I was demoted today and don't know what to do - HELP!

stanluoser

My brother told me a saying he heard.."Never be too good at a job you don't want." It's like if you're a janitor, never be too good at it or they'll never promote you or move you out of that job. Why find someone worse than you when they can keep you.

ninerbuff

Hi everyone,

I'm basically looking for advice here. I'm still in shock as I write this, but besides writing out a pros and cons list and replaying scenarios in my head, I haven't really gotten anywhere. Here's a quick background so you can understand what happened.

I work for a computer software company in the marketing department. I was hired in May 2010 as an inside sales rep. After a year and a half, I was promoted to a team lead, a position that was created for me, which meant I had a smaller territory but acted as a player/coach. In April, I was promoted to full time manager, managing 6 inside reps. Going from a peer to a manager is tough!!!!

Recently, a new division was created and two of those reps were transferred over. This left 4 instead of 6 reps. We hired one new inside sales rep, and in mid-November my CMO decided to have me fill in the 6th role until the end of the year. Well today, he along with my boss pulled me into his office and told me they want me to continue doing this role since I'm a natural at it - and that they were going to be posting the manager job - MY manager job - online in a few weeks.

This comes as a total blow, because I spent the past year gearing up for this and have only had 8 months to really prove myself. In those 8 months, I hired 3 new reps and had to get them up to speed. Also, I am 28 and was the youngest manager in the company. They had known I'd never managed before but hired me on - sought me out and asked me to do this role - because they believed in me.

Now, my CMOs reasons are that I am better as an individual contributor than a manager. In the last few weeks I've been performing the inside sales role, my numbers have been higher than the other reps...in my opinion, because I've been there the longest. Now they're telling me they can't afford me not to do that role. They are also offering me an "opportunity" to make more money - that is, if I continue to perform at a consistently high rate.

All in all, I'm happy to have a job, don't get me wrong. But I am confused, I was promoted for doing well, and now I am being demoted for doing well. As my 8 month tenure being a manager, I was paid 100 percent of my quarterly goals. Only 20 percent of my goals were for having the team meet marketing numbers, but I am being penalized for that 20 percent. We weren't able to meet our goals because of marketing spending which I had no control over and the ramp time of new hires. All I could do was coach and encourage people. Some people can't be taught sales overnight so this was no easy feat.

Is this fair for them to do this? I've never been given a warning or signal this would happen. Should I have requested more coaching? Should I 'rebuttle' and ask for a second chance? If anyone has been in this situation, I would love to hear your story, or if you haven't been in this situation, any advice would be awesome.

I want to point out again that I am lucky and thankful to have a job. I just had to vent and my MFP friends are always the best, most unbiased opinions I can get.

If you read this far, thanks! I know that was long. Now, another shot of Jack for me, as I'm trying to numb the pain of being "snubbed."

Lots of love,

-Jessica

Bottom line. All companies look for profit. Chances are that profit either went down/remained the same and that's what might have caused the demotion.
Take it with a grain of salt. You didn't get fired, and though it's a demotion, use the experience to try to excel.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Doodlewhopper

Could be a CYA issue. Very often a manager will make a personnel move in response to his superior putting pressure on him. Ie; sales are down due to the economy, boss is frantic and doo-doo rolls down hill. Regardless of how well you have done your job, your head goes before his will.

"Well Joe, what have you done in response to our pathetic last quarter? Youre not just sitting there waiting for the economy to turn around are you? Youre not paid to sit and wait, youre paid to do something..."

Azdak

With the economy being as bad as it is, management gets away with stuff like this. They know it's an employer's market and the chances of you leaving are slim and none. They also know someone else will do it for less.
Something similar happened to me in during the '80-'82 recession. Twice a manager's position came up and my manager torpedoed my chances because he didn't want to lose me. Translation: He would have to do all of his work himself, instead of unloading a bunch on me. So, during lunch one day, I went to our largest competitor, applied and was offered a job on the spot. When I came back and gave my notice, corporate overruled my manager and a promotion and more money suddenly became available.
I wouldn't say this could happen for you, but it wouldn't hurt to do some clandestine job searching.
Good luck! Ciao, Marc


Epilogue: A year and a half later, my old manager was promoted and he became my boss again. Two months later he took his revenge by laying me off. You don't win them all.

Spoken by someone who has been around the block a few times and knows how the world works.

To the OP: unfortunately, these types of situations are pretty standard in today's workplace. The best defense is to keep growing your skills, constantly develop your network, and no matter how well things are going, ALWAYS be on the lookout for your next job. There is zero loyalty and almost zero honesty in the workplace today. You really have to be a mercenary. Good luck. I wish I had followed my own advice for the past 20 years.

axialmeow

Sorry this happened. But it's fair. Businesses look out for themselves and themselves ONLY. If they see a potential for making more money somewhere they will take it. And that's what happened. It wasn't that you weren't good in management, it's that you were better at sales. They saw that and jumped at it. You must take for granted that sales comes naturally to you. It's not something just *anyone* can do. It's a valuble skill. I do not possess it. I could never do it. Management is easier to replace. Natural sales people are not easy to find.