Sick of being overlooked (RANT)

[Disturbedguy]

Well this is a rant about work so be warned.

As some people know I work as a Service Desk Anaylsy, basically fancy wording for first line support. I enjoy my job most days and get one with the people I work with so here comes the rant. A little while ago an opportunity came up to go down to London and meet some of the 2nd Line Staff and the clients we support as well as some of the managers, I put myself forward for this hopeing I would get the opporunity after all according to my boss I am a "key" and "important" member of the team as well as "one of the three" people he considers the best at the job we do, so I thought I was a dead cert as one of the lads from the three was off ill and one didnt want to go, anyway in this instance the lad who was off ill got offered the chanc to go and obviously he took it, but meh I thought another opportunity will arise and I will take that.


So, coming to this month. We have a new boss whom my boss is trying to impress, like you do, right? So when the big boss came down a week or two ago, out of all the people on the desk, he was sat with me for a while, listening to calls, watching the calls that are logged and generally asking questions to pick my brain which I was fine with and actually enjoyed the mini challenge.

So yesterday my boss asked who would like to go London, next week to meet people and do some floorwalking, which is basically walk around with a member of staff, asking users if the have problems and if they do, fix them there and then or log a call, great I thought will go for this.

So he asked, I spoke up, got ignored. Ok I thought maybe he didnt hear me, but the fact he was still asking others kinda annoyed the hell out of me so I left it until he asked again, spoke up again, got ignored, eventually after two of my colleagues spoke up while I was out of the room, he asked me, so I basically said yes and he asked me why I wanted to go, so I told him. Bascailly it came down to: -

I want to meet our second line staff.
I want to see how they work.
I want to move onto second line/ technical work

He laughed...at which point I shot him the "Why are you laughing? look"

Eventually he said ok and told me about ticket prices and that we would be getting back late on the Wednesday, no problem I said, it's the experience that counts. So today I asked to double check things as he had doctors today and what they said could affect next week, so I asked and got a completely unexpected answer.

Basically he said he was going to ask someone from the other desk as this other member of staffs knows both desk.

Ok, two points:-
1, He asked the desk I work on as we are the ones being judged the most, as we are the busiest of the two desks.

2, I have worked on both desks, I was put on the other desk for 1 week to "train" this soon turned into a couple of months, so I like to think I know the desk.

So yeah that really made me :@ the fact that he says yes then pretty much says no less than 24 hours later.

Right now I am thinking that there is no point at all in me putting my name forward for anything, as I always seem to get knocked back or ignored.

As another example, two people, one from each desk was asked to volunteer to be trained as a fire marshall, I put my name forward, only to be told the next day that I am not going and another lad (the same one as this time) is being sent instead of me.

Dont get me wrong, me and the lads are mates and have known each other since uni, so my problems isnt with him, its with the fact that I seem to keep getting overlooked. Does the fact that I work hard now work against me?!. Should I stop doing my best to hit and exceed targets? Should I stop putting the effort in to learn things that others on the desk dont know, or arent sure of? Should I stop sharing my information?

Really frustrated at the moment.

/rant

[TheAnimus]

Sounds like you need to get yourself a powerful assault rifle.

Then you wouldn't get overlooked.

[pollaxe]

Could it be that you're simply too good at what you're doing now? I don't work in a big environment but I know a couple of people who did that had this kind of thing happen to them for what seemed to be that very reason.

Anyway, sorry to hear it, it must be very frustrating but hopefully venting/ranting here may help a bit...?

[scaryjim]

Hmmm, if that's your boss's approach to professional development you really only have two choices.

You could make a big official fuss about the fact that you don't feeling your getting appropriate development. You have a legal right to professional development (in fact, your employer has a legal duty to monitor & support your professional development), and you shouldn't be denied opportunities without a damn good reason. Also it's in your current employer's best interests to keep you happy and to encourage you should any 2nd line positions come up, as then they'll have someone with company experience moving into the 2nd line post, and they'll only have to train another monkey... Sorry, I mean ... 1st line technician

The other option, and possibly the better one in this situation, is to find another job. Not easy, I know, but would it be any better if you moved into 2nd line support then decided you wanted to move somewhere else in the company? Would you get more support in that situation, or would they be just as dismissive?

A few years ago the company I'd been working for, very successfully, for ~ 9 months created and advertised a new development post, at basically the next level up from me. They didn't tell me they were doing it - I only found out because one of my colleagues asked if I was going for the job. My PDR was coming up anyway, so I asked about the job and was basically fobbed off with some nonsense about them not thinking it was really my kind of role. I never worked out whether it was because they knew I was much better at my existing job than anyone else they could've got for the money, or if they really thought that little of me, but I wasn't there to celebrate one year with the company. If your employer is so disinterested in your development that they ignore you when you volunteer for assignments, it's probably worth getting out of there.

