To not apply for a promotion?

[nopromotion5]

My work place is advertising a job one level higher than my current role for internal applicants only. My colleagues (same job position as me) are all excitedly applying for it but I just don't want to. However, I'm starting to feel a tinge of sadness and maybe regret?

Originally I decided not to as I don't meet the criteria, but none of my colleagues do and they are still applying. My colleagues also have 1-2 years more experience than me so they stand a better chance, they are also a lot more confident and they, in my opinion, sort of suck up to our manager. I'm a lot more quiet but I do my work well. The only advantage I have over my colleagues is I have a master's degree and they don't, which is one of the desired criteria for the position.

Hand on heart I don't think I stand a chance. I'm the newest team member and I think I would feel disheartened to get a rejection from my current manager and see a colleague get it instead. I think I would take it personally. My colleagues don't understand my reasoning and think I just should apply.

Why are your colleagues avid for you to apply if they themselves are applying? That is slightly odd. They might be wonderful people who want the best for you, of course, but is that likely if they are suck ups?

I’m normally in favour of women pushing forward in their careers but you’ll know better than me whether you think you can do the role. Why do you think that you don’t stand a chance? Because of your colleagues’ strategy with your boss or because you think you are inexperienced or lacking capability? If the former, I’d apply. If the latter, keep your powder dry because there will be other opportunities.

Go for it.

From a career perspective, I would apply as it shows your leadership team that you are ambitious. Assuming your company is a good one, even if you don't get it, it should be beneficial for you as presumably they will sit down with you afterwards to provide detailed feedback. This should highlight areas of your skillset that you need to develop and they should help you to develop them.

If you want it apply for it, it doesn't matter if you don't get it but you will highlight your abilities in an interview process. If you don't want it then don't.

Do you actually want the advertised role OP as that isn't clear from your post? If so, then as PP says then you should go for it, especially given your qualifications. Remember also that time in a job isn't always relevant - some people just have the same year repeated whereas others have undertaken projects etc and therefore bring more to the party. Good luck with whatever you decide but remember you have a binary choice here - apply or be content not to apply

Think carefully about whether you actually want the job or not. I had a lightbulb moment when I realised that I loved my current job and if I went for promotion I’d be doing a lot less of what I actually loved doing, and more time doing admin and trying to solve boring problems like rotas and timetables.

Do you want the job and do you feel ready for a more responsible role? It's all very well displaying ambition but if you are not ready for the role, get the job and then struggle it will not do your confidence any good at all but if you are nearly there and opportunities like this don't come up very often then it may be worth submitting an application.
It can be difficult not to feel personally rejected if you don't get a job but it's just business and you will survive and move onwards and upwards even if you are not successful this time. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Female. Male.

Selection criteria 1. Tick. Tick.
Selection criteria 2. Tick. Tick, mostly.
Selection criteria 3. Tick. Might have.

Selection criteria 4. Ooh, not really. God no.

Selection criteria 5. Umm, I could try. Who’s gonna know?

                                                 Doesn’t apply.            Gets the job.

Sorry, it was formatted better in my original post.

Any idea how often such opportunities come up? If it's frequently, then not applying seems reasonable, and if your manager asks, you can say you wanted a bit more time in your current role but would be interested in anything in (an amount of time) in the future.

@TheSandgroper

I was going to say similar. For many years it would never have occured to me to apply for a job if I didn't have all the criteria needed and could give specific examples to back it up. However, I noticed a trend of people who just apply and seem to get what they want. (I could mention the adage of being promoted to their level of incompetence but it's not always the case.)
OP, there are many reasons to apply and only one not to. If you really don't want the job then don't apply. Apart from that I would. And if you're not that bothered about getting it then you shouldn't see if as a slight if they turn you down. The interest in it may put you on the boss' radar for future opportunities which may be worthwhile.

If you don’t apply you will never know. Even just applying shows managers that you are keen for development so if you don’t get it now, have the conversation about what you need to do to get there when next opportunity comes along.

