Passed-over, and Under-appreciated.

Question:

I just got passed over again for the next-level position in my company (came in 2nd place several times now), what should I do now?

– Signed, Frustrated in NJ

It can be very difficult when we see others get positions that we may be right for, but don’t let that stop your efforts. From what you had described in your longer email, it seems your company may be making the same mistake over and over again: Trying to find ‘any’ spot for top performers within the company, rather than the right one. This has resulted in rapid turnover, even among those ‘placed’ into positions, because they were not at the ‘right level’ in their career path for those roles in the first place.

While it may be understandable, even admirable for a company for find roles for those left out when the music has stopped with everyone scrambling for a chair during a restructuring, but simply putting an over-qualified individual in the role so that they ‘don’t lose them’ will add up to more pain for the company in the long run. You had mentioned having 5 bosses over the last 3 years. Many of those, from your description, were ‘saved’ and placed into that role, which was not necessarily the correct position for their career path and career ‘arc’ (career path + career achievement, graphed in a way to show the correct current level for the individual’s career progression). That is also why they left the role after such a short time: it was just a weigh station on the way to they right career position at another company. Short sighted decision-making during the hiring and restructuring process has wide effects across an organization and that results in both short and longer term pain for the company, its employees and their end client customers who suffer from the lack of constancy in direction, affecting results.

My advice to you is to actively be pursuing the right level of position in another company that may be better positioned to make the correct hiring choices, while continuing to go after the right positions within your company. Work hard to give your support to your new manager, but be sure you are carving out time in your personal schedule to market yourself to other opportunities as well. Be sure you are following all the Self-Recruiter® steps and use the forms provided to manage your job hunt process to maximize your efforts.

It can be scary to consider changing employers with the current economic conditions, but good candidates do get hired and those at the top of their game understand that value has value in any market.

John Crant

Author, Career Coach & Speaker
on Job Search and Career Management

Copyright © John Crant