Be honest, promotions are primarily driven by favoritism

[Anonymous]

I am recruiting and got two internal candidates and HR off the record said one is pushy and annoying and got HR complaints from co-workers in past.

You don’t know

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly B is a known candidate in that group. Why not hire B over A if A doesn't have a clear advantage, and might also not be a great personality fit.

Except there is a clear advantage - more years experience doing the same exact job as B. Both are already liked. You're clearly sending the message that years of experience and accomplishments don't matter. Only X factors like working with people in the group matter. How can anyone possibly have a fair chance at the job then if that's the primary factor? It's just favoritism while ignoring hard tangibles within the realm of control of both candidates like number of papers published, years experience, etc.

Does it really make a difference if one person has, say, 5 years experience and the other has 8? I would think both would be competent at the job. If it’s 2 years experience versus 10, then maybe there is a difference.
But if candidate B has more experience with the team they will manage then that is the obvious choice.

[Anonymous]

Candidate B obviously has the advantage of being known to the team already. I would have chosen B

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of factors

[Anonymous]

No way for anyone removed from situation to know what happened in this case. Could be favoritism, ageism, or anything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Today at work it was announced who'd essentially be promoted to manager. Two internal candidates (A and B) applied. Both are well liked by the people they work with. Candidate A has more years of experience on the job than candidate B. They both have the same exact job though. Candidate A also has published twice since being hired while candidate B has zero.

It was announced today that B got the job. Now everyone cannot understand why. Then only difference is that the posted job was for management over a group B works in. A does not work in that group. Obviously A cannot control who they work with.

What is the point then of interviewing for the job then if management above seemed to already have made up their minds that they'd hire based on experience within the group rather than accomplishments? People from the outside cannot control the latter.

I'm now convinced that when it comes to promotions accomplishments never matter. In the end it always comes down to favoritism outside the control of whomever is applying.

I have 25 years experience. Should I be the manager?
No, I don't even work at your company or industry.

B has relevant experience on the team. A can go for a management position in A's team when it comes up.

Unfortunately, the company can't let A and B compete to see which will except the lowest compensation for the job.

Sometimes there are more qualified candidates than positions. It's a sign you need to move to a more in-demand role.

Develop a valuable skill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am recruiting and got two internal candidates and HR off the record said one is pushy and annoying and got HR complaints from co-workers in past.

You don’t know

It's corny, but an HR person gave this advice, and I think it's true: every day is a job interview. You're on stage and everyone sees your performance.

You have to accept that there isn't some objective, data driven formula that gets people ahead. Soft skills matter, however that looks in your field and it does vary. Generally though it's showing the Big 5 personality traits and being able to control your ego.

[Anonymous]

All else being equal (performance, ability, etc)… Promotions are about luck, right place at the right time, and strategically hooking your wagon to the right racehorse. If you don’t have one of these going for you during an internal promotion and someone else does, you’ll be second runner up. That’s not favoritism, that’s just how it works.

[Anonymous]

OP, don’t think of the interview as being wasted time. Think of it as a great opportunity you had to make a connection with the hiring folks and show them that you have drive, curiosity and are knowledgeable about your current job. They will remember that for next time. Send them a note thanking them for the opportunity to interview and telling them you hope you get an opportunity to work with them and/or you’d love an opportunity to talk more about potential opportunities in that department.

[Anonymous]

At higher levels it is about how much of a pull you have with the leadership and of course you have to be able to do the job.
Downside is that if your "team" loses in some reorg games then you can get purged as well because of the association. Hopefully the leader who lost out has connections somewhere else and brings you along. The worst is to commit to someone senior who then decides to retire or just has enough money to coast then you can get stuck in the "wilderness" for a bit.