[jimbouk]

A discrete email/phone call to your bosses boss asking about progression and further training? Say you're being help back in your current role and believe you could give more back to the company if given more opportunities (or similar).

It could just be your boss knows your good at your current role and would want you to stay on rather than letting you progress. Maybe a cheeky "I'm not going to be working in this office forever" comment to him might let him know that you'll progress one way or another (potentially dangerous though).

Is your company recruiting internally/externally for any other roles and could you just apply for them?

[Disturbedguy]

Could it be that you're simply too good at what you're doing now? I don't work in a big environment but I know a couple of people who did that had this kind of thing happen to them for what seemed to be that very reason.

This is the thing, the Service Desk is based in Rochdale and our cleint bases is all based in London, so our environment is small, between the two desks, there are less than 20 people.

You could make a big official fuss about the fact that you don't feeling your getting appropriate development. You have a legal right to professional development (in fact, your employer has a legal duty to monitor & support your professional development), and you shouldn't be denied opportunities without a damn good reason. Also it's in your current employer's best interests to keep you happy and to encourage you should any 2nd line positions come up, as then they'll have someone with company experience moving into the 2nd line post, and they'll only have to train another monkey... Sorry, I mean ... 1st line technician

- Thats the thing, I have already been told that there arent really progression routes to second line as such, but this will be covered in my next paragraph.

The other option, and possibly the better one in this situation, is to find another job. Not easy, I know, but would it be any better if you moved into 2nd line support then decided you wanted to move somewhere else in the company? Would you get more support in that situation, or would they be just as dismissive? - From this I think my only option would be to move, but I find myself asking do I have the skills/ experience to do second line? Been here a little over a year at presnt.

A discrete email/phone call to your bosses boss asking about progression and further training? Say you're being help back in your current role and believe you could give more back to the company if given more opportunities (or similar).

- A discrete e-mail wouldnt happen as it would come back to the boss and he would find out who it came from, that is bound to happen.

It could just be your boss knows your good at your current role and would want you to stay on rather than letting you progress. Maybe a cheeky "I'm not going to be working in this office forever" comment to him might let him know that you'll progress one way or another (potentially dangerous though).

- If thats the case, then I want him to actually tell me what, be upfront with me.

Is your company recruiting internally/externally for any other roles and could you just apply for them?

They were/ are for a NOC support role. Basically monitoring the server and network environment for the company and its clients. However was supposed to find out before christmas/ just after christmas about whether or not I have the position. Slight pay rise, slightly different hours and better work, but not heard anything, about as much use as a wet, brown paper bag to hold tins of tomato soup!

[TheAnimus]

Try a differen't firm then. If you want to progress and they don't want you to, its obviously time to move on.

Would you be willing to move away from rochdale!

[Disturbedguy]

It takes me about an hour and forty minutes - 2 hours to get here depending on traffic, so yeah! lol.
But I want to pass my driving test and get a car first..would make things easier for me in regards to travel.

[dave87]

I have no direct experience of IT in a larger environment, but have worked in IT previously, and have worked my way up in another company (a large multinational).

Generally, I find the breaks tend to very much be luck, rather than any particular skill in developing them, but once you are given that break, making the most of it and using it to your advantage is key. I would tend to echo your thoughts on the boss' boss comments, however that was one of the ways my development was pushed forwards. I happened to be working on a project that involved a lot of scrutiny from a large number of relatively high up (including up to director level) people in a large multinational. From that, it was recognised that I was particularly good at certain things and as such, my development was 'sponsored' to put it in crude terms by a boss above mine. However, simply getting to that position wasn't going to provide any significant help if I couldn't do the work - so the rest has resulted from my own effort and skill.

My particular thoughts would be in your situation (and be very critical in this regard) whether there is anything that you can see would adversely affect your promotion, or even the perception of your ability to be promoted - for instance one of the reasons personally was I was too good at the role I was currently performing, and as such, they didn't want to divert my attention away from that. Whether that was BS or not, I don't know.

The other option highlighted from above was that development is often advanced the quickest by jumping from company to company, using the momentum gained from personal development inside each institution. This is slightly problematic at the best of times, but in the midst of what people seem to be considering a recession, perhaps not the best course to make it public knowledge that you are actively searching for another job. However there is no harm in keeping your eyes open for suitable developmental positions within your own or alternative employers, and this may indeed offer you some satisfaction if your skills are recognised to a greater degree by prospective employers.

