I find myself in a delicate situation.

I applied for a job (higher position for the same employer) which I was pretty confident I would get, but management decided to give the job to someone older, that had "more experience" (although I know darn well that they know I could have done the job).

To make a long story short, my boss is expecting me to train this new person. To tell them more about the business, our current project, etc.

I am obviously upset after not landing this promotion, and I am confused in regards to how I should behave at this point. Shut up and be collaborative, and wait for the next opportunity? Tell my boss I "can't do it"?

Just trying to get some input... thanks.

You should behave like a profesional and train the guy. If you handle this poorly it will affect(effect?)your chances the next time you apply for a promotion.

Very delicate situation. If you have been given direct instruction to "train up" this guy you need to make sure you keep good faith with the company and do it. If you have been asked to help occassionally, I would find ways to keep myself out of the sight line of this guy. Make alot of busy work. Carry a clipboard/stack of papers and look worried alot. Give him only the specifics on the current project and a few of the particulars of the business as a whole. This person should only need to "acclimate", not learn the job.

For self-preservation keep a detailed log of your interaction with this person.

Pass his resume on to a job "headhunter" and get him hired away to a new company?

-Blast

I agree strongly with Nishnabotna about being "professional" and doing the training the best that you can which produces the "best product" of that training. Your behavior and attitude will be observed and noted by those that matter. If the "thorn in your side" refuses to be trained or proves incapable of the proper utilization of the training that you've provided, then that will also be noted by those that matter.

As suggested by MoBob; After the training has been completed, stay out of the "thorn's" eyesight OR thus be placed in a position where YOU have to bail him/her out. After the training has been completed, "It's sink or swim time" without your involvement.

Just my thoughts.

I am the wrong person to ask. If it were me, I'd tell the boss that I don't need any more training to do the job I applied for and was given to somebody else. No hard feelings boss, but if he is the better man for the job then I shouldn't be training him...
But then again I do cut off my nose to spite my face and have been accused of being "blunt" from time to time....
For what its worth, I feel for ya and wish you the best of luck.

-Bill Liptak

i was in a similar situation a decade ago and to put it mildly i was not a happy camper, but i did it. as part of it i made notes on what i had shown the guy, dunno why i did but i was dam glad i did later. afew months after i finished training the guy up he made a massive cockup that cost the firm money and the little wanker blamed me for not training him right. it became an unholy mess involving the union, lawyers etc. my note taking saved my job and he got fired.

so my advice is keep notes and anything else you can think of to back you up.

if you are and wish to become and remain a long-term employee at your organization, i agree with Nishnabotna. do the job - it will affect your future.

it is not an easy pill to swallow - but nothing is forever.

you may become great friends. and maybe that person could even become your supervisor. what memory do you want them to have of you?

besides, if it doesn't go well, maybe later you can slip 'em a banana peel.

do document - everything.

Years ago I received advice from someone much wiser than I'll ever be. Similar to what Wildman said, if you decide to do the job, always do the best you can cause you never know who's watching. Sounds cliche, but the world's funny like that. In this instance, should you decide to stay, how you handle the situation may be more important than the job itself. Good luck.

IMO, your best and only course is to act as a true professional and carry out the training in good faith. This may be galling in the short term, but in the long run it's always in your favour. Attitude, dedication and team play count as much as knowledge and skill these days.

Documentation is a good idea. No need to skulk around though: discuss and lay out the training you think is needed with your manager, on paper; and include him/her and the trainee in documenting milestones. This is more than CYA; it's also a subtle way of reminding management of your qualifications.

Good luck!

I agree, you need to do a satisfactory job training this guy. My other strong recommendation is to start looking for a job elsewhere, as it is obvious the company you are working for does not realize your true value. This way, you preserve your reputation, such as it is, with your former employer, while taking advantage of the market while there is still time.

Realize that eventually they will probably dick this guy as well, so it's not like training him is going to do him any favors in the long run, only help you get rid of a problem and allow you to move on.

If you think you can get away with it, you might not tell this guy everything you know. Give him enough to take care of the basics, but keep a couple critical details just to yourself. That way when you do leave for greener pastures, you will be missed, but not blamed.

I did this on a recent assignment, and was able to negotiate a substantial increase in my pay and reputation in the market, while at the same time putting my previous supervisor and the new hire in a bit of a bind. I worked it in such a way that his peers realized how much I did that I wasn't getting credit for, and why would he have let me get away from them. Now I use my former dept manager as a reference instead of the supervisor that passed me over, and he likely won't go any higher for a long time.

I'd suggest you train them just wrong enough. Small stuff, not obvious -

"Big client - his name is Jack, but he loves the nick name "knuckles" so after you get to know him, use the nick name"

"Remember, the most important thing about this excel file is that you always use european currency formats"

and so forth. lots of little stuff.

Martin...You're a bad man...I love it!

I was in a similar situation once. It hurt my pride and offended me that the boss thought I was good enough to train the new guy but not to promote. It was a wake-up call to me. I started looking for a new situation.

I helped the new guy, did a little basic record-keeping of what I did to orient him to local procedures, and took a while to work through being kind of miffed by the situation. I resolved to leave and felt good about that.

