Hey everyone, this is my first post here so please bear with me. I (38m) have been working in my field for 10 years. In that time I've gained a wide array of experience, but haven't finished a degree nor do I hold any active certifications pertaining to my field. Needless to say, the majority of employment opportunities available to me are considered to be “entry level” and the pay is on par with what one would expect from that level of role.
In early '22 I finally hit something of a break. I was hired for a role that is largely the same as my previous ones, however includes a few more advanced technical aspects and thus pays approximately 25% more than one been able to find in the past. Despite that, the pay I was given was at the bottom of the range being offered for the role; the reason for which being that despite my several years of experience in the field, I lacked experience in the technical aspects of the job I was being hired for. I hired into a team of five (including myself,) and as the only person on a late shift; meaning I would only be in the office after everyone else had left.
Fast forward to my 90 day review. I'm doing excellent. Exceeding expectations in all regards. One of the other team members got fired a month into my time here, but that had little effect on me. Fast forward to my six month review, the remaining two team members (not the team supervisor) have been fired as well. One new team member had been hired to replace one of the people recently fired, but they're only a month into their job here, they're inexperienced, and my workload has been dramatically affected. I've had to master all of the responsibilities of my role more quickly, as well as take on a handful of the responsibilities of my day time counterparts. My schedule has been changed two times at this point to accommodate additional training and obligations. Regardless, my six month review is outstanding. Perfect in every measurable way.
Fast for to my annual review. By this point things have somewhat leveled out for our department. A fourth person has been hired to replace one of the others who had been fired months prior. I was frustrated by this because I had voiced interest in the role and demonstrated my ability to perform most of it with minimal training and under pressure, but what can I do. The new hires are both good fits who do their jobs well, and the team functions well together. My schedule has been changed yet again, to get me an hour of time with the rest of the team everyday before they leave, supposedly to increase communication and accommodate additional training opportunities; though no additional training opportunities have been provided, despite my frequent inquiries on the matter. My annual review was just as good as my others. Perfect by every metric. I recieved a 3% pay increase, as did every other employee.
Fast forward one last time, to the present. It's been nearly 90 days since my annual review. Still no sign of additional training or growth opportunities in sight. I'm not going to lie, I'm starting to feel frustrated. The economy has tanked since I took this job, and my increased wages aren't helping my situation the way they did at first. In fact, in a way they're hurting me. Before taking this job my family qualified for food benefits, but upon taking this job we make $30 a month too much. My 3% raise doesn't even come close to keeping up with inflation, and doesn't take into account my mastery of the skills I lacked upon hire (and given as the reason for not starting at a hire wage.) So, I decide to start casually looking for a better opportunity elsewhere. No need to rush. The work culture is good. I get along with my coworkers and bosses. The pay is still better than I've had in the past. But, I'm feeling stagnation creep in and I start looking.
Today I took my second interview. It was for a similar role with a company in the same town and industry as my current employer. I interviewed with two managers, one who is the department manager, and one who only gave her name and not role (HR perhaps?) Things went alright with the department manager, but within a few minutes of sitting down the other manager has made it clear that they have an issue with the fact that I'm looking to leave my current employer. They express that they know my supervisor and begin asking questions like, “what's your problem with your employer?”, and “how do you think your supervisor would feel if I told them you were here interviewing with us today?” Using a very condescending tone and expression, clearly insinuating that they believe me to be out of line somehow. I was caught off guard. I've never had an interviewer behave that way before, in 24 years of being in the workforce. Needless to say the interview didn't go well, from that point on. I was polite, and answered their questions as best as I was able, painting my current employer in the best of lights and explaining that I honestly would like to stay there but I want to grow and am locked into my current role.
Folks, I've been stuck on this all day. I have no idea what to think or feel about it! Am I in the wrong somehow and just not seeing it? Was that manager just being an asshole? What if they DO talk to my supervisor about it and it hurts my situation at work? I have no proof that they all but threatened to try to get me in trouble with my boss. I'm totally at a loss!
Regardless, I intend to continue my job search. If anything, I'll probably be doubling down on my efforts at this point. What do you all think?