Turned down for promotion

I am not sure what to do. My bosses encouraged me to apply for the next level and then I was told today after the interview (from my same boss) that my tech skills were not quite there yet. They made a point that everything else is above expectations and that I am the most technical person at my position. They didn't give me any kind of timeline and said to work on some networking issues and a lot of Exchange and they said they would come to me when they think I'm ready.

The problem is, and I told them this, is that my current job doesn't challenge me. It's almost 100% end user issues(remote help desk) and there's hardly any tickets anymore that come through to my queue. The next level handles server issues also, firewalls, gpos, etc. The director said that he would let me take tickets from the unassigned queue but my bosses shook their head and said no because its too hard to manage.

The next level does have a few things I don't have experience in but I am a very fast learner. I'm in WGU now and I've gotten 3 certs since I've been here (6 months ago) as I started WGU in April. They said they know I would learn but there's too much to learn in the time period they want.

I told them that I'm taking the CIW web development cert now, then Network+, then my CCNA. They said the CCNA wouldn't be that helpful really and that even after those certs I still should wait before they tell me to reapply. They said to take the MCSA server 2008 instead but I told them I can't really do thay because of my school schedule amd that they don't offer that in my Security track.

Do I just power through it? Its nice getting paid to study but I have over a year left and the pay is only 16.25 an hour. I also have an associates degree and a year IT experience.

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Comments

srabiee

You can either keep working on your degree while accruing experience at your current job, or you can update your resume and get it out there and start interviewing for a new job immediately. Both scenarios have their pros and cons, you just have to weigh the two and decide what's best for you right now.

ande0255

This happened to me at my last job, and I knew there was no potential for growth, so I left. They were about to offer me a job as a desktop technician, doing pc builds for the company instead of help desk I was on, but was hardly a step in the right direction.

I would say getting a real job and studying after work is your best bet, as experience is going to beat out any certifications or diplomas you put on your resume, so it is extremely important to start getting it as early as possible in your career.

Sorry to hear about getting passed over, I have been there several times.

nathandrake

I know that feeling. I went through the same thing. A positioned opened up for a security analyst at my job. I'm currently a senior desktop tech. One of the guys that is a security engineer recommend I apply for it since I've worked with him a few times in the past and I guess he was impressed by my skills. Went through the interview, thought I did OK (not great though).

Thought I had a decent shot since I was being recommended by people already in that department, but a few weeks after interviewing, I was told they decided to go with an outside candidate. I'm still a little bitter about it since I'm told on a regular basis by several senior managers I'm one of the best employees at my company and have been here 13 years. I really don't want to leave this company, but I don't think I can do desktop support for the rest of my life. I need more of a challenge.

Danielm7

nathandrake wrote: »

Thought I had a decent shot since I was being recommended by people already in that department, but a few weeks after interviewing, I was told they decided to go with an outside candidate. I'm still a little bitter about it since I'm told on a regular basis by several senior managers I'm one of the best employees at my company and have been here 13 years. I really don't want to leave this company, but I don't think I can do desktop support for the rest of my life. I need more of a challenge.

Not that it helps any, but sometimes when they've had you in a specific role for a long time and you're very valuable in that role, they don't want to move to a different role. Whether it helps you grow or not is irrelevant to the company most of the time.

epcg

Try to hang in there for a little while longer. You are getting experience and getting paid. Keep going to school and take their advice. Get your certs and you should start on the side studying and working with servers and networking. Even if that means doing some side work for more experience. Along the way in school if you can take the MCSA server and maybe Server+ and if your company still feels you are not ready then look to move on. The grass isn't always greener. I know this really well myself.

The most important thing for you to me is to stay in school. If this job pays for school and you get some time to study while there then stay with it. Experience, a degree and certs will make you a very valuable employee someday. You got to be doing something right for your bosses to ask you to apply for that promotion so keep your head up. Also once you get your CCNA you can really start to look around.

kbowen0188

It sounds to me like they are planning on keeping you where you are.