I believe there are a number of members on this forum who would be in a better position to offer IT specific advice, so they may be able to refine some of the points I've mentioned to see if they can be tailored to your particular circumstances.

Anyway, all the best, and I hope that there is an easier and amicable solution to this for you

[scaryjim]

From this I think my only option would be to move, but I find myself asking do I have the skills/ experience to do second line? Been here a little over a year at presnt.

That depends entirely on how confident you are of your own ability. I'm currently doing a .NET programming job, which I walked into with no .NET experience at all. I simply backed myself to persuade the employer that I could apply my existing knowledge and skillset to the new challenge. If you're questioning that it sounds like you might not have the confidence yet, but that's something you can work on. The other thing is to get your CV out and update it. Think of absolutely everything you've done that could possibly relate to any kind of IT job, and get it on there. You can always trim it to a more sensible length later, but it should do your confidence some good just to get a list of things sorted out.

Also, don't be afraid to ask people for help (although since you've raised this on a forum I don't think that's an issue for you!). I'd be more than willing to act as a bouncing board for ideas and to try to help you brush up your CV, and I imagine a few other Hexusites would too.

[b0redom]

I lasted 18 months in my first job, with IBM. If you can't move upwards, don't be afraid to move companies.

Remember though, the grass is always greener. Make sure that the role you're moving to offers you something extra - more money, better location etc rather than just the same old stuff.

[Disturbedguy]

That depends entirely on how confident you are of your own ability. I'm currently doing a .NET programming job, which I walked into with no .NET experience at all. I simply backed myself to persuade the employer that I could apply my existing knowledge and skillset to the new challenge. If you're questioning that it sounds like you might not have the confidence yet, but that's something you can work on. The other thing is to get your CV out and update it. Think of absolutely everything you've done that could possibly relate to any kind of IT job, and get it on there. You can always trim it to a more sensible length later, but it should do your confidence some good just to get a list of things sorted out.

- am fairly confident in my own skilsl with what I have done so far and what I can do. I pretty much reckon I could do the second line work that our current engineers do rather easily as well please, although they are busy, but that is nothing new to me.

Yeah I really do need to update my CV, my C.V does at the moment containt everything up until this job.

Also, don't be afraid to ask people for help (although since you've raised this on a forum I don't think that's an issue for you!). I'd be more than willing to act as a bouncing board for ideas and to try to help you brush up your CV, and I imagine a few other Hexusites would too.

- nah I dont mind asking people for help. Going to wait until we move office and see if anything comes up then.

[simonw]

Are you on friendly terms with any of the 2nd line staff? This can help, sometimes its not what you know, it's "who" you know. If a 2nd line position becomes available, maybe a friend can put in a good word for you.

Does your company have a regular performance review? If so, take up your grievances there. If your boss cannot do anything to help progress your career, it's really better to move on.

[Disturbedguy]

Are you on friendly terms with any of the 2nd line staff? This can help, sometimes its not what you know, it's "who" you know. If a 2nd line position becomes available, maybe a friend can put in a good word for you.

Does your company have a regular performance review? If so, take up your grievances there. If your boss cannot do anything to help progress your career, it's really better to move on.

Second line are based in London and I am not willing to move down to london for a job.

Yes they do, but the last guy who complain/ brought stuff up basically got ripped to shreads then given pointless easy tasks to do, in order to keep him happy.

Dont get me wrong, my boss is a very good boss and very understanding, but sometimes.

[kalniel]

I'm with ScaryJim on this one - sometimes you can be too good at your job and start getting taken for granted. Definitely try to talk to someone about it first. See what noises they make, and if they actually back them up with actions. Then if they don't, leave.

I was in a similar-ish situation once. I mentioned my concerns, they were noted but nothing happened. I started applying for jobs and got reference requests coming into my boss. Still wasn't taken seriously. So eventually I got a better job and gave minimum notice. Suddenly all hell breaks loose as they realise I was a single point of failure and the amount of leave I had outstanding was going to make things VERY tight.

[petrefax]

have you not tried airing your concerns directly with your boss? obviously don't drag them into an office & rant at them but arrange a 1 to 1 meeting with your line manager & explain your concerns about the recent treatment you received, explain about your own aspirations and desire to progress...keep it as positive as possible & at least you've highlighted this to your manager.

when the next opportunity of this nature comes up, if you don't get a look in again then i can only echo a few things that have already been said...sadly its often the case that if you're face doesn't fit, you;'re not going to get on so start looking around