My management blocked my internal transfer, but now I have an outside offer. Should I tell them?

Question

I've been working as a manufacturing engineer at a plant in a Dow 30 corporation for 2 years. When I joined I was told I can move around the company after 2 years. I realized I'm not growing in my role and I applied for an internal role as a data scientist. My direct manager is originally supportive but as I got close to getting an offer, upper management blocked my transfer because "I've been doing a good job." The hiring manager still wants me.

With the pandemic, I really don't want to work in a plant anymore. I started job searching and now got an offer as a data scientist from a lesser known company, with equal pay.

I got about a week or so before I need to make a decision. Should I just break the news to my employer that I got an offer but I wish to stay within the company and ask them to expedite my transfer request? It's either that, or I give them a 2 weeks notice soon, so they are going to find out anyway. Honestly, I prefer to stay within my current company. But I don't want to sound like I'm threatening them.

Advice?

Answer 1

When I joined I was told I can move around the company after 2 years...upper management blocked my transfer because "I've been doing a good job."

Obviously they lied. Upper management is not only betraying you, but also undercutting your direct manager.

There are two good reasons why you should leave your current position.

1. Upper management is greedy and selfish and doesn't care a whit whether you're happy or not. It also show that they are foolish and shortsighted because they don't know or care that a thwarted employee will either leave, or stay but do poor work.

   You have been told that your reward for doing a good job is to be stalled at your current position. Their attitude will not change. Even if you didn't look for another job, and just decided to swallow the insult and stay, you can expect this kind of abuse to continue.

2. If you use the threat of leaving to successfully force them to expedite your transfer request, you will become marked as an effective and dangerous adversary who once humiliated upper management. People do not rise to positions of power without big egos, and most of them are extremely sensitive to any perceived threat to their omnipotence.

   You can expect that at least one upper manager will take your offer to bargain as a personal threat. He will eventually find a way to get even. Probably when you do not have a better offer on the table.

In general, when your workplace is so unsatisfactory that you have been put to the trouble of finding another job, the best common wisdom is to never accept a counteroffer to stay. You will never shed the taint of disloyalty.

Now, to answer the question in your title -- "Should I tell them?" -- You don't have to tell them, they'll figure it out from your resignation letter.

Answer 2

There is one place where you do not want to end up:

The job offer expires or is withdrawn, and you end up staying with your current company in the same role.

Personally, I never give notice until I have a start date my new company - so my maximally cautious advice is this:

• Accept the new job offer immediately.
• Receive, sign, and return the contract.
• Receive a letter confirming your start date.
• Have a meeting with the relevant bosses at your current company, and make it absolutely clear you want to move to being a data scientist right away.
• If you get any answer at all other than "here's the paperwork confirming your new position and salary, you start on Monday" (treat a verbal promise as worthless), hand in your notice. (Have your notice letter in your pocket ready)

They won't give that answer, of course. You will end up leaving, and your employer will know why. Don't worry, you'll love your new job - on top of that you will now be a data scientist, and applying for other data scientist roles anywhere just got that much easier.

Answer 3

They already know. Management doesn't know you have an offer on the table at this exact moment, but they know that seeking a transfer to another role is a sign of being dissatisfied in some way with your current position. They know that dissatisfaction will eventually lead to looking outside the company, and if they're smart, they will plan as if it's already happening. If they truly think you are "doing a good job," they will take steps to retain you.

They know you are at risk of leaving, and for whatever reason, they have decