miab16•4d ago

My boss spent 6 months promising me a promotion, then hired someone from outside for the role

I was working as a shift lead at a retail store in Cincinnati for like 2 years. Manager kept telling me to hang tight, bigger things were coming. Then in the Tuesday meeting he announced a new department head and it was this dude from another store. I literally sat there with my mouth open for a solid minute. Has anyone else had a boss dangle a carrot forever and then pull it away like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

jenny_jackson4d ago

Oh wow hold up, I gotta push back on this one a little. From your boss's side, maybe they honestly believed you were the right person at first but as time went on someone else proved to be a better fit. Sometimes managers mean well at the start but things change, like maybe they realized the role needed something different than what you had going on. It's not fair to you but it's not always just dangling a carrot for fun, sometimes it's a messy process behind the scenes. And hiring from outside could mean they needed a fresh perspective or someone who already had the exact experience for that specific position.

davis.dakota4d ago

Has your boss actually sat down with you and told you what skills you're missing? Because if they haven't, that's not a "messy process," that's them being chickenshit. I've been in your shoes and the only way I got past it was by flat out asking for a list of what I needed to improve on, then checking in every month. If they can't give you concrete steps, they're just keeping you warm. And if they hire someone outside with no heads up to you, start looking elsewhere because they don't respect you enough to be honest. You're not a placeholder, so don't let them treat you like one.