Situation.

Been after a promotion at work some a few years now.

Boss went off on maternity leave last year and I got the ‘opportunity’ to fill her role – albeit given another maternity leave with reduced team. 5 > 3.

I reckon I’ve done a good job – regular appraisals sound, all stuff we have been tasked to deliver we have – although couple of things with hindsight I would have done differently.

Another higher graded job in dept became vacant. Result is that my boss is coming back from maternity into that role and her job is now open.

I (naively) thought I might get it as it is on career plan, etc.

No – position is to be advertised and I’m not getting a warm feeling from boss-man it is worth my time applying for it. Feeling damned if I do, damned if I don’t (no ambition, etc).

I have meeting with boss-man tomorrow to discuss. How should I prepare?

Delivery YTD
My career aspirations/plan
Plus / Delta of how I feel 2011 has gone
Future view of dept if I were given job
Development opportunities and how I propose to address them

However, reckon if he does not want me to get the job, then nothing I can do will change that.

Should also add I have no received any temporary increase in salary for covering my boss job – apparently it will be rewarded as part of this year performance review.

Doesn’t the job, legally, have to be advertised? I’m sure one of the professional lawyers on here will correct me on this.
Can I be hard here and say that if you have to ask on here 24hrs before the meeting, then perhaps you are not the best person for the job?

Well, if they have problems with your performance they really should have told you by now.

Smile nicely and kiss some bottoms. You should definitely apply for it, but be prepared to suck it up if you don’t get it.

Bosses can’t just hand people jobs it doesn’t look good, they might just want to appear that they are following due process.

Doesn’t the job, legally, have to be advertised?

No

Well….I’m pre-preparing as the job won’t be advertised for another few weeks. I’m simply looking for pointers to present myself as hungry and really thinking about the role and it’s development.

Within our organisation, we have ‘managed moves’ which typically means that jobs can be distributed without them being advertised – if such a decision is blessed by HR.

My performance agreement YTD has all items green – as in done.

don simon

Situation was only communicated on Monday.

However, I’m not getting positive vibes.

Issue was that any alternative positions I would have considered to develop have not been up for grabs.

Simply, I must be sh!te but simply don’t know it.

pre-preparing

?

Pre-preparing As in trying to understand what the boss wants this role to do in the future and therefore how best to position myself if I get an interview…

If your boss will be on the interview panel he/she is the wrong person to speak to and probably should tell you this.
You do need to apply
My work do this as does my wife’s
Not applying and then complaining or turning bitter afterwards is poor form and could hinder further progress.
If you fail to get the job there will/should be post interview feedback where you should find out where you have gone wrong and get pointers on how to improve your interview technique for future interviews.
Sadly it is not all about how good you are at the job but how good you are at interview.
Got a few T-shirts from those experiences ❗
My wife has someone in a similar situation, thought he did not need to fill in the application form “properly” and interviewed poorly because he did not understand the job requirements. Year on and still does not accept why he did not get the job and is constantly needing pep talks.
Sometimes you have just either got to accept that no matter how good or how hard you think you work others either do not see it that way or that you are the person for that job and you are stuck there until you bite the bullet and move on.
My son did this and his new company have paid for his degree 😆

Oh planning.

Well, quite a lot of the time, bosses don’t know how well you’ve been performing. Write down everything you have done well using figures wherever possible, such as “Successfully carried out x appraisals on time”, “delivered project y weeks ahead of schedule and within budget etc”. Anywhere you can compare yourself favourably with the person you replaced, without being mean, would also help give them a benchmark to compare against.

Really bash them over the head with it – hopefully they’ll be a bit taken back and start to take you more seriously.

EDIT – Oh yeah, also – APPLY FOR THE JOB!

Fair enough about the time.
Now the question remains about a future boss coming on here to ask for advice about the job you claim to have some knowledge about and ability to do. If the job is within your abilities, you already know what to do, no?

@ TheBrick, no! Pre-planning. 🙄

Also what thebunk said plus how you achieved everything and think about some new ideas/ways of working/improving the company.

I had a similar situation a few years back. I applied and although I didn’t get the position, the interview gave me the opportunity to demonstrate my potential and that subsequently opened other doors for me.