Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with promotion and career

I'd like to give my year notice, please.

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:20:35 -0800

My employer is impressed enough with my work that they want to promote me into a position which would ordinarily make for a great career move. I, however, am planning on leaving in a little over a year to earn a degree in a completely different field, and thus have no interest in the job (for reasons explained after the jump.) How do I diplomatically tell them no without jeopardizing my current position, and how much, if any, of my future plans do I mention to them? I work in the IS department for a large company and, at the moment, am lucky enough to do decent work and still leave at 5:00 PM most nights (with a small amount of occasional night and weekend work that everyone is expected to do.) Later this week, I'll be having a meeting with my boss where she's essentially going to make a sales pitch for another job which under normal circumstances, would be ideal for someone in my position (far more visibility among the higher-ups, greater responsibility, increased salary, etc...)

The problem is that I don't want the job, and (other than the truth, of course) I can't think of a legitimate reason to explain why. In a little over a year I hope to be in school full time pursuing a nursing degree. At the moment, I'm taking all the prerequisite courses needed to even apply to these programs, and much of my nights and weekends are spent in class and/or studying. I have been doing this for the past year or so (taking one or two classes a semester) and have thus far done a pretty good job of managing both school and work. However, with this new job comes a lot more responsibility as well a good deal more after hours work. I wouldn't be able to accept the position and not have either school or work suffer.

I already know I'm not going to accept the position. I have no desire stay in the IT field after ten years in it (two and a half at this job), and the idea of being a nurse really appeals to me on many different levels. I'm just not sure how I should tell my boss no. Assuming, for the moment, that I wasn't planning on going into nursing, and that I was an upwardly mobile worker bee with high ambition and a desire for a larger salary, there should be no reason for me not take this job (aside from the increased hours, which I can assure you, are seen as necessary growing pains for future rewards down the road. They aren't really, but that's how it'll be portrayed.) I'd thought about telling her that I really like the work I'm doing now, and that maintaining a work/life balance is important to me, but then I keep thinking if I were a manager, is that what I'd really want to hear? Does a manager/director really want an employee on their team who, while doing good work, is content to stay exactly where he is as long as things remain status quo, especially if that person could be of greater value to the company elsewhere?

So, I guess my question is, how do I tell my boss no without jeopardizing the position I have now? Do I *gasp* actually tell them about my future plans? On the surface, that would seem (to me at least) to be a pretty stupid thing to do. It's essentially telling them that I have no real interest in my job or the company, and that I'm using them for a paycheck. On the other hand, my position will be a tough one to fill (similar positions have taken them months to fill, even in this economy) and, although I don't owe it to them, I'm sure they'd appreciate the extra notice. Or, do I simply say, "I'm flattered that you're considering me for this position, but for personal reasons I really have to decline" and just leave it at that, essentially making them guess?

What say you, hivemind? If you were a manager, what response would be least likely to raise your suspicions and allow me to stay where I currently am?

Thanks in advance.

Career Advice - How do you seek a demotion?

Dolan — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:30:14 -0800

Career Advice - How do you seek a demotion? I work in a "customer service" industry, and enjoyed and was very good working directly with customers. After our "Director" and "Assistant Director" left the company, a peer was promoted to Director and I to Assistant. We "cleaned house" to begin turning around our "branch" of the business, and so our first nine months on the job was sheer hell. After this, my Director was promoted to a "Regional Director," and I reluctantly became acting Director. For six months, I continued and expanded what we had started. After this, we hired a new Director with great experience and leadership skills, and I happily returned to Assistant. A year later, we've moved from being a "problematic branch" to one that meets targets, performs very well on critical indicators, and creates improved processes that other branches adopt.

Despite the "happy ending" you'd expect, on a daily basis, the job becomes more and more impossible due to long-standing weaknesses in the company's infrastructure. Directors and Assistants from many branches have tried for several years to prompt resolution, and failed. Recent events leave my Director and me expecting the resulting problems to get worse. We both fear burning out if we stay in these positions much longer.

So, my Director is going to retire. Since, in the grand scheme of things, my company is successful and I like both what we do and the people I work with, I want to return to my previous direct customer work. The Director and I both are willing to remain in our positions for up to 12 months to train our replacements (my future bosses) and ensure a smooth transition.

