fork in the road

LegacyUser

ill first give a bit of a background to my situation so that it can be put into context. im 32 years of age and i'm a public sector employee for the last 7 years. my job is one i always wanted when i was in school and i would never consider walkin away from it regardless of the economic climate.



i'm at the same level in my job as i have been at when i started. my problem is that over the years i have noticed that in order to further your career in my profession its necessary to have relatives in the job at a higher level or at least network(kiss ass) socially with the bosses. nepotism and cronyism are rife. this is widely accepted by all in my profession and not just my opinion. Getting promoted on merit is the exception rather then the rule.



After a couple of years in the job i applied for higher vacancies within my profession to no avail. i began to see less competent people who had the right connections move ahead of me. like most people my job is very important to me and furthering my career is very much linked to how i view myself as a success or failure. i'm now at the stage where i am completely disillusioned and do not know what to do. i have no other family in the job and i dont, nor would i ever, engage in kiss assing socially with the bosses in order to get ahead. that is not an option for me and is even unlikely at this stage to get me anywhere. i feel as is the only options open to me are to focus my attention on pursuits outside my carrer for personal fulfillment or to continue working hard in my career hoping that eventually i will be noticed and get promoted, although this seems unlikely. i would be gratefull for advice from anyone who has found themselves in the similar situation





ps. for obvious reasons i will not go into further details about where i work.

briano

the faithfull wrote: »

...or at least network(kiss ass) socially with the bosses. nepotism and cronyism are rife.

...and i dont, nor would i ever, engage in kiss assing socially with the bosses in order to get ahead....

It's ****, but this is how it works in the world. Personally, I don't think there is anything demeaning about sociallizing or networking with people, be they higher up or not, in your organisation or your industry in general.

I also wouldn't catagorise it as ass kissing; to be honest, it sort of smacks of immaturity. Social interactions can be an opportunity to not only show that you are interested in progressing your career, but also to hear advice from people who have progressed further.

Jim2007

the faithfull wrote: »

hoping that eventually i will be noticed and get promoted, although this seems unlikely.

How do you expect to get noticed if you don't interact with people??? The fact is that managers will promote people they know and feel they can trust. A large part of that comes through social interaction, where people get to know the whole person and not just the work aspects of your life. If you decide to opt out, then it will be your loss.

Jim.

LegacyUser

i take on board what you have said briano and jim and i thank you for your replies. I'd just like to make the point that its not that im some sort of recluse in work or outside it, but am i naieve to think that promotion should be based on merit and not on being drinking buddies with the boss. is that not what has the country in the state that its in. i'd find socialisng with the bosses just in order to get promoted really disingenuous to be honest.

Mrs OBumble

the faithfull wrote: »

but am i naieve to think that promotion should be based on merit and not on being drinking buddies with the boss.

Yes.

In theory that's how organisations that want to behave fairly would work (I have no idea if the Irish government's official policies actually include fairness or not). But sure'n you know that there's lot of difference between theory and practise here.

And yes, you're quite right that this sort of attitude is what has fecked the country over.

Although you can put a different spin on it, and say that promotion should be based on demonstrating that you have the social skills to deal with the challenges that new roles would include. Mostly these won't be technical challenges, they'll involve people and politics.

X1R

Unfortunatly that is the way of the world, and more disapointingly, the way the Irish have done business for years. If you gotta blow smoke up someones h*le, there are a few things to remember:

1: Find the biggest h*le you can to blow smoke up, there will be a few people doing the same as you.
2: You cannot just go and fill that h*le, it takes time to build up the trust to LET you blow smoke up there.
3: At some point there will be someone looking to blow smoke up your h*le, Remember what that feels like.

Sorry if thats a bit crude but such is life .

shoegirl

the faithfull wrote: »

i take on board what you have said briano and jim and i thank you for your replies. I'd just like to make the point that its not that im some sort of recluse in work or outside it, but am i naieve to think that promotion should be based on merit and not on being drinking buddies with the boss. is that not what has the country in the state that its in. i'd find socialisng with the bosses just in order to get promoted really disingenuous to be honest.

I hate to say it, but if you don't build strong relationships with your bosses, you cannot expect them to really know you and trust you. I'd suggest you make a better effort to build strong bonds with bosses - keeping it professional of course, and keep applying every single time an opportunity comes up.