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Increased Responsibiltiy at work with no promotion

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Increased Responsibiltiy at work with no promotion

by jaw5xs » Tue May 12, 2015 9:28 am
Hi,

I have a question concerning increased responsibility at work but no change in title.

I work for a small commercial real estate firm. I am a financial analyst focused on acquisitions and asset management of office buildings in two big metro areas. My old boss, who reported to one of the firm's partners left about 6 months ago. They have not replaced him, so I now report directly to the partner. There are no other analysts. I have seen a great increase in responsibility, but no title change. The company also did not offer raises this year either. I want to apply to b-school this fall and my plan is to get recommendations from my current boss to show my increased responsibility level. We have also had more business in the time since my boss left as a result of my direct work. If nothing changes, I may even take a job at a larger firm as a Senior Analyst or an Associate level position to show some progression once I get the recommendations out of the way.

Any advice you have on how this would impact my application or if I am doing this right this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
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by MargaretStrother » Wed May 13, 2015 7:17 am
Hi jaw5XS
Great question! To fill in the blanks, I need to ask you a few more questions in return: first, who is below you in the food chain? How many employees are there? Do you supervise any of them, train them, or lead project-specific teams?
More questions: How long have you been with this company, and how many other firms have you worked with since your university graduation? Is real estate your chosen post-MBA direction as well? If you are already discussing b-school with your boss, we can assume that he's on board; perhaps he could do you a favor and give you a title upgrade, in lieu of a raise, that would reflect your increased responsibility?
It's usually better not to change jobs while you are applying to top MBA programs, unless you have a huge opportunity thrown your way, and - and this is a big "and" - if the new opportunity is in alignment with your post-MBA career goals.
So, to sum up: don't leave if you can make this role work for you. Maximize the opportunity to add value in the organization between now and your application deadlines. If it still seems to be going nowhere, make strategic moves with an eye towards your long-term goals, but if you have had several jobs in the last few years, stay put and find something to lead.

Hope this helps,
Margaret Strother
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by jaw5xs » Wed May 13, 2015 11:06 am
Hi Margaret,

Thanks for the reply. I don't manage any employees. I'm the only financial analyst they have and report directly to one of the 3 partners of the firm. I have a lot of interaction with all three of them. The company has other divisions (construction, leasing, property management) but the investments side is just me and my boss at the moment. Real Estate is my chosen MBA direction. I've worked at 2 other firms, one was just a three month finance & accounting training program which wasn't a good fit and I looked for other opportunities. The other was as an Analyst a investment bank but was laid off after 9 months ( A first in, first out type of deal). I've been in this role for 2 years. I think based on what I'm hearing from you, I should definitely stay. I have another review in July, so hopefully I'm able to convey something then that would give me a title/change or raise.

Thanks for the help!
Last edited by jaw5xs on Wed May 13, 2015 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by jaw5xs » Wed May 13, 2015 11:22 am
Also, I haven't mentioned to my boss that I'm thinking about B School. I was thinking about doing it in the next month or so. Do you think that is a good timeline?

Thanks,
Last edited by jaw5xs on Sat Jun 20, 2015 7:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by MargaretStrother » Wed May 13, 2015 1:09 pm
Hi Justin,
Given those short jobs in your past, this sounds like a good plan -- stay where you are and really seek for impact/leadership roles. I always think the sooner you discuss your MBA goals with your boss, the better, so long as it's safe for your career growth. And who knows? He might help you out by getting you that title promotion even sooner.

Thanks,
Margaret
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by jaw5xs » Fri Jun 19, 2015 11:18 am
So I have an update here. I previously mentioned that my boss left and I report to one of the partners.

Well that Partner just resigned for family reasons and now I am reporting directly to the CEO of the company. I haven't gotten a promotion (title change or raise) but will this be looked at favorably at all? I will now be using the CEO for one of my letters of recommendations as well. Also if I decide to leave and change jobs before school, do you think schools will be understanding with all the changes going on at my current company?

Thanks
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