Of course, there is no way to know for sure. However, I would start applying to other jobs that are a step in the direction you are looking to go. From my impression, they want to keep you where you are at. The pay actually sounds quite nice to me for what the work entails, so I wouldn't abandon it until you have something better lined up. Look on the plus side, it IS a position that pads out your resume, pays, and gives you time to continue to study.

So, sure, keep at it. But definitely look into your other options. What is the worst that can happen if you go ahead and see if any jobs are out there that will push your career along in the right direction, all while working your current position and increasing your knowledge?

markulous

ande0255 wrote: »

This happened to me at my last job, and I knew there was no potential for growth, so I left. They were about to offer me a job as a desktop technician, doing pc builds for the company instead of help desk I was on, but was hardly a step in the right direction.

I would say getting a real job and studying after work is your best bet, as experience is going to beat out any certifications or diplomas you put on your resume, so it is extremely important to start getting it as early as possible in your career.

Sorry to hear about getting passed over, I have been there several times.

I wouldn't say that it's not a real job. I should have clarified a bit more. The reason it seems that way is because the main client they gave me literally has like 8 tickets a week and I escalate 95% of them. I still work with the previous client and make sure everyone is on the same page, but there just aren't many tickets that are very challenging anymore.

I can put on my resume every end-user issue, basic AD issues (password resets, permissions, new user creation, etc), and, 0365/Exchange, remote desktop, etc.

Danielm7 wrote: »

Not that it helps any, but sometimes when they've had you in a specific role for a long time and you're very valuable in that role, they don't want to move to a different role. Whether it helps you grow or not is irrelevant to the company most of the time.

kbowen0188 wrote: »

It sounds to me like they are planning on keeping you where you are.

It's funny you guys say that. When I was debating to apply to this position (even after my boss pushed me towards it) I called up my trainer/boss that works in another office running it by her. She actually said that this whole department would fall apart if it wasn't for me because of everything I do to coordinate efforts between us and the client, assist people with any issues, and basically go above and beyond my job title. I'm not really sure that's the case, but I really hope it is not.

epcg wrote: »

Try to hang in there for a little while longer. You are getting experience and getting paid. Keep going to school and take their advice. Get your certs and you should start on the side studying and working with servers and networking. Even if that means doing some side work for more experience. Along the way in school if you can take the MCSA server and maybe Server+ and if your company still feels you are not ready then look to move on. The grass isn't always greener. I know this really well myself.

The most important thing for you to me is to stay in school. If this job pays for school and you get some time to study while there then stay with it. Experience, a degree and certs will make you a very valuable employee someday. You got to be doing something right for your bosses to ask you to apply for that promotion so keep your head up. Also once you get your CCNA you can really start to look around.

I tried explaining this to them today, but they were not listening. I'm in WGU and since it is self-paced, every minute of my downtime and time outside of work is dedicated to that. I'm getting certs and I will get my bachelor's faster, I really can't afford to study for another cert that isn't part of WGU's curriculum. I told them I had a good plan, but they tried giving me more stuff to do outside of work, when all I really wanted was more to do at work.

markulous

Another thing the director mentioned is that they can't just hire someone to Google everything (even though that's the best resource available and I learn a ton from it). When I had my interview I was stuck on a task that I was told to do and could not remember the step so I pulled up the web browser on that computer that I was working on and Google'd it. I thought that would be better than just saying, "Well gee I can't remember, boss". The ironic thing is the director has a sign on his door (the office we were meeting in no less) that says "Have You Google'd It?", meaning do that before you ask someone and/or give up.

PurpleIT

How long until you are done with WGU? Do you think getting your degree will open enough doors that getting it done sooner rather than later might be in your best interest?

If so, it seems to me that if you will be done in 6-9 months there is a benefit to staying where you are and putting all of your extra time and effort in to your degree. Job hunting can be a full time job and starting a new job probably won't leave you with a lot of spare time to study, so how will that impact your schooling?

