I Was Counting on a Promotion

I’ve had my current job for a year. I was hired as an administrative assistant, but have taken on many additional responsibilities which have been acknowledged during the year. When personnel reviews were coming up, I followed Tory Johnson’s advice to write a note to my supervisor outlining my achievements. I clearly stated what I had done above and beyond my job description, requested my position be upgraded and asked for a $10,000 salary increase.

When my boss told me I was getting a $4000 raise, I expressed my disappointment. She showed me a table indicating grades and salaries that had been prepared by the Hayes Group, an employee benefits consulting firm. The raise brought me exactly to the median salary for my level. I asked if her perception was that I was a median-level performer and she responded, “No, you’re great!” I asked what I could do to be promoted to the next grade and she suggested rewriting my job description.

The next day, I wrote a job description for “senior administrative assistant,” adding all I do to the original job description. She had a busy week preparing golden parachutes for senior staff members who were leaving, and on Friday told me “we just can’t go any higher.”

What to do? Quit? Look for another job? Stop helping the executive assistant who makes $30K more than I do and has been delighted to have me take on a lot of her responsibilities? All those things are great for daydreaming, but this is still a good job with great benefits. I will continue to work the way I always do: helping out whenever I can, doing whatever is asked, finding things to do that others haven’t thought of. I’m a professional and I’m going to act that way!