One reason why people start hating their jobs is because they’ve been passed over for some less-than-deserving mortal. Others start resenting their jobs because they didn’t get the raise they were expecting, despite the new hire making 20% more! Bitterness pervades, and things go downhill quickly if the situation is not addressed.
So what happens when your manager clearly states in a meeting you will be put up for promotion next year. Next year comes and your name is not on the congratulatory firm-wide e-mail promotion list? Of course you go a little crazy. You might even storm out of the office.
After getting passed over, you can fire off an angry e-mail to your bosses. But that’s not a good idea. You might even want to take a visit to the pellet gun section at Wal-Mart. But that’s an even worse idea after getting passed over.
Instead of going nuts, breathe deeply and contemplate. Despite your manager’s lies poor guidance, you are probably at fault. There is a disconnect between what your manager sees in you, and what you see of yourself. It’s called being delusional and something must change.
The ultimate responsibility is on you to have a congruent vision with your manager. Here’s what to do if you’ve been passed over for a promotion and still want to get promoted and paid in the future.
Things To Do If You Get Passed Over For A Promotion And A Raise
Work is essentially an “at will” contract where you can come and go as you please, and the employer can fire or keep you at its discretion. Suing your employer for getting laid off is not a good idea.
Company loyalty is so 20th century thanks to the eradication of pensions and the globalization of the work force. As a result, there is tremendous competitive pressures for developed countries. Employees in America must look after themselves first.
Here are some things to consider if you’ve been passed over for a raise and promotion.
1) Update your resume and make a list of your most important connections.
Always be prepared to move companies. Your battle gear is your resume, your connections, your wardrobe and your good looks. Everything should be up to date, including your contacts so that you don’t look like a jerk pinging them out of the blue when you need something.
Here are some examples of good resumes that get jobs. A hiring manager spend on average seven seconds looking at resumes, so you must make yours stand out.
2) Schedule a meeting with your manager to find out why.
You need to understand crystal clear the reasons why you didn’t get paid or promoted so you can rectify them. If you do, and you still don’t get promoted a year later, then you need to raise the issue to your boss’s superior or quit.
Documentation is important, which is why you must document everything your manager has said and all the good things you’ve done in your reviews, so that when do-do hits the fan, you’ve got proof. Don’t let getting passed over go to waste.
There are plenty of career-limiting moves that could have hurt your promotion chances. Please make sure you understand them all so you don’t repeat them.
3) Do not go whine to the HR department.
Human Resources is there for the company, not for you. Don’t be naive to think that HR is there to serve you. HR is there to protect the company’s rump in this litigious world. Do not confide too much to HR.
Even in cases where you’ve clearly been harassed or abused, you should probably seek console if you are really serious. HR has a duty to report back everything you say to your manager. They will mark down all your complaints in a way that protects the firm from a lawsuit, and not you.
Strategically, you want to befriend HR to help you negotiate a severance. If you can get your HR manager on your side, it’s much easier to get laid off with money in your pocket.
4) Put everything in writing to not get passed over again.
If it’s not clear by now, you must put every promise, accomplishment, goal in writing. When the inevitable disappointment comes, you can bring up that piece of writing and ask them to rectify the situation.
It is NOT good enough to have a handshake agreement with your manager or new employer about a promotion or compensation level. Once you put your performance and their promises in writing, it’s much harder to get passed over.
5) Moonlight and work on a side business if you’ve been passed over.
If you aren’t getting recognized at work, do something else that gives you satisfaction. If you find yourself putting in more hours than average and really caring about the company while the company is not showing you equal love, find something else to care about for goodness sake!
Mentally treat your company as just a paycheck to allow you to do what you truly love. That love can be exploring the world, painting, dancing, writing, teaching, volunteering and any one of numerous things that are infinitely more interesting than your job. There are plenty of opportunities to make extra income side hustling.
6) Wait until the right time to make a move if you’ve been passed over.
The most difficult time to find a job is in the 4th quarter. The reason is because budgets are already spent, and management is usually looking to release the underperformers. As a result, headcount availability is very limited.
If you’ve passed over for a promotion or raise, be patient. It is best to wait out your misery until February or later of next year where budgets are fresh and optimism is high.
You should also consider moving only when you’ve got that written offer (there we go again on having everything in writing). The last thing you want to do is leave your company in a tough economic environment with no back-up plan and not enough money to survive!
7) Find what you really love to do and go for it if you’ve been passed over.
We all have a responsibility to find and do what we enjoy doing. We don’t live in Kabul, Afghanistan or Pyongyang, North Korea where our freedom is restricted. There is absolutely no reason to settle for a job we hate.
It costs next to nothing to start an online business. There are plenty of opportunities out there, you just have to keep on looking. You wouldn’t settle for a nasty spouse, why would you settle for a nasty boss or job?
8) Adjust your work effort to match your level and pay.
By getting passed up for a promotion and a pay raise, management is till you that you don’t deserve more. If you think you deserve more, then another strategy is to work less. By working less, you better match what your company is paying you.
With more free time and less stress, you can pursue a side hustle, start a side business, or search for a new job. The trend towards “quiet quitting” is completely rational if your company is not respecting you by paying and promoting you.
Take Control Of Your Work Destiny
Being passed over for a promotion and not paid is extremely demotivating. I know this feeling well, having been disappointment twice this decade.
Each time was like drinking a jolt of sorrow as I asked myself “Why not me?“. Eventually, I did get promoted, just not in the time frame I wanted. Tough crap, I always thought to myself as I booked an extra vacation week to deal.
It’s always good to put things into perspective. Being able to work in a developed country like America is extremely lucky. With this luck, we can earn top 1% global-level income and net worth.
I view the wealth I have mostly due to luck. Sure, I’ve worked hard like millions of others. But to be able to generate enough passive income to take care of a family of four in expensive San Francisco is truly lucky.
There are the hoards of people who are just killing it, who are no different from you that makes you again ask, “Why them, and not me?” Every job we do get is like winning the lottery. Getting paid and promoted is like winning the lottery again.
We can sulk, whine, protest and cry all we want. Or we can do something about our situation. Nobody is going to save us from our sad state except for ourselves. Use the disappointment from work as motivation to do better and greater things!
Related: When Getting Rejected From A Promotion Is Just Wrong
Recommendation To Build More Wealth
If you’re not getting the pay and promotions you deserve, find another job. However, don’t quit your job, get laid off and negotiate a severance package instead.
Negotiate A Severance Package
Negotiating a severance can provide severance, deferred compensation, medical benefits, job assistance training, and unemployment benefits.
Learn more in the e-book entitled, “How To Engineer Your Layoff: Make A Small Fortune By Saying Goodbye.” I’m absolutely certain this book will help you recognize your rights as an employee and break free from the corporate grind to do something you truly want to do.
I missed out on a promotion one year that I thought I had a good shot at. I was so pissed. But it was a good lesson to learn that nothing is guaranteed and that networking and being more proactive can give you a leg up. The guy who got the job over me was very aggressive with selling himself and always being in front of our boss. I’ve long since left that company and I’m happy to have moved on to better things and learned from those experiences.
Getting passed over is the worst feeling, especially if you’re led to believe you were going to get a promotion. That happened to me and my blood was boiling for months. The blessing in disguise is it motivated me to be more direct about what I wanted and to find a way to move up and out. I used your book (How To Engineer Your Layoff) to formulate an exit plan. And things turned out way better than I expected. So thank you!!!!