I was passed up for a promotion by someone with less knowledge and time with the company?

I was passed up in October for a promotion and my manager stated that another position would be opened in the next month. The reason he stated that the other person got promoted is that the latter position needed more expierience, and I excepted that. Well a couple of months passed and now I have to interview for the position with 4 other people. I was promised to be promoted first and was not. I know that this does not mean much because my manager can change his mind, but I feel totally jipped because I had gone to another position in the company to help out and was offered a permanent position. I declined the offer and the raise because I was told that I was getting oromoted next. I am so confused and so disheartened by my job. I think I should just leave, but I don't want this to happen to another person.

Sorry to say but this kind of stuff happens all the time. You did not say that you did not get the job. Maybe he HAS to interview other people but intends on promoting you.

That sucks. Also being told that someone is being promoted over you 'because they need the experience' sounds like BS to me, and makes me question the honesty of your boss. If you don't get the promotion your looking for you might consider moving on. Good luck.

Your own words state that he said "another position would be opened", not that you were promised the next opening. Ask him what you need to do to improve your chances next time.

Unless you have the promise of the promotion in writing, you're pretty much out of luck. It's always a risk to pass up a sure thing for the possibility of something better, but as other answerer's have mentioned, that's part of life. Your best course of action now would be to start documenting all these promises your boss is making about promoting you, and if you're passed up again you'll have something to go to HR with. You may still not get the promotion, but at least they'll be able to put a stop to your boss's empty promises. Good luck!

Your frustrations are understandable in light of the information you have shared . However , there may be someone who has seen the patience you have shown and the possibility exists that at some future point your virtues as a 'team player' may be rewarded .
It is easy for me to counsel patience since I am not fully aware of the dynamics that surround your situation . It may very well be best to seek employment elsewhere where your skills would , and should , be appreciated .
You will have to decide if a career move is based upon whether or not you will be better off in another position or if your move is based upon your , understandable , frustrations .
You should have been able to trust that what was told to you was true and your good -will should have been taken into consideration .
I hope that all will be well with you ; my prayers are with you .
I want to wish you a happy and prosperous new year ! :0)

unfortunately this happens almost every day, and to more people than you would think. I gave up a career at Wal-Mart after almost 10 years due to the very same thing......I was tired of training the very same people that got promoted ahead of me, often with years less time and less experience than i had in my pinky finger compared to my knowledge of policies, procedures and all the little things they don't teach you in training class.....alot of times what will happen is the manager will be one who is afraid of confrontation, and will tell you things such as he told you just to pacify you and diffuse any conflict between you, thinking it will go away and you'll forget about it, but we both know we don't forget these things do we? promotions, especially in larger organizations, have everything to do with office politics and almost nothing to do with actual ability and knowledge.....it's even worse at union companies, where seniority means everything and ability means absolutely nothing. there isn't really anything you can do about this situation and this type of manager other than look and see what's out there within the company, transfer out and get away from him, or find another job. just don't make the same mistake that I did and leave before you have another job.....and certainly don't make my mistake of turning in a scathing letter of resignation outlining all the faults within the company and managers in question.....it took me almost 2 years to find another job after leaving wally world due to not getting good references from the spiteful and vindictive management style they seem to promote as a corporate culture.....even though i can't prove it, someone with my experience and credentials should have been at work again very quickly, unless i was getting bad references from the previous employer. i now have learned these lessons well, actually found a company where i got promoted very quickly based on ability and now in senior management, i remember all these things that you point out in your quesiton and NEVER promoted based on who kissed my as*s, but on ability and knowledge......another reason they do these things, and one thing i've found in my fellow managers as well, is that sometimes, beyond the politics and as*s licking that goes with it, they promote people who will be popular with the employees, regardless of skill sets, just to avoid conflict in the workplace because the workforce may not like the person promoted....they would rather promote based on who the employees will like and get along with, but that doesn't do a thing for the P&L at the end of the month. it sounds to me like, for whatever reason, you boss is promoting based on who he likes as opposed to the best person for the job and it probably is time for you to look at other opportunities, either within the company or away from the company entirely....often, a company that will allow those types of promotions and managers who have such arbitrary and 'popularity' based promotions has it ingrained into their corporate culture and it isn't likely to be different at other divisions or departments within the company.....and there is one other factor to consider.....if the manager you reference has promoted men ahead of you, and there aren't many women being promoted, then it is time to go. alot of sterotypes still exisit within management at alot of companies with regard to promoting women and women in management as a whole, and if this is the case you certainly are fighting a losing battle. I for one promote women at every chance, even though in my business, aviation, it is a hard sell to the male and ex-military upper management....but at the level i am now, i make my own promotion decisions and they almost always are women and almost always the right ones for the job..... i find they are the best managers, and outperform their male counterparts in almost every aspect of the job, as well as making me look good in the process....but alot of managers and companies just don't get it. best of luck to you and if there is anything I can do further to help you or any specific questions you may have please don't hesitate to go to my profile page and email me and i'll help you if i can......

move on. if they need you they would move you up.

This type of thing happens all the time. Sometimes you can be so good at the position you are presently doing that management doesn't want to fix something that is not broken.

Something similar happened to me years ago and it was after discussing the situation with a person higher up in the organization that I got the position I had been longing for. If you can't get satisfaction within this company, it may be time to look elsewhere.

Good luck.