I’m not sure if this was a good idea or not, but alas I did it. At the last second, too.
I’ve only been with this company for 5 months. What inspired me to apply for this promotion is a month ago one of my coworkers applied to be a supervisor on another team and he got the position. He’d only been working at the company for 4 months (one month longer than me at the time). And previous to that another coworker had been promoted only after 3 months of working there. So, it’s not without precedent.
But, Quix, you have a history of not staying at a job for a long time. But, folks, this would be a MAJOR pay increase. Yeah, my job helps pay the bills (unlike my previous jobs) but just BARELY. This extra $ would allow me to breathe financially. I could be finally in the so-called “middle” class. I could make it as a single mom. Maybe I could eventually own a home. Also, it’s way more of what I want to be doing. Do I want to answer calls in a call queue, assign tickets, and be bogged down in Excel spreadsheets? No! Do I want to help low-income individuals with mental health and developmental disabilities get the help they need? Hell, yes!
Despite this, I’m scared of this: my boss finding out and being upset. She’s the best boss I’ve EVER had. And I think I’m just going to have to tell her that I applied because I’m quite sure she’ll be notified anyway. I’ll tell her it’s not about her team, it’s more of what I want long-term. She did tell me early on she knew my position was entry-level and she wouldn’t be a good boss if she didn’t encourage her employees to grow in the company. In the 5 months, I’ve worked in this position, 4 people have either quit or moved on to other teams. Out of 8 people. That’s half!
Also, I’m scared then I won’t get the job and my boss will be thinking now about how I’m going to leave. But I’m also scared of actually *getting* the job and it being too much for me to handle. I just…I guess I wanted to take the risk.
I’ll know within the next week or two if I’ve gotten an interview. I’m pretty sure they’ll at least interview me and I know there are a couple positions open, but I don’t have a ton of experience in the role. I’d say my chances are 50/50 at this point.
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For those of you wondering where I work, I can’t get into specifics other than to say we manage mental health care for low-income folks in this area of the state I live in. The company is a pretty rewarding one to work for, my job is…meh.
Quixie's Mind Palace 
If you don’t get the job, you’ll at least have had a chance to talk with the people who might hire you for a job like that someday. So you can pick their brains about what they are looking for, what kind of experience you should be getting to be a good candidate. And if you decide that what they want is too much for you right now, or that you wouldn’t get along with the people you’d be working for, you can decline being considered and stay where you are. And then you can reassure your boss that it’s not about you actively wanting to leave, but about exploring your options for the future in your organization.
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