Career Management

Besides hiring people, see the "Hiring Process" post, and filling program requesting staffing needs, see the “Warm Body Syndrome” post, one of functional manager’s responsibilities is career development and career management of their employees.

When I was in pursuit of the vanishing job offer, see the “Now You See it, Now You Don’t” post, I decided I should stop by and talk to my functional manager.  Despite having an open door policy, it’s actually pretty hard to stop by and talk to your functional manager without notice.  When I stopped by, she was busy talking to another functional manager so I interrupted asking if she had a couple seconds.

I told her that I was applying to a job in another group that came from a need on the current program I was working.  I asked her “did you have any plans for me or should I pursue the current opportunity?”  Her response was “I didn’t have any plans for you; I figured you’d find something on your current program.”  I thanked her and went on my way.   I found it a little odd that my functional manager had no plan for me, given that is one of her primary responsibilities.  I’m sure once I didn’t have a charge number a great opportunity would have opened up for me, probably similar to Dave’s opportunity in the “The Young and the Talented” post.

Because functional manager’s career management is nonexistent I throw rocks.