Dear Khun Munthana: I hold both Bachelor's and Master's degrees from an open university in Thailand. I started my career at a law firm and worked there for two years - a position and role I enjoyed - before accompanying my husband when he was posted overseas. Upon my return, I secured a position working in the foreign relations department of a large company, where I have been happy for almost 25 years. Happy that is until now.
I have seen staff come and go and as a result of a new boss I am starting to realise that in this division nobody really cares about me anymore. My immediate boss has never tried to find out what knowledge and experience I have. She always assigns me unimportant jobs - the sort of tasks I frankly find embarrassingly easy and, dare I say it, a complete waste of my qualifications and talents.
Most recently, I received the lowest promotion in my division and when I asked my boss why this was so. She replied that my work performance was "not outstanding"!
I have worked for this company for a long time and all my former bosses knew that I had the ability to do my job well. But nowadays, my new boss is just not interested in tapping my full potential. So what should I do? Should I change my job and resign from the firm? Please advise.
Orn-Teera
Dear Khun Orn-Teera: It is difficult to get attention from someone who views you as insignificant. So, it's time to get yourself noticed! Have a look at your unit works and seek out a tough assignment that you feel confident you are capable of managing successfully. Then ask your superior for the opportunity to handle the assignment. Be prepared to answer questions from her and justify why she should allocate the assignment to you. The bottom line is your abilities and experience managing similar assignments and so on.
This is an opportunity to show your ability. While working on the new assignment, you should keep your superior in the loop on progress and ask for her comments on any issues that may arise. Let her participate in your assignment where appropriate. This will make her feel comfortable working with you. And if you do handle the assignment successfully, I am confident that there will be additional jobs pushed your way.
Regarding your performance appraisal, you should find time to discuss the matter with her. Pick a day when your boss is in a good mood and not too busy. Sit down with her and tell her politely that you are not satisfied with the appraisal, partly because you were assigned jobs below your skills set. Ask her about her expectations of you and walk through some revised key performance indicators, competency targets and measurements. These will be the basis of your next appraisal. This way you will both understand mutual expectations. Tell her frankly that you would like to handle more difficult jobs and that you feel you could be of much more use to her.
You should try to stay with the organisation because you have contributed to the company for 25 years. In normal circumstances with that sort of experience you should have a big say in your department. If your boss is so rigid and difficult to deal with, then look to move internally to another department where your skills will be better valued. If that is not possible, only then should you consider a move to a new organisation.
I am confident that such a move will not be difficult for you because you already have long experience and even overseas exposure, which is valuable.
Good Luck!!Munthana
Ashca