In the mean time, if you have a lot of spare time at work can you observe people in other departments (maybe even the job you didn't get)? That will allow you to get the skills you know they are after; they may even help if you decide to go elsewhere.

markulous

PurpleIT wrote: »

How long until you are done with WGU? Do you think getting your degree will open enough doors that getting it done sooner rather than later might be in your best interest?

If so, it seems to me that if you will be done in 6-9 months there is a benefit to staying where you are and putting all of your extra time and effort in to your degree. Job hunting can be a full time job and starting a new job probably won't leave you with a lot of spare time to study, so how will that impact your schooling?

In the mean time, if you have a lot of spare time at work can you observe people in other departments (maybe even the job you didn't get)? That will allow you to get the skills you know they are after; they may even help if you decide to go elsewhere.

Good suggestions.

I am scheduled to graduate WGU in September 2016, but I'm definitely going to be finished with it before then. I think I can shorten that to September 2015, not sure if I can go any less than that. So it's going to be a while before I graduate.

It's a remote support center so there is about 30 people in cubicles in this building. The positions available there are my position, "level 1", "level 2", and "level 3". I can pull up their ticket queue and see what they work on (which I do), but that's it, I can't go over to their desk and shadow them or anything. It would be the same work as I do now, just more stuff on the server end of things. I have a strong idea of what it is I need to learn and I'm trying to learn that. I told them that if you just give me the chance I would probably struggle at first, just as anyone does at that position, but I would excel and learn very quickly. My boss agreed but I guess that wasn't enough.

slinuxuzer

I work for a fortune 200 company and believe it or not managers encourage people to apply for jobs so they get experience with the interview process, don't take that as a negative. If they are paying for school stay until your done, trust me I'm 30 and just now close to finishing school. Finish school above all else.

markulous

slinuxuzer wrote: »

I work for a fortune 200 company and believe it or not managers encourage people to apply for jobs so they get experience with the interview process, don't take that as a negative. If they are paying for school stay until your done, trust me I'm 30 and just now close to finishing school. Finish school above all else.

They aren't paying for any kind of school I'm paying that on my own. They will reimburse me for certs but all my certs are paid by WGU.

I think my biggest issue is the fact they won't give me more work or more of a challenge and the fact i told them I would reapply when I got my Network+ and felt more comfortable but they're like no don't call us we will call you but with no timeframe.

VikingWarlord

I had something similar happen at my last job. I applied for one of two System Engineer positions, interviewed, and ultimately got rejected for someone from a different team who wasn't as good as me but had more field experience. The people on my team were rarely allowed to go anywhere because we were the primary SMEs for the entire Operations department. If we had to spend a week at one site, there were dozens to hundreds of others we couldn't help.

About a dozen people told me to my face they were shocked that I got passed over. It had the interesting effect of making several people realize their positions were dead ends.

the_Grinch

It sounds to me like you are basically in a coordinator like position. Maybe take the initial call and deal with low hanging fruit to leave more complicated tickets to be taken by higher level techs. While knowing how to find an answer is very important, depending on the question it might be something a tech with more experience would know off the top of their heads (usually because it is so common a problem the company faces). I agree that more then likely they wanted to gauge where you were and give you an idea of what would be expected if you were to move up. They've provided you feedback on what path they believe you should follow so take that feedback and run with it. I would push them to allow you to shadow different techs as this will show that you want to learn and move up.

mjnk77

Sent you a PM.

jdancer

When employers say you are "too valuable" is code for we are not going to promote you at most organizations. I wouldn't put much value in sentimentality at an organization but you have to lookout for #1, which is yourself. The organization doesn't really have an obligation to you professionally which is why you need to do it yourself.

Sure, be the nice and friendly person at work but don't be naive that an organization has your best professional interests in mind.

kurosaki00

Get 1-2 certs related to the position you want and try again.
If they still tell you "no", then may be time to start looking around.