What advice would you give on how to seek, and manage well, a return to a lower position in the company?

Would you skip a step up the promotion ladder, if you could?

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:48:48 -0800

Would you apply for a job you felt underqualified for, even if it meant essentially skipping a step up the promotion ladder? Pros & cons inside. [On preview, wow, it's a day for job application questions!] I just discovered a job opening. The application deadline is rapidly approaching (uh, tomorrow!). I'm thinking of applying but have some doubts.

Getting the job would essentially mean skipping a step up the ladder. I got a promotion at my current job about two months ago. The next step up from this new position would be the job I'm considering applying for. It could benefit from me gaining some skills and experience in the job I just stepped into. Apply now, or not?

Reasons to apply --
* Nothing ventured, nothing gained; life is short; carpe diem; etc.
* It's the hiring committee's job to decide whether I'm qualified or not. Why give up without trying?
* It'd be a great career move, closer to my core interests, and at a higher level of responsibility.
* Most people in leadership positions probably felt over their head when they first got the job, right? People often spend the first month or so rapidly learning either new content or new areas of responsibility, right?
* My current job is okay, but with a shift in leadership, my interests and strongest skills (and my old department) are now somewhat outside the company's core focus. The promotion puts me in the favored department, where I'll strengthen other skills, so that's good. But the difference in interests means I might still not get much support or the most exciting opportunities. The new job would be a great match for those interests.

Reasons not to apply --
* The new job would really benefit from the skills that I will be strengthening in this new role I just stepped into. Should I just wait six months, get some accomplishments and experience under my belt, and hope that this position is still unfilled or gets re-opened?
* If I look underqualified on paper, will people remember that and look less favorably on future applications?
* I might look more qualified on paper than I really am. If I got the job, I'm afraid I wouldn't quite know what I'm doing and could let people down.
* How do I explain my desire to leave right after getting a promotion? Does that look disloyal or just ...weird? I wouldn't highlight it, but I wouldn't obfuscate it either.

Ask now or ask later?

acridrabbit — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:11:41 -0800

I'm expecting a promotion soon. I want to move to a better office. Should I ask to move now, or wait until my review? I've been at my company for 18 months and have a review coming up. I'm finishing a graduate degree in May and expect to be promoted, either at my review this month or in May/June after I graduate. There's also a chance I might have to wait until September for a promotion.

I currently have an inner office, but there's a better office with an outside window sitting empty down the hall. It's also a quieter office, and I think I would be more productive with less disruption. I am the only person with my title currently working at this company. If/when I am promoted, I'll have a manager title, and all the managers have offices with outside windows.

Should I ask my boss to move offices now, or bundle that request in with all the other negotiations surrounding my expected promotion? My boss and I are on good terms, but he tends to be a bit stingy with his staff. I'm afraid that he might see moving offices as part of my compensation and think that he can get away with giving me a smaller salary adjustment. How should I approach the issue with him?

I just got a promotion! Now where's my fat paycheck?

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:37:13 -0800

Should I be happy with my promotion, or am I getting screwed over? I have been working for a small but quickly growing company for about a year and a half now. I went back to college to finish my degree in my mid-20s, and this was the job I took after graduation, but it is not my first professional job. When I took the job, it was at a lower salary then I was hoping for, but there are many factors at play that made it seem worthwhile at the time (great benefits, flexible hours, casual environment, etc. etc.)

About four months after starting the job, my manager was promoted into a new position and I was promoted into her job. I was told at the time that it was widely recognized that I was an excellent employee and that it was fully realized that my potential to continue to be promoted was high. I was given a small raise with that promotion, but still felt underpaid for my qualifications.

For the last year, I have been diligently doing my job and also expanding my role. My company has increased staff by over 100% in this time, so everyone is busy and things are looking good. I had several candid conversations with my boss where I expressed that I would still like to explore more opportunities, and also that I needed to see a salary increase in order to stay here and stay happy.

Last week, I was given a promotion to a Managerial level job, and was told that my salary increase would be the same amount of an increase that came with my previous promotion. So, small. I was very frustrated and had a long and drawn out discussion with my boss about how we could compromise on this. For me this is both just a cut and dry issue of wanting more money AND wanting my employer to put his money where his mouth is w/r to showing me I am a valued employee. I know there have been other posts recently where the bottom line has been that once you allow yourself to be paid too little, you will never make it to the level you want - is that what is happening here?

