Q & A Table of Contents
Missing A Step On My Career Ladder
From: Rasha, London
Question: I have been working with my company for 3 and a half years now. All my performance appraisals and feedback from my bosses have been saying that I have got a lot of potential and that I am doing very well. However, I should have been promoted to the next work level/job grade approximately a year and a half ago, but I have been really messed about due to changes in working lines, a company merger, etc. etc.
Now I am on a 9 month secondment abroad at the corporate centre doing a job that is at the higher job grade level but actually receiving the grade and pay of the lower grade. I had discussed this with management before leaving for the secondment but they failed to give me an answer that made sense as to why this was happening to me, and insisted I would get the actual job grade only upon my return from the secondment. I am now due to return to my home company in a months time, and they are offering me a position at that promised job grade (which I should have received at least a year ago in all fairness).
I am extremely frustrated though, and strongly feel that this job should now be at the next higher job grade, but my previous experiences of negotiating with them have been useless, as I receive nothing but vagueness and evasion which eventually leaves me feeling lost and helpless. I suppose I am in strong need of developing my negotiation skills. Could you possibly help me resolve this situation? Any tips, advice or guidelines would be much appreciated.
Response: Your frustration sounds more than appropriate. While it makes sense to 'keep your day job' and accept the new position at the higher grade and pay rate, you may be well-advised to take a look at the job market to see whether you can do better someplace else. 'Someplace else' can include a different division or location in your current company as well as possibly a different company and/or a different location. Even if you stay with your current company, it is useful to understand your value in the job market and what choices might be open to you. You should investigate your alternatives before taking any of the other steps suggested here.
After you have learned about your alternatives, you should talk with someone within the company whom you trust, someone who is not 'related' to your career's progress. Ask them about the company's usual behavior patterns to find out whether you are being treated normally or there is something strange going on.
Clearly it is important to make sure that what has happened to you never happens again. Before taking your next step within the company you should meet with your supervisor and/or someone from Human Resources to develop a long-term career plan with a written commitment for your immediate new grade and pay and a clear set of criteria upon which decisions about your future will be made. If other people with characteristics like yours (age, education, experience, seniority, etc.) are treated differently, what are the reasons for that?
Part of your preparation should include a serious examination of what is important to you and why it is important: do you want more pay to have more money in your pocket or as an ego-boost? Which is more important to you; the job satisfaction your assignment offers or your position in the company hierarchy?
I have an uncomfortable feeling about the career situation you describe. Unless you love the work you do or the company you work for, since they have not demonstrated a great deal of loyalty to you, moving out might really be a good idea. And when you make your next career agreement -- with your current company or another -- remember the old adage about negotiation: "Trust, but verify." Make sure promises are recorded.
Good luck,
Steve
| 
