Dead end?

[soggybiscuit]

A couple of years ago I applied for promotion and was told that I had 'just missed out' and that it was very,very close. Since then I have worked so hard- done additional hours when required, took on loads of extra work and was given 'projects' to do which were really just clearing other people's crap. I always work well and have a good reputation within my area.

The same opportunity has recently arisen but yet again I have been told that I 'just missed out' on it. I can't help thinking that because I am good at my job I cannot move on from it. There are no other opportunities and I feel I have hit a dead end. I feel I am wasting my time staying there now and will never progress. Should I just call it a day and move on?

Lots of people need to move to get promotion. If you want a more senior role, don't wait for opportunities where you are, get proactive and get yourself out there.

I agree with Flowery, if your current employer doesn't have the culture of promoting from within then you will need to look elsewhere to progress.

Do you have an annual review or is there an annual personal development plan in place?

The company does promote from within but there are limited opportunities. I am not as friendly and close to the management as others are though and they are the ones getting promoted, even if they have a lot less experience than me.

I do have an annual appraisal soon so will raise my concerns then. My development plan does include having opportunities to do other roles but these have not materialised.

The company promotes from within but it doesn't promote you from within. If you were someone it wanted at that higher level it wouldn't have turned you down twice.

I'm not sure what concerns exactly you are planning to raise at your appraisal. I'm assuming you asked last time what you could do to make sure the next promotion was yours?

Either you didn't do it, or you did and it still didn't work. I don't think raising concerns and then waiting another two years for the next of limited opportunities to come up is a sensible strategy if you're ambitious and want to progress.

I tried for promotion and failed 6 times in a previous job. Every time it was "not enough experience" which was true in some cases, but when I would then ask to develop I was turned down.

After the final attempt, which was while I was on maternity leave, I was told that clearly I needed more experience in order to move upwards, and return to work following maternity leave was the ideal point at which to move departments. They left it until the Thursday before my Monday return (a new department would have been a different location: I quite needed to know really so I knew where to turn up!) to decide that no, they weren't going to do that.

They didn't want me, plain and simple. So I got my promotion by moving organisation. They tried to get in the way of that too: tried to tell me that I wasn't allowed to leave before I'd done 13 weeks post maternity leave. My notice period took me to 14: they didn't give up on this for the entire month.

Flowery maybe not concerns as such,more disappointment that I cannot progress there after being assured there were lots of opportunities to do so. My development plan does mention opportunities for additional learning but when these have arisen other colleagues,who don't actually want to cross skill and learn new things, have been given them instead.

I have all the necessary experience that is required for the role so I am not given that as a reason Manchester. I won't wait to apply again only to be rejected so will look for opportunities elsewhere now.

Been there and my advice is to just move on. Do not waste any more time than you have to in your current organisation.

Some companies have a terrible culture for promotions. In my previous previous role you needed to wear the right clothes, have the right handbag and brown nose the right people to be promoted.