I was passed over for a job in favor of someone with less experience. Here’s what I should have done

A user on Reddit recently shared a story about being passed up for a position after a colleague with less experience took full credit for a team project. We examined the advice offered on Reddit and compared it to that of a career-management and leadership expert. Here’s what they recommend.

The workplace scenario

In the post, the writer said Peter, an engineer, offered to temporarily fill a vacant position close to theirs. Peter was a known sweet-talker, and managers tended to buy into it. The writer, however, handled many of the responsibilities that piled up due to the vacancy.

The position was eventually filled — by Peter, who received sole recognition for the hard work that the poster had put in to fill the position. Peter hadn’t shared any credit with the poster, who had done the majority of the work.

“I knew that my boss was aware of me contributing to the position but I never went out of my way to show them I was helping like Peter did,” the user wrote. “I thought about saying something but ultimately decided against it to avoid any drama. I believe in karma and that the universe will work things out eventually.”

Fast-forward a bit, and another position at a different office opened up, which enticed the original poster. So they applied, but Peter received the job over them despite the poster having two years of engineering experience to Peter’s one year.

“I just feel extremely demoralized and like there’s nothing I can do. I’m really considering leaving for another company where s—t like this is less common,” they said. “I know ‘this happens at every company’ but I feel like it’s wrong to stay when I feel like I’ve been personally wronged. Any advice?”

What Reddit says

One user advised the poster to apply elsewhere but offered some sound advice for their next venture.

“It is vitally important to not only do good work, but to make sure that people SEE that you’re doing good work, and that you’re getting the credit that you deserve,” they said.

They also highlighted that experience plays no role in this situation. It’s output and skill set that matter.

Another user, FRELNCER, said the user should leave their job when they have another lined up, because they’re now soured on the current workplace. However, they echoed a similar notion that politics played a role in recognition.

“Peter volunteered and got the recognition he needed to be ‘visible,'” FRELNCER wrote. “That visibility got him the promotion. No one’s going to go looking for you or look to give you credit. You have to advocate for yourself.”

What an expert says

Brenda Stanton, vice president at Keystone Partners — which provides career management and leadership development support — told Ladders that passive-aggressively quitting isn’t going to solve this situation. It can even follow them to their next job.

“Usually, when we don’t deal with things head on, they show up in another outfit. Our situations — especially the difficult ones — are mirrors to what we need to look at and deal with versus run away from,” Stanton said. “I would recommend that this individual schedule time with their boss and express their disappointment in getting passed up for the position. Then, ask for feedback. What did the other candidate do or have that I didn’t communicate?”

Stanton said that the poster’s employer may not know about their aspirations and assume they’re happy in their current role. She advised people in similar situations to tell their bosses what their short-term and long-term goals are and ask for feedback on how to develop the right skills, both those that are functional as well as leadership, since it can position them for future opportunities.

“This strikes me as an example of someone who is pointing the finger externally at what they’re not getting when they need to go internal,” Stanton said.

The Reddit poster’s situation may also be an opportunity for the worker to write a PAR story, Stanton said. PAR, for “problem, action, result,” can be shared in an interview with recruiters when asked about a prior work experience where they were disappointed or not heard from.

“They can leverage this as a huge learning experience and come out the other side with more clarity about where [they] need to grow, and then take that knowledge to build a development plan to get [them] there,” she said.