Carrot 13

[Pulpeng]

I like my workplace - I love the pay and benefits etc.

I took (and still taking) the initiative to improve myself (on my own dime I might add) and it looked like it would pay off. I was promised a new position for months. All the while I was getting kudo's from my boss and the CEO etc about my work performance and the skills I had learned. When it came time to appoint someone the job I wanted - it went to another person with no experience or skillset required. I'm sure he'll flounder through it and come out okay. I've even offerred to help him make his way through "for the good of the company". I'm trying to be good about it but I'm seething inside.

Any suggestions on how to quell the disappointment? Or to bounce back to keep trying to perform and get the next oppurtunity.

 

[KENAT]

While it may not be wise in many situations and will depend on your relationship with your superiors, have you straight out asked why you didn't get it?

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[Pulpeng]

It was basically two bosses that could have appointed someone. My boss was playing a more political route by trying for a long term strategy. The other boss just said - This guy will do it.

I bet on the wrong horse maybe? Either way it's too late - any advice on how to get over it? Time I suppose.

 

[IRstuff]

Time wounds all heels...

TTFN

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[jmw]

Just had to give IRstuff a star for that last post.

Sorry, but nothing in life is fair and assumption is the mother of all f*** ups, or words to that effect.

In our work we will learn time and time again that management make all sorts of wrong decisions, often without the least justification. This is because there are too few good managers for the jobs available and in our working lives at the coal face we may meet them only once or twice, briefly, as they flit rapidly onward and upward.
Take every opportunity to learn from them when you encounter them.
Take every opportunity to learn from the rest too. Learn never to expect to much and learn that when it comes to looking out for you, you are the only one to be able to do that.
You also need to plan your future with some contingencies. You can never depend on ticking all the boxes and getting your just reward where you expect to get it.

This means that if you have developed a skill set on your own at your own expense and over and above the skills you needed to do your job, you shouldn't expect your own management to respect that. For one thing, they value your skills at what they paid for them which in this case is nothing.
So one way to have tested how valuable your new skills would have been would be to ask the company to contribute to your training. If they won't it is because:
[ul][li]they don't value these skills, so you won't benefit from them with this company[/li]
[li]they value the skills but don't want to pay for them. This means they won't pay for you to acquire them and they won't pay you extra for them when you've got them.[/li][/ul]

This doesn't mean that once you have these skills the company won't exploit them, on their terms, far from it.
The value to you that these skills bring is firstly that they have told you something about the company you work for and secondly they'll look good on your Resume and may help you get a better job elsewhere.

So don't regret getting the skills and don't waste time feeling offended, but equally, don't waste them. Look for another job. No hurry, but be ready and don't start feeling you owe this company any more than they pay you for, that's a very slippery slope and at the end, the company will have no similar conscience when it comes to doing the dirty on you.

Do your work and let the new guy dig his own trench, so far as it is not in your job spec to do his digging for him.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[KENAT]

Well, you could go the route of asking your boss what you need to do to earn advancement, but it doesn't sound like that'll get you far.

So, as JMW says, you may have to look elsewhere. Not necessarily in a mad panic, and look before you leap etc. but still, if you get too disgruntled at your current place you won't appreciate pay and benefits quite as much.

Or, suck it up, put your big girl panties on and quite whinging to us about it;-).

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(probably not aimed specifically at you)
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[Ron]

Look elsewhere...you're dealing with politics, not rationality...there's no way to predict or circumvent an organization that moves politically...don't waste your time.

 

[tygerdawg]

I like my workplace - I love the pay and benefits etc.

Some people would think that is enough. Try being unemployed and see if you like it then.

Continue to like your job, continue to improve yourself and hone your skills, and live your life. There will be other opportunities down the road, within or without your company.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[FeX32]

Don't help that guy.....show them what a mistake they made but say nothing...


Fe

 

[msquared48]

I have no regard or tolerance for Nepotism or KTBA antics. I have seen both "work" (for others) in the past and it sickens me.

When the economy gets better or if you have a better opportunity in the future, I would consider a change if you want to move up based on your experience.

However, for now, as you may need a good reference in the future, DO NOT burn your bridges. Play it cool, but you do not have to help the guy either.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[jmw]

One of the real grumbles my Mother had about working for a big insurance company was that she kept having to train new men how to do the job just so they could be managers.
This was of course, part of he sex discrimination that was rife back then.
Lower pay for the same work, no promotion to jobs they were qualified to do and having to train men for the jobs they could have done had they had the opportunity....
and this was originally a Quaker company ....

We can all see that this is wrong simply because there is the very visible discriminating factor of gender.
The law now provides some very good protection and the situation changes.

Now take the gender out of the equation and what else is different?

Well, the fact that no one cares and the law isn't about to help you one little bit even if what you suffer is the same sort of unfair practise.
If you were a woman, then you might have a good legal basis for a discrimination suite (if you are, then go for it).
If you are a man then you get to suffer in silence and no one gives a damn that you are being treated just as unfairly.

In this you are not in a minority.
But that's life.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[mechengdude]

How good can the place be if they don't pay for your training. Then they don't give you a "promised" promotion?

Consider updating your resume.