My boss did agree that in lieu of offering me more of a salary increase, he will agree to compensate me in the form of commission for some of the revenue I generate through sales (I am not in a sales position, but there are certain products/packages that I am responsible for and which often lead to sales). He claims that his hands are tied when it comes to granting raises due to our budget already being exceeded at this time of the year, but that if I can show my relationship to the revenue, I could be granted some of the profit. He also showed me salary data for other positions around the country, and it does seem like with benefits and bonuses, factored in, I am hitting the median mark.

I do enjoy my job and don't really see finding a comparable opportunity in my geographic area. I just don't like the idea of possibly being undervalued, though I'm told I'm not. Thoughts?

Corporate Rockstar

jasondigitized — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:31:54 -0800

How do I become a cubicle king and a boardroom baron? How do I become a corporate rockstar? I am in a typical corporate office environment and am wondering why certain people climb the corporate ladder and others do not. What techniques and tactics have you personally applied to move ahead? I am looking for things related to work ethic, communication, self-promotion, appearance, relationships, use of technology, methodology, GTD, etc. Do you send emails late at night to appear to be working late? Do you suck-up to the CEO's personal assistant? Or do you simply work your ass off and get sh*t done? Take me from the mailroom to the boardroom.

What's worse, being at a job for too long or not long enough?

doppleradar — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:53:55 -0800

What's worse, being at a job for too long or not long enough? Does it look worse to stay at the same company w/ no advancement/raise for 2+ yrs, or to make a move somewhere else but not stay there longer than a year?

I'll be applying to Law School in Dec 2008 (exactly 1 yr after I graduate), but don't want to shoot my resume in the foot if the worst-case happens and I don't get in anywhere good.

Ah, corporate life.

Anonymous — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 19:16:52 -0800

I've got a research and thesis-based M.S. in engineering and a bachelor's degree from a very well-regarded school. What level on the corporate ladder should I be hired at? I took a job as a contractor with a large engineering company several months ago (>100K employees nationwide), with the understanding that I would be hired on as a full-time, regular employee if I performed well. That time has come, but the job title to which I am being funneled into is at the lowest rung on the ladder, which came as a surprise to me - my employer had indicated that my education level would be taken into account at this time (and indeed, perhaps it has).

My peers in smaller engineering firms widely condemn this as inappropriate, but theirs being smaller companies, I'm not quite sure that it is. I spoke to HR about it, who stated that "I may have a case" for being classified up one rung on the ladder. Although I enjoy working for this company, I find that my enthusiasm is considerably dampened by this development. Speaking with another employee who was hired on the same way, I found that he was placed through a similar situation and accepted a salary and title much lower than his market rate, and conceded that he had no bargaining power at the time after he was laid off at his last job. When I first started, another pair of coworkers volunteered to me after hours that they were being paid less than their market value (one nearly left before additional career development opportunities were offered to him). I take all this information with a grain of salt.

I plan on speaking with my manager and informal team leader, who are aware of the placement; when seeking feedback from them over the past few months, I have been told that I performed very well on the projects I've been assigned (in hindsight, I should have gotten this in writing). While I understand that what I've done before this position doesn't count nearly as much as what I do now within it, and if shut down by the powers that be, will likely ask for a plan/points of improvement towards rapid promotion to the title I want, what actions could/should I take here?

Being a Talent Agent

divabat — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:25:28 -0800

What does running a talent agency entail? I have so many friends and acquaintances with such varied talents left undiscovered (except by me and few others) - that sometimes I want to start a talent agency, promote their skills, and get them noticed by people who can give them opportunities. Thing is, I know next to nothing about how talent agencies work.

What, specifically, do they do? Do they go headhunting for talented people, or do the people come to them? How do they connect with the opportunity-givers - or do those people come to the agency too? What sort of talent agencies are out there? How do they operate their business - where do they earn their money? Do you need a company or can you work independently?

Any links, information, and resources greatly appreciated. I have some ideas, but I'd like to know more about what talent agenting really is before I start anything. Thanks!