Promised position not given

[Dpras]

Recently i was told that i'll be promoted to a higher position by my technical manager as well as project manager. This information was also shared with some key team members. But recently i learnt that another person will be incharge of the position that was promised to me. This was not directly conveyed to me by either my technical lead nor my project manager. This has demotivated me a lot. Could anyone kindly advice me on how to react now? Do you think i should talk to my manager ? and if yes, please advice on how i should approach. Thanks.

[SteveinMN]

Welcome to the board, Dpras! I wish it was under happier circumstances....

The first thing I would do in this situation is treat it as a learning experience. Unfortunately, verbal promises are worth the paper they are written on -- that is, they're really not worth anything. That will be the case for your entire career, so next time someone promises something like that, get it in writing or an email/ document.

As for what to do now, I think you need to be careful how you approach your manager (assuming that person is your direct supervisor). If you're really angry, wait until you feel a bit better about it. You want to look professional and mature.

You certainly can tell your supervisor that you were disappointed in how you learned you were not chosen for a position you thought was promised to you. If you think you still would like this job some day, you can tell your supervisor that you are interested in getting that position some time in the future. Ask your supervisor/manager what skills or experiences you would need to qualify for that position. And (teaching moment) you two should write down the steps. The steps may change a little over time as the job changes; that's fine. But write them down, so that when you achieve them, no one can come back to you and tell you the rules have changed. Getting the skills and experiences will not guarantee you this job. But I can guarantee that, if you don't document what you've achieved relative to what the position requires, the rules magically will change again and you will be in this same situation in a couple of years.

Good luck!

[Zoebird]

I agree with Steve on this one.

I would definitely focus on how you found out, and then perhaps mention disappointment that you were told that you would get the position and then did not. Just disappointment that you didn't get it -- becuase then you can focus on "I was really looking forward to more responsibility in my job. . ." as well as "up-skilling" and so on.