Annoyed at colleague leaving then offered a promotion

[SharkAttack200]

I am bitter. I know.

I applied for a promotion at work. I'm qualified for it, more experienced than requested and meet the criteria.

Last week a colleague I like came over to my desk and told me she was leaving having accepted a job elsewhere. Congratulated her, all good. In the conversation I mentioned I had applied for the promotion, she said great, hope you get it. Usual pleasantries.

Colleague is good at her job. Same position as me in different areas of our business, so not the issue (I actually trained her on parts of it). I am more experienced than she is and she doesn't meet the minimum criteria for the promotion hence looking elsewhere for a raise.

She told management about the offer (didnt hand it her notice). And management told her to apply for the promotion instead of leaving. We both interviewed and she got the job. I was complimented on interview but 'just narrowly missed out'.

I know if they gave me the position she would have left whereas giving it to her means they keep us both. I understand it made business sense for them to do this. And it made sense for colleague to play the offer card for more money.

So how do I stop feeling so annoyed at how this played out? I'd rather not leave as I like my company and ethos but may be the only option.

And I know IABU. She is good.

Yeah there would be no coming back from that for me.

Keep your self respect and find somewhere that will value you.

Time to polish your CV.

Apply for the job she was leaving for, you are a better applicant as you have more experience.

How did she get promoted if you have more experience and she didn't even meet the minimum criteria? They've promoted her to keep her and at your expense.

I'd be very annoyed if I was you and speaking to HR...

And yes, look for another better paid job!

I think leaving really is the option you have. Once you have some resentment (understandably) then you’ll grow to dislike the company and ethos.

Career advancement really is based on moving on every 3/4 years usually

Your company doesn't value you, and only values her because she was about to give them a recruitment problem.
I'd leave. Thank your (internally) for making their mindset clear as say.

Time for you to start looking elsewhere.

They don't deserve your loyalty. Take it elsewhere.

When I was on maternity leave a colleague who did exactly the same job as me was promotoed while I was out of the picture. I wasn't even given the opportunity to apply. I didn't want to work for a company that operated in this way and left for something better.

You're going to have to leave. Sorry but I think that place is done for you now.

Same. It's like they waited..

This happened to me. I smiled through my resentment while quietly applying for jobs on the side. Snagged a better gig with more money very quickly. The shock on their faces when I handed in my notice a few weeks later was worth all the aggro. Know your worth, OP.

Get your CV out there!

It sounds like management team doesn’t appreciate their staff until they are losing them. When you get a better offer elsewhere, you win either way - nice new job on more money or current employer offers you more.

Have you asked for a raise?

If the person you trained is getting a position above you, then you must be very good at your job and potentially worth more than you're currently getting.

In all honesty, I would be happy with a bigger salary and the same level of responsibility, rather than a bigger salary plus increased workload.

So use this as a negotiating tool.

Speak to management and explain that you know you have more qualifications than the person who got the job and they need to incentivise you to not look elsewhere. They can pay you more to do the job you already do, which includes training people at a more senior level than you.

They're obviously keen for people not to leave, so use that to your advantage.

I would look for another job too and when you get an offer use that as a bargaining chip. Apparently that is what it takes in your company to get a promotion.

What is HR's explanation for how someone who didn't meet the minimum requirements for the job was told to apply?

There's nothing wrong with what you describe, though unfortunate for you. On the face of it, advising someone about an opportunity is fine, it's not a guarantee she'll get it.

However this stands out:

she doesn't meet the minimum criteria for the promotion

In that case it's unfair & due process hasn't been followed & I would complain.

Similar thing happened to me and I was absolutely gutted over it. It felt like such a slap in the face. I did enjoy working there.

Started applying for jobs, first job I was offered was a 35% pay rise and company much more family friendly/ can work from home more etc / treated better and less stressful. Handed my notice in a month after the incident, felt great. It's been 12 months since this and I'm still happy with my decision to leave x

I'd be handing in my notice and applying for the job she just bailed on.

Honestly, this would anger me enough to either apply for work elsewhere, or make moves to move elsewhere in the company. Their loss! If your less qualified colleague can apply and get offers, then you'll definitely get something. No company is that good that it's better sticking with them under these circumstances.

YANBU for how you feel, and good luck if you look elsewhere.

Something similar happened to me, I was invited to apply and then the hiring manager's mate applied, he chose her and his feedback for my interview was to basically rip me to shreds for spurious reasons. It was very clear my face didn't fit for career progression within the department so I turned elsewhere, and achieved a much bigger pay increase than if I'd stayed internal and waited patiently for opportunities that weren't materialising.

Time for you to move on, I think.

It royally takes the piss when they decide you'll just fall in line and do what they expect, to your own detriment.

I had this sort of situation once. Applied for a role, unsuccessful because lacking experience, fair enough. Did the role as stand up on overtime for months to get experience. Applied again. Didn't get it because 'it made sense to appoint someone else and keep you available for overtime stand up'. In the next breath they asked would I work that weekend, and were stunned speechless when I said no!

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

It's the mansgements fault not your colleagues but yes I'd be annoyed as you said she didn't meet minimum criteria for promotion yet they said apply?!

Use this as a negotiating tool. ✔ What @StopMindlesslyScrolling said.