I identified what kind of work and environment I wanted next, took about a year to get some training and new skills, and started networking to meet people. It was the first time as an adult that I looked for a job while I still had one. This gave me the financial security to pass on one fair offer with only slightly better pay until I got a really good offer from a much better company. By then I was leaving for me rather than because of the old boss or company, but I will admit to a petty enjoyment in the shock on my boss's face when I gave notice I would be leaving.

By the way, some of the reasons why I was passed over were legitimate and to this day I'm still somewhat weak in a couple of those areas.

In hindsight, being passed over was a good thing for me because it raised my discomfort level and awareness so that I was motivated to improve my situation.

I wish you all the best.

First thing you must do is determine if you had on the basis of training, lenth of service, diciplinary record etc, a reasonable expectation of advancement into that position.

If you have then decine to do on the basis that it is not a reasonable request or instruction. If you are good enough to train him then you are good enough for the position.

Under the circumstances a reasonable person would conclude that your boss is not acting in good faith towards you. It is simple prudence to assume that your boss intends to dismiss you once you have this chap trained.

If you are given a direct instruction to train him, require your boss to put that instruction in writing. Make it clear that you will only comply with a written instruction and that you will consider that instruction to be tantamount to a direct threat of dismissal without pay or references.

I cannot determine from your post whether your boss is your immediate superior or your employer. If he is simply your immediate boss then make a formal complaint via your company's procedure. If he is your employer then make it clear, in writing, that you are unhappy with the situation and ask for a formal written explanation.

I would strongly suggest that you obtain formal advice from someone trained in employment law.

And go work for the opposition.

I'd have to say, you have a serious decision to make. The company has just signaled that you will NEVER move up from where you are. If you're OK with that, fine, but remember, in that situation, you are also a replaceable asset

I'd be totally professional, train my replacement as well as I could (while taking careful note), and have my resume out on the street. When it came to to give notice, and they asked why, I would remind them of the passed over promotion, and the fact that it was a clear notice that my options were limited at the company from that day forward. I'd wish them well, and leave

BTW when/if they ended up calling with any "non trivial" questions, you say "You may hire SARbound consulting, my current going rate is (say $125/hr), with a 4 hour minimum if I have to come in, or billed by the 1/10th hour on the phone, from the time the phone rings, till the time I hang up, rounded up to the nearest 10th" - aka act like a professional - a lawyer

I am from the "do the best you can" generation, so I would have to say that you have two choices: Quit, or training him to the best of your ability. But I would only do it once for this employer, if a similar situation should come up, I think that I would be looking for a new job...

I agree.

Always take the high road.

You come out in the end looking more professional and classy to future employers in the long run.

(not as emotionally satisfying, but a wiser course of action).

And document, document, document.

You do the job they want you to do, and you do it well. It’s their company, not yours, they make the rules.


Do the job right to the best of your ability. If you feel you deserve more then they are giving you, take a hard look at it from their side and see where you are deficient in their eyes. Then correct it to make yourself more valuable to them. Or if you feel their expectations are unrealistic (very possible as I have had bosses that wanted a lot more then the pay rate deserved.) find another job.

The world is full of other jobs, move on. Or start your own business.

Two things,

1 In a few years, how would you like to look back on the situation
and think of yourself and your actions.

2 I had a similar thing happen and it was obvious when training the
new person I had the greater skills. Afterwards I found a job elsewhere. Two years later the place made a major restructuring, I
applied and got an even higher position, (I had since increased
my skill set at the new job). Things change and if their poor decisions caused you the loss of the promotion, things may right
themselves over time.

Agree with everyone about acting professional, putting on a "happy" face and documenting everything.

Keep in mind that there may be something going on that you don't know about, e.g. some sort of office politics. You may have supporters that you don't know about who got shot down in favor of someone's cousin or something. If you don't behave well, your hidden supporters may end up in a worse position politically.

But nothing says you can't look for and take a better job at another employer...In some tech areas, I'm told that job hopping from company to company is considered normal, even valued, and that the old style "company man" is looked down on as a guy who can't or won't get another job (e.g. "no ambition").

Only you can judge the politics, but stay cool and professional and do a good job.

Best of luck.

OK, I made a joke reply before, now a serious one.

There's no career ladder anymore, the way most of us move up is to move over to another company. The time to do this isn't always when you WANT to, but if you want to "move up" then the next rung is usually on another company ladder.

Now that said...do you really want to move up?

The firm I work for is very much like a law firm - in fact there are "Partners" and then there are "Directors" who are a level below that. The Partners are guys I respect, a lot. They are competent and fair, and they work hard - in fact, they work harder than any employee, and make more sacrifices and put in longer hours that I do. So do I want to be a "Partner"? No, not at all. It's not all money and power, there's more to work than that. So that's something to think about - staying put might be a good choice when you look at the options going up takes from you.

Just because the other guy got the job doesn't automatically mean that you were a bad candidate.

I have learned that superior job-specific skills and time in position don't always correlate to getting the job.

There are just so many other reasons that could be in the mix here, many of which the boss could never admit to.

Do the boss and the new guy have anything in common? Maybe, their children go to the same school? Maybe, they met at a racquetball court. Culinary school.

So, maybe, you will get the job next time. I'd be updating my resume and looking for another job also (just in case), but don't mess up the next opportunity with your current employer.

By the way, sometimes our feelings have a way of carrying on our face without us realizing it. You will need to pay very close attention to how others are perceiving your new role. Don't let the cat out of the bag.