 

[sprinkler1000]

There is a big question one can ask when this kind of issues arises in the workplace:
Are opportunities in a firm coming later due to perseverance (a matter of time), or you will end up being left aside because of internal politics?
I guess it all comes down to what opportunities you may have outside your firm. Until that, this is what you have right now. I will give a star to jmw, great advice.

 

[MadMango]

If you like your job, stay. Having 2 bosses to fill 1 position would be a warning flag in my book though. Why didn't your boss discuss your potential with the other boss? Only someone with an MBA would know for sure. As for getting over the disappointment, you never really do, you only get more numb to its effects. Chin up and all that... opportunity will knock again, and if you keep bettering yourself as you have been it will pay off (at this company or another).

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

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[Pulpeng]

Ok - A good nights sleep and I'm feeling better. Thanks for the posts. Couple clarifications and then I think this can probably end.

I saw a need for myself and my company to take some training. It was undbudgeted and unapproved so I paid myself. At the end my boss even offered to pay for the courses after seeing the results. I suggested I had already claimed them on taxes etc and that I would trade the costs for an oppurtunity to really show what I could do and/or maybe a bonus the next year for the work.

There are lots of oppurtunities for engineers where I work (at better pay) so I'm not staying for any reason other than I like the non-pay related benefits. (Family time etc). I keep my resume up to date and I guess I'll wait and see if the new year gets me a bonus or some other oppurtunity. Until then I'm always keeping an eye out for the "perfect" job.

 

[GregTirevold]

When the OP mentions the guy who got the position having "no experience and no skill-set" I can't help but wonder if there is more to the story. Did the guy who get it have a master's degree, or perhaps some other background experience that will fit the position better once he is trained in the tech details? Does he have an amiable personality? Is the position managerial or does it deal with clients?

My basic point being that, much to the lament of engineers everywhere, technical ability is only one "leg of the table" for positions above entry level. For some jobs, especially supervisory or client relations ones, people without the strongest technical skill set may get the position because they have natural social skills and the powers that be think it is easier to teach 'adequate' tech skills than to try and teach a "techie" the social skills through Dale Carnegie, etc.

The only advice I'd offer is find out what the guy who got the position has that the OP doesn't. It may be as simple as being buddies with the dominant boss. Right or wrong the OP then has to ask himself if the skill of 'being buddies with the dominant boss' is a skill he wants to, or even can, acquire. There IS a reason why the other guy got the position, even if the reason seems silly to outsiders, and it is worth learning what that reason is if you want to advance at that company.

Engineers need to learn that the working world is NOT a meritocracy. This fact is not going to change and if advancement is something you want then you HAVE to learn the rules of that environment. We know engineers are smart enough to learn the rules but many are like cats in that their stubbornness knows no bounds.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtirevold

 

[Pulpeng]

Good points Greg.

Without going into too many details - it comes down to exposure. He's a direct worker for the other boss. I am not.

I assure you the skillset required to complete the job is not there - it could be with some training/experience but this will be baptism by fire for him. I actually feel sorry for him and believe his boss doesn't understand what is required as well.

I am torn in helping him or letting him and the boss come to the conclusion on their own that they made a mistake - which has implications in the millions for the company.

I'm planing on taking the high road and helping as they see fit. If it helps all of us succeed great. If it only helps them - I'll look for other work. I have a meeting with the other boss today to identify oppurtunities to help make it all work.

We'll see what happens.

 

[jmw]

It may be a very laudable and admirable attitude but not, I think, very realistic nor one that will necessarily do you any good.

The fact is this is a commercial operation in a competitive market. It is there to make money. Thus anyone who helps make money is entitled to a fair remuneration.

The success of the company depends on everyone doing his or her own job well and that includes management.

The management have made what you think is a bad decision and your actions will demonstrate that to be your view.

The best way for this to sort itself out is for the guy to sink or swim on his own.

If he needs training and they give it to him it tells you something, especially when you are already able to do the job and have all the necessary skills.

If this is a bad decision then he will fail and the management decision is going to be viewed in that light.

Look at the pros and cons objectively and with your own interest at heart.

If he fails and they rescind his appointment, you could be next up.

On the other hand you prop him up. It means you will do the job for him and he will get the benefits. You also have to do your own job.

The moment you stop supporting him to do your own job and he fails is the day they blame you for the failure and they may even decide you let him down for personal reasons.

Conversely, if your own job suffers, you may be faulted for that too.
And who will thank you?

The very act of supporting the guy draws attention to the poor management decision made, it hints of a criticism of management decisions, so that's one manager who will resent you and suspect you are playing politics.

And the guy you are going to support?
Will he thank you? He is more likely to resent you and suspect you want to make him look bad so you can get his job.

I find it very difficult to find a winning scenario in this for you.

Sorry, bad management decisions are managements responsibility not yours.

You would be better to get on doing your job and not getting involved in some one else's.




JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[Pulpeng]

JMW- Food for thought for sure.

 

[KENAT]

Just remember, no good deed goes unpunished.

Some of my most frustrating situations at work have been when I've tried to help someone out with their project, then they still manage to drop the ball, and some of the blame comes to me - or variations on the general theme.

That's not to say you never help, just don't go in assuming there's no way it can hurt.

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(probably not aimed specifically at you)
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