Applying for a Management Promotion
Jul. 1st, 2021 09:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerI'm applying for a promotion at my job. I'm looking to become the manager of the team I currently work on. I'd be managing 4 people— three current colleagues plus the position I presume I'd have to hire to backfill for myself.
This management opportunity opened up 5 or 6 weeks ago when my then-boss left the company. Our department VP told us the news at a weekly meeting and also said she'd be conducting a search soon to replace him. I reached out to her privately to express interest in the role, inquire about her process, and gauge her support for my bid.
The VP was in no rush at the time to fill the position. "It's been a while since I've managed individual contributors, and I'd like to do it again for a bit," she explained. "Plus I need to revise the job requirements and I'm not sure how quickly I'll get to that." As for whether she'd support me, she said yes. But she also made clear that the company was going to do a full talent search, considering internal and external candidates, and that I'd have to compete against everyone else who sought the job.
The combination of the wait time followed by a full talent search made me wonder if the VP was answering a soft "No" to my bid for a promotion. I checked with a colleague who was promoted in a different department a year ago; he said it was similar for him. His direct boss and grand-boss made clear to him, almost to the point of being demeaning about it, that he was just one of many candidates being considered. Ultimately he got the job, though, because the truth was they both liked him.
This management opportunity opened up 5 or 6 weeks ago when my then-boss left the company. Our department VP told us the news at a weekly meeting and also said she'd be conducting a search soon to replace him. I reached out to her privately to express interest in the role, inquire about her process, and gauge her support for my bid.
The VP was in no rush at the time to fill the position. "It's been a while since I've managed individual contributors, and I'd like to do it again for a bit," she explained. "Plus I need to revise the job requirements and I'm not sure how quickly I'll get to that." As for whether she'd support me, she said yes. But she also made clear that the company was going to do a full talent search, considering internal and external candidates, and that I'd have to compete against everyone else who sought the job.
The combination of the wait time followed by a full talent search made me wonder if the VP was answering a soft "No" to my bid for a promotion. I checked with a colleague who was promoted in a different department a year ago; he said it was similar for him. His direct boss and grand-boss made clear to him, almost to the point of being demeaning about it, that he was just one of many candidates being considered. Ultimately he got the job, though, because the truth was they both liked him.
