I Got Promoted, But First...

Last September, I wrote about applying for a promotion for the third and last time, and I got it. It's a welcome blessing, but even before I start my new position, the requirements alone are ridiculous.

Please bear with me as I share the requirements that I need to submit before I can start, and a few rants here and there about it. Let this be a guide also to those who are in government service, and plans to apply for a promotion soon.

Take note, I am entering my 5th year in this government agency, and my 10th year overall in government service. 

The red folder will be submitted to the Civil Service Commission, while the yellow one will be submitted to our regional office.

Now, let's go through some of the.. er.. weirder requirements.

1. Original NSO and Local Birth & Marriage Certificates.

Uhm, the NSO certificates are scanned copies of the Local ones, then printed in special NSO papers with all the security features. Now we have to get 2 copies from NSO and 2 copies from the Local Civil Registrar. 

Fun fact: When I got accepted originally 5 years ago, I submitted these. Now that I am promoted, I am asked to submit the same again. And with the pandemic, it's not easy and cheap to request and claim copies of these docs.

2. Handwritten Application Letter.

C'mon, who would still be writing down a freaking application letter the past decade? 

3. Certification of Eligibility from the Civil Service Commission.

Okay. As mentioned earlier, this will be my 10th year in government service, and my 2nd government agency. I wouldn't be hired in the service if I wasn't civil service eligible in the first place. And I still have my original civil service eligibility from 2001. Now I'm asked to go to the CSC office and request (and pay) for a certification that I an Civil Service eligible. Of course I will comply (I don't have a choice), but I still think this is kinda unnecessary.

Again, I am very much thankful, but I am also human. I'm sorry for the rant, there are just some requirements that are redundant, and seemingly unnecessary, but hey, I can rant all I want but at the end of the day, I must and I will comply.

Third and Probably the Last Time

I just submitted my third application for a higher position in our office. If I'll still won't be get it, I'll take it as not just a sign, but a big slap on my face that this is not the agency for me. My heart and my ego can only take so much.

This is not too brag, but my educational qualification, my experience, and all my trainings (both attended and conducted) through the years made the Superintendent ask me a lot of times before accepting me if I really wanted to work in this agency at one of the lowest ranking positions. He said that my credentials were more than most Principals, I just don't have experience teaching in a public school setting so I was not able to apply for any higher position. I was willing to start from the bottom, and work my way up.

Two years later, there was a higher position open.

All the published qualification fit me perfectly.

After the initial screening, there were only 2 of us left. The other one was already doing the duties of that position as OIC. I didn't mind. I knew we were both qualified.

Then a plot twist.

She resigned and went to the States.

I was the only one left. That position was mine.

So I thought.

They told me that I lacked one requirement, and I am disqualified.

The requirement that I lacked was one performance rating. The requirement was 3 performance ratings. I had 2 from this office since I was here for 2 years, but I submitted a lot of performance ratings from my previous (private) companies. They said it's not considered, and I'm disqualified.

They said that since no one's accepted to the position, they will close it and then open it at a later time, then I can reapply.

A year later, they reopened the same position with the same requirements and qualifications.

Yes, you bet I was confident. I already had the 3 performance ratings needed since I was in this agency for 3 years already.

De ja vu.

There were again 2 of us left after the initial screening.

This time, I was more confident than the first time because I knew I was more qualified than the other candidate. 

Surprise! Surprise! 

De ja vu? 

You can say that again.

I was again disqualified.

The letter sent by HR said I was disqualified because I lacked experience.

That same letter had a different position indicated aside from misspelling my last name.

I pointed that out, and HR said it was just a typo, and I am still disqualified for lack of experience.

By the way, do you know what a disqualification means?

It means that everything that I have submitted goes down the drain, and they will not look at it anymore, and I will have no more opportunity for an interview.

I was very disappointed, and bitter.

The pain is still fresh until now, so let me just try to break down a few points.

Educational Qualification.

Education Graduate or its equivalent.

Preferably BS Psychology.

Me: 

BS Psychology, Certificate of Professional Education, Master of Arts in Education, PhD in Technology Management.

Her: 

BS Fisheries, Certificate of Professional Education, Masters still On-going.

Experience.

Me: Assisted the President and Heads in a State University in Monitoring & Evaluating the Satellite Campuses for 6 years. 

Her: Worked with aa Fisheries agency before joining this agency.

If I was not disqualified, my credentials were definitely higher than hers, and I know I would've done good during the interview/s. Sad that I was not given both opportunities, and she got the position without any competition.

I am still bitter, and I don't blame her for being the one accepted.

I didn't really believe in influence in government agencies before, but I am a true believer now.

A bitter believer.

So here we are in the present. I just submitted a set of documents to apply for a higher position. Not really a high position, but higher than what I'm holding right now. This is the third time, and probably the last time. Will start looking in other government agencies today. It's difficult to stay in a place where you're not shown that you're appreciated.

Will update you, guys!