For at least 9 months my job has had a position open directly above my current position. I wasn’t qualified for it 9 months ago but am extremely qualified for it now and have been pushing for consideration for the past month. I’ve practically been filling this position for a while now and don’t plan to stay with the company without being promoted. This job essentially amounts to a title change with a few more responsibilities and presumably a significant pay raise. I submitted a formal application 2-3 weeks ago, was immediately contacted by a talent acquisition rep who agreed I was qualified, and that they would submit my application for an interview. That hasn’t happened and I’ve since confirmed that the ball is in my manager’s court, and he appears to be stalling it.
In the meantime I’ve applied for other jobs, and found one I’m very interested in. Initially I wasn’t too interested in it because it seemed like a lateral move (same position, different company) but after interviewing the position is much different than I expected and a very good opportunity with a company and manager that I think I’ll like working for much more than my current one. It would also come with up to a $9/hr raise and better insurance. Based on the interview I feel I have a great chance at getting an offer I will accept. That interview was Friday so hopefully I will hear from them this week, though due to the differences in the position compared to my expectations I have a few more questions that need answered, so it might be a week or two before I can accept.
In the meantime, if I was going to be approached about a promotion at my job, this would be the week. I travel most of the time for work, so I’m rarely in the office or interacting face to face with my manager, but this week I’m working locally, so the opportunity is there. I also did particularly good work last week. Given how informally my job does things, and how familiar my boss is with the quality of my work, my assumption is i won’t get an actual interview, more along the lines of a conversation ending in a job offer and statement of terms. My current inclination is that unless my current job absolutely blows away the other companies job offer I’ll be moving on. I hate it here and can’t imagine spending more than a couple more months working here.
Again, my current feeling is that I won’t be offered a promotion until I tell them I’m quitting, but just in case I get offered the promotion before I hear back from the other company, how do I stall with them without raising any red flags while I wait to see what my options are?