So after my crazy co-worker left, my CEO decided to restructure part of our department a bit, giving more responsibility to a younger co-worker with less than half the experience I have, and giving her responsibility for things she has no experience doing. This would be fine if we had a VP of our department to direct her, or if our CEO could direct her, but we don't and he can't. He's basically letting her unofficially take over our department, and it really bothers me, and some others.

He gave her the okay to hire an assistant director, who basically is going to take over her job, and she's going to work on other things and then direct this person, who will also take over supervising the employees that she currently supervises. So all her current employees are pissed because they are basically receiving a demotion by sticking this person in between them and their current boss. Other people at the organization are also quite pissed because pay scale wise, these assistant directors are coming in with very little experience, no where near some of the prestigious resumes as the rest of us, and getting paid just a few thousand dollars difference annually.

So in a 1:1 meeting with my CEO, which I have every couple of weeks, I brought to his attention that this new restructuring bothered me a lot. It seemed to me that my co-worker, let's call her J, was being given a promotion for not being able to do her current job, and was being given another direct report to do her job for her. I also told him that there was clearly a lot of favoritism going on with J and himself. He was including her on committee meetings that he didn't include others on and that were inappropriate considering her position and job responsibilities. That he included her over other staff members who were more appropriate looks very bad. He also sits with her at every performance of our orchestra, and takes her to every event with him. He is married and 46, she is married and 28. He goes into her office to talk to her a few times a day. He has been to my office all of twice in a year. She has like 5 years of experience in the field, I have 15 years of experience.

On top of all this clear favoritism, I told him that I was a little irritated that I had submitted my resume for the VP job four months ago and not received any communication about it. Meanwhile, I hear in department meetings that no resumes have been received for the VP position. So that makes me think mine has been ignored completely. And that's insulting. Considering my wealth of experience and having worked at some very prestigious places, I have a lot to bring to our organization, and all the things I have achieved here are being ignored, while another co-worker is getting promoted and mentored and groomed while failing at her job.

He responded to me that J is not being favored over others. He said that she has been here 3 years, and he doesn't want to lose her so he's thinking about her career. To me that was a smack in the face. Since when does the CEO care about an individual employee's career?! Especially one that is not advancing on her by her own accomplishments? What about all the other employees we've lost over the past year? He didn't care to change around their positions so they wouldn't get bored and leave? Furthermore, what about me and my career?With where I am at my career, I can't afford to stay here in this position very much longer or I won't be able to move up. Doesn't he care about that? Especially when I'm producing so much more revenue than her?

So then, after our meeting, he sends me an email thanking me for feeling comfortable sharing my concerns with him and he will think about what I've said. Then, the next day, I ask him if I can move into the window office that a former co-worker had that has been vacant since she left. His response was no, they have other staffing needs that they need that office for. Well, if I move into it, that will leave my office open. My asking for the office was a political strategic move. I'm not really unhappy with my office, but the other office is right next to his and is actually near the rest of my department. The fact that he denied my request shows me where I stand. I started sending out resumes immediately after that response.

Well then, yesterday (Sunday) at 8:30pm, I finally got an email from the headhunter we hired to find a new VP. They asked me to select a time from a list for a phone interview as the first step in the process to my application for the VP position. You know, while appreciate that he heard me and wants to give me a chance to interview, I feel like it's a slap in the face that as a current employee here, I have to go through the outside search firm first. He's perfectly okay promoting J into a newly created position, but can't be bothered to ask me for my resume and set up an interview with the search committee for me, instead I have to do a phone interview first.

I haven't responded to the search firm's email yet. I am honestly really insulted by it. Like, after 4 months now you're contacting me, and it's obvious you're only doing it because my CEO said to because I complained about it to him, and now you're just trying to placate me. I do not feel like I am being taken seriously and that's what pisses me off and why I don't know how to respond. At this point, telling the search firm to do a phone interview with me was not the right response. It just compounds the problem to me.

I really don't know what to do. I don't know, at this point, how to do a phone interview with these people and not be pissed as hell. Frankly, I almost feel like this position is beneath me. I think I have more talent and skill than most of my coworkers (I'm sorry if that sounds conceited or whatever, but I just have confidence in my skills and my work) and I clearly have more experience.

This rant probably seems like I'm a spoiled brat complaining, but I assure you that is not the case.

Thanks for listening.

Seesaw