I would wait to have at least 2 years of IT experience before switching boats though ..

iBrokeIT

Sounds like your goals are not lining up with your employer's goals for you to progress in the company. You chose a degree in security/network that doesn't provide immediate technical skills for your current employment yet you want to work on servers... so they suggest you get the MCSA 2008 and you have the downtime at work to study for it then you refused. You shouldn't by shocked that they turned you down for a promotion if this company is a Microsoft Partner that values Microsoft certs.

You definately have a choice to make OP and there is no wrong answer but there are likely consequences for either choice. Either your degree progress or your current professional progress are going to take a hit. You do need to make a choice as to what type of IT professional you want to be since there are limited hours in the day.

Best of luck to you!

markulous

Well I will have my Network+ fairly soon and that aligns with their goals.

I chose the security track before I started here. I am fine at the moment because I'm getting experience but I don't want to work in a call center forever. Its just frustrating where I'm at now as I want a project or more challenges or just more work in general.

Zartanasaurus

So they told you to apply for a position, then gave you specific feedback of what type of certs they'd like to see you get to be considered in the future and they reimburse you for your certs. Seems like they're a pretty good company to me. It's just that what you currently want doesn't line up with what they're looking for. Of course you are understandably disappointed, but this doesn't seem like a terrible situation to me. It's up to you to decide if getting your MCSA and dropping your WGU studies is worthwhile.

markulous

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

So they told you to apply for a position, then gave you specific feedback of what type of certs they'd like to see you get to be considered in the future and they reimburse you for your certs. Seems like they're a pretty good company to me. It's just that what you currently want doesn't line up with what they're looking for. Of course you are understandably disappointed, but this doesn't seem like a terrible situation to me. It's up to you to decide if getting your MCSA and dropping your WGU studies is worthwhile.

I didn't want imply they are a terrible place to work for because it's not.

It's definitely not worth putting WGU on hold. I already have too much school debt and I want my bachelor's and all of those certs Asap. The plan was really to be in a network environment but since the next level works remotely on servers I thought it would be at least better experience than now. I meet their HR requirements for that position since all they need is a Microsoft or Comptia cert.

It's frustrating not getting it but more so not getting more work when I expressed I'm not challenged.

Zartanasaurus

If they don't think the CCNA is worthwhile, I dunno why the Network+ would be more in line with their goals. It seems like they want more of a MS Server admin than a network admin. Not that having CCNA knowledge as a Server admin is a bad thing. So you're bored at work and don't have much to do. Seems like you have lots of time to study for your MCSA then.

markulous

Again, I'm not putting WGU on hold for that cert, especially when I already meet the HR requirements and no certs I get will get me the job they said or even another interview. Besides I'm already tinkering with exchange/server 2008 in my downtime also, which is something they wanted me to do.

Danielm7

You can study most of the work day? I don't think you'd really have to put WGU on hold to also learn the materials for the MCSA, it will go slower than just doing schoolwork. As some others pointed out, they told you they want the MS stuff, you said you can't do it, but you're still using most of the work day to study stuff they don't care about, that doesn't really paint the best picture for promotion.

markulous

Danielm7 wrote: »

You can study most of the work day? I don't think you'd really have to put WGU on hold to also learn the materials for the MCSA, it will go slower than just doing schoolwork. As some others pointed out, they told you they want the MS stuff, you said you can't do it, but you're still using most of the work day to study stuff they don't care about, that doesn't really paint the best picture for promotion.

Maybe not most but a lot of the day. I know my limits and I'd have too hard of a time studying for two different certs at the same time especially when I'm trying to bang out WGU asap.

They knew what I was doing before they hired me and its just now they turned their nose up at it.

Regardless it sounds like I should probably stay and study until I see something that pertains more to my goals. If I happen to get promoted then cool if not then I cant be surprised anymore.