I've had instances where I never got an interview, or got a courtesy interview for internal postings. It sucks.
A lot of the time they have identified a candidate they want. Managers are not allowed to block anyone in our company outside of some small exceptions. Managers aren't even notified when one of their employees applies for a job and it is up to us to let them know when we have an interview.
This is going to be long, thank you to any one who reads it and replies, I appreciate it.
I currently have two applications through an internal recruiter with my Alma Mater's Health Care side. So it would be a state job in a state school medical center. I know these things can take a long time to get moving, but I am definitely qualified, recruiter said she wouldn't forward my application if I wasn't, and I fit the state pay scale for the jobs. They are each within the same team and one is a more senior position. Recruiter said I should apply for both.
On top of that I have an informal meeting set up for next week to discuss career opportunities with another large coloration in my home town. Nothing concrete there but the person is a higher level manager and would be able to open doors.
Finally I have an internal application for a manager role in reporting. New position. Something I am uniquely qualified for and I think I would enjoy. It may set my relocation plans back a year or two, but it would be a great move up and if I ended up with reports that is good experience again. It has been over 6 years since I managed a team. However, and here is the caveat tied to the conversation about internal postings, I am going to talk to my immediate manager more about it, but he was already like, hey man is this going to be a quarterly thing with you now, ignoring that I have been on the team for 2 years now and this would only be the second application outside of the team. I applied for a job in the fall out of frustration more than anything and withdrew it.
He went on to say, "Maybe I don't understand how you were taught in this company, (note he has only been at my company 5 years vs my 16 years), but you may start to look like you are hopping around a bunch and not staying anywhere.", and I am kind of pissed at him. Because first our company allows you to apply for a job after 1 year as long as you have good appraisals. Second, I feel like he is giving me the old, you should stay and be loyal just because kind of shit. Even though I have been adamant I want more from this team and haven't really been given any indication it is happening. I was told I was potentially up for a small promotion this year, but nothing is guaranteed.
On top of that, the application I like working with and the team I want to build for it, doesn't seem to have the full support of the VP level. So what am I supposed to do? Sit around and hope shit gets better? Be happy I got a small promotion and like 6 -8% raise, versus going for a manager job doing a lot of the same kind of work but no longer in IT?
I read this today and it struck me.
Chaos isn't a ladder to climb. It's unwise to manage your career through the randomness of the universe, decisions made by other people, and org chart Brownian motion. Even when your manager, company, and peers have your best wishes in mind, you still must manage your own career with intent. Owning your career means have a picture in mind of what you want to do and proactively looking for opportunities which fill the canvas.
No opportunity will be perfect. This is the scary part — tradeoffs. There will always be new people to meet and skills to learn. You might need to give up mastery in a technology and become a student again. You may need to trade off pay for potential — everyone working at a startup implicitly makes that call. Your commute might suck. Your work life balance might suck. Maybe the workplace isn't as diverse as you'd want. Perhaps the Chief Architect doesn't agree with your tabs vs spaces world view. Maybe a million other things. But if you have a long-term career plan based on piecing together the right skills and experiences, it becomes easy to assess how any new role fits into the big picture.
Finally, comfort is a beautiful garden but careers won't grow there.
I don't think I am crazy to want to look in to opportunities, especially if they fulfill my ultimate career goals. I like data analysis and reporting, I like data science too, and I will always pursue and look in to roles that help me reach that goal. On that trip I want to lead a team or be a manager again, I liked developing employees. I have made this clear to my managers, and I don't think I need to "stick around and appreciate the stability" for fucking stability's sake.
I think a lot of the friction is coming from having a widely different worldview than my manager, we get a long, but I see things from a much different perspective.
I dunno, I appreciate any comments. Just want to feel like I am not acting in the wrong here.
