I'm keen enough to apply on my own initiative . Yes, unlikely, I know :rolleyes:

Thanks for your words - very encouraging! I finally feel like maybe I do have a realistic chance, provided I put everything into this application.

Keeping_Positive

Ive been caught out by applying internally for postions pretty much allocated. I was upset but used the interview as 1) to say I want to progress and 2) as interview practice.

Zazen999

Keeping_Positive wrote: »

Ive been caught out by applying internally for postions pretty much allocated. I was upset but used the interview as 1) to say I want to progress and 2) as interview practice.

Hi both

A friend of mine in my last but one organisation kept applying for jobs; she kept being told to apply and never got them. For a while she was pretty disheartened but just 2 months ago she got the job she really really should have got at the wage she wanted...whilst the other roles she had applied for turned out to be poisoned chalices.