I've been working as a teller in a financial institution for just under a year. I came here with four years of financial industry experience, and had an agreement with SR. HR and the Regional Manager that I would come in, get to know the system and clients, and then move into a higher paying role.
About two months ago, I had an advisor come to me and offer to refer me to join the investment management division. This job would have provided me with an extra $25,000.00 in income. This advisor had been observing me for a few months, felt that I was overqualified for my current role (which I am), and felt that I could better serve the company in an advisory position.
This comes at a point in my life where I am the sole provider of a family of three facing a move that may require us to leave the city for the woodworks if I do not earn more income. This job offer would solve all my problems. We could stay in the city, my child could remain in the same elementary school, and we would not be separated from our families by distance. The advisor is not aware of this, but my manager is.
I had an interview with the investment advisory department that went very good. I was offered the job, with the expectation that I would enroll in the licensing program prior to my start date. I was going to join a cohort of new hires who would be trained by established advisors. We were all going to complete our certification programs together.
When my manager caught word of this, they were immediately hesitant. They called me into an office, and asked me if I thought I was ready. The conversation we had left me feeling as if they did not believe in my abilities, even though I have been the top sales person since I got there (and trained their team to be high performing when they wouldn't).
Flash forward to now, and the opportunity has been stripped from me. Two days ago, my manager called me into their office to offer me a role that would add an extra $3,200 to my annual** income (a legit $2.00 raise). Compare this to the $25,000 in extra income I was about to earn. You can see why I felt insulted.
I immediately applied to another job, aced the interview, and now I'm just waiting to hear back. Can't wait to hand in my two weeks notice, because that means I can start telling the entire team about what happened. They will learn what this company is really like, and see through the “social organization” bull shit that they have been perpetuating.
On a side note, my employer claims to be a “living wage” employer. When I brought this up to my manager and then asked why I wasn't able to live comfortably if this was true, they told me that it was more then competitors were offering (which isn't true). When I asked why they didn't raise base salaries even though they had their most profitable year and inflation is at an all time high, I was told that the company had other priorities. When asked why my wage was never raised to meet inflation, I was told I was given a raise, to which I had to explain was only 4% (not even enough to match inflation) and that I actually ended up with a loss to my pay.
Moral of the story: never trust your manager to have your best interest at heart, and never believe a company that claims to offer a living wage and be a social organization.