Employee gets passed over for promotion in favor of a coworker they trained: 'I'm baffled, I have many years [of] experience'

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

May 5, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

When you've shown your superiors how well you can train new hires, you'd usually expect that you would be first up for promotion—after all, one can only train and teach effectively once they have mastery over that which they are teaching. But this isn't always the case… There are a number of untold reasons why your boss might not consider you for an open management position or even to be future management material. Some of these reasons might have substance, while some of them might be completely unfair and off base.

Without a doubt, the journey to promotion is murky, doesn't have any clear path, and usually has more to do with your relationships than actual aptitude or proficiency. Those who ascend the fastest up the management structure will usually be the ones who go out of their way to build relationships within the team and management… Sometimes, prioritizing this over doing any of their actual work. Still, as long as their communication is valued and their lack of work ethic goes unregnized you can probably count on them being your boss the next time a position up the chain opens up.

This worker shared their frustration at having been passed up for promotion in favor of someone they had trained with this popular online workplace community. Readers shared their sympathies, thoughts, and advice in the comments, which you can see in the images below.