If you want it, go for it. It took a while, but now I look at promotions etc in very simple terms - if you apply and don't get it, you are in exactly the same position as if you didn't apply, but with less regret and less damage to your career. No-one judges someone for not being successful in a promotion, but lots in management will judge someone who doesn't even try. Likewise you are more likely to regret not going for it.

Re experience etc.. men apply for roles they are underqualified for all the time, but women's don't- it's a big part of why they get ahead in the workplace. Fwiw I'm by far the youngest in my office, with the fewest years experience. Im also the most senior and have been for a while. I technically don't meet the job criteria, but can do it standing on my head. If you want it, go for it!

@Iamthewombat

Why are your colleagues avid for you to apply if they themselves are applying? That is slightly odd. They might be wonderful people who want the best for you, of course, but is that likely if they are suck ups?

I’m normally in favour of women pushing forward in their careers but you’ll know better than me whether you think you can do the role. Why do you think that you don’t stand a chance? Because of your colleagues’ strategy with your boss or because you think you are inexperienced or lacking capability? If the former, I’d apply. If the latter, keep your powder dry because there will be other opportunities.

I don't really know why my colleagues want me to apply. Some of them are kind of hard to interpret and I do feel like maybe they don't have my best interests in mind. For example, in a meeting my manager mentioned I needed to do an assessment next week which I was happy with. One of my colleagues then piped up and said "oh she's ready to do the assessment now! She should do it now" and I then had to say "I would prefer to do it next week" because I felt I still needed a little bit more time before the assessment.

There are elements of the new role I do prefer - it's less hands on and slightly more interesting to me. It also has a £10,000 pay increase(!) However, it involves supervising colleagues in my current role and I'm not particularly assertive.

I also know that I don't want to pursue this career area any further. I am just biding my time in my current role so that it doesn't look like I'm unreliable on my CV by leaving after just a few months. However, the promotion would give me better transferable skills than my current role.

If you are interested in the job then apply for it. It doesn't matter what others are doing, or even whether you think you'll get it. If you want it go for it.

A few years back my DH had a similar opportunity come up. He was telling me about it conversationally and speculating at who would get the job. I suggested he apply. He said there was no way he'd get it as he was the least experienced person there. He applied anyway, got the job and was really good at it. The person he was convinced would get it eventually got the opportunity when he moved on

I don’t like the sound of your colleagues. Almost as if they are trying to nobble the competition, or encourage you into applying for a role that they don’t think you’ll get, to put you in your place or something. You should be flattered because it means that they perceive you as a threat.

Do you think that they would be deliberately difficult to manage? Could you deal with it if they were?

Are you planning to change career entirely or just change focus? And, do you trust your line manager?

That’s to determine how much hassle you’d put up with to be in a role you might not care much about, and to see whether you could rely on your manager for support if you got it and your colleagues started playing up.

By the way, if you were able to stand up for yourself and not be pushed into doing the assessment early by your colleagues, it sounds as if you are capable of being assertive. So don’t let that put you off applying.

@Iamthewombat

I don’t like the sound of your colleagues. Almost as if they are trying to nobble the competition, or encourage you into applying for a role that they don’t think you’ll get, to put you in your place or something. You should be flattered because it means that they perceive you as a threat.

Do you think that they would be deliberately difficult to manage? Could you deal with it if they were?

Are you planning to change career entirely or just change focus? And, do you trust your line manager?

That’s to determine how much hassle you’d put up with to be in a role you might not care much about, and to see whether you could rely on your manager for support if you got it and your colleagues started playing up.

I took it as the complete opposite. That they think the op is a lot more capable than she gives herself credit for, and are trying to encourage her. There are nice people/workplaces out there. I guess only she has an idea of their motives.

If you would like to do the job one day then apply now, treat it as a learning experience so you'll be better prepared the next time. I went to an interview this week I didn't get, thought I'd be crushed but actually got some incredibly useful feedback and am geared up ready for my next one. Apply for the ones you're not so sure about to perfect your approach when the dream job comes along.