Promotion ?
19 December 2005, 06:11 PM
#1
Promotion ?
Went for a propotion at work, not much of an increase in salary, just one scale, i.e. from the top of one to the bottom of another, less than a grand, it was more about having the satisfaction of actually getting it, plus having recently having hit 35 I feel like I need to progress a bit in my career.
I work in a government department as an Oracle Database Administrator, i.e. building and maintaining databases, this was just to add 'senior' to the job title, I applied for it and got my application accepted, I was invited to attend an assesment which I did and failed, it was set and marked by my Boss's boss who said I had not scored highly enough in the 'Strategic Perspective' section, the test was an 'in tray' exercise, 8 pieces of correspondence to reply to which I did but there was not enough reference to 'Strategic Perspective' in my answers and I scored low on technical knowledge, notwithstanding I had just passed an Oracle upgrade exam the day before, perhaps that was because I was pitching my answers to a manager rather than a techie ?
So basically I now cant apply for any job that requires resitting this 'exam' for six months, the job (along with a similar role) will be readvertised, the last round brought 2 applications in total, one being me and another being a recent grad with no certification (as they require Oracle certification) and no experience. They cannot recruit at the same level as me either, the last ( and only) applicant accepted and then blew them out as he got more money elsewhere, all the other comparable lads in the dept are contractors on 300 - 400 a day, dont begrudge them it at all but it does seem a bit daft that they cant recruit because the money isnt high enough so they fill the place with contractors (I suppose thats where the Council Tax is going). Just seems to me that they are introducing hoops to jump through, why not just appoint and put on probation, three months and it you arent up to scratch back to whence you came ?
I just got the feeling that whatever I did in the exam I wouldnt get a look in, maybe its sour grapes and I dont deserve it, some have said its because I am a straight white male in local government but I am not sure about that theory.
The other annoying thing is there were glaring errors in the test, dates and spelling errors, and they are testing me, none of the existing people in similar roles have done this test as its a recent introduction.
So I am at a bit of a crossroads, what should I do ?
I work in a government department as an Oracle Database Administrator, i.e. building and maintaining databases, this was just to add 'senior' to the job title, I applied for it and got my application accepted, I was invited to attend an assesment which I did and failed, it was set and marked by my Boss's boss who said I had not scored highly enough in the 'Strategic Perspective' section, the test was an 'in tray' exercise, 8 pieces of correspondence to reply to which I did but there was not enough reference to 'Strategic Perspective' in my answers and I scored low on technical knowledge, notwithstanding I had just passed an Oracle upgrade exam the day before, perhaps that was because I was pitching my answers to a manager rather than a techie ?
So basically I now cant apply for any job that requires resitting this 'exam' for six months, the job (along with a similar role) will be readvertised, the last round brought 2 applications in total, one being me and another being a recent grad with no certification (as they require Oracle certification) and no experience. They cannot recruit at the same level as me either, the last ( and only) applicant accepted and then blew them out as he got more money elsewhere, all the other comparable lads in the dept are contractors on 300 - 400 a day, dont begrudge them it at all but it does seem a bit daft that they cant recruit because the money isnt high enough so they fill the place with contractors (I suppose thats where the Council Tax is going). Just seems to me that they are introducing hoops to jump through, why not just appoint and put on probation, three months and it you arent up to scratch back to whence you came ?
I just got the feeling that whatever I did in the exam I wouldnt get a look in, maybe its sour grapes and I dont deserve it, some have said its because I am a straight white male in local government but I am not sure about that theory.
The other annoying thing is there were glaring errors in the test, dates and spelling errors, and they are testing me, none of the existing people in similar roles have done this test as its a recent introduction.
So I am at a bit of a crossroads, what should I do ?
19 December 2005, 07:20 PM
#4
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Sorry you didn't get it. Bit odd that they take that attitude though, I work for public service and they seem to not mind bending the rules (within reason) if it gets the job done.
Oh dear. Given the current fuss/climate about police intelligence, you could have a field day with that if you decided to leave...
Originally Posted by J4CKO
The other annoying thing is there were glaring errors in the test, dates and spelling errors, and they are testing me, none of the existing people in similar roles have done this test as its a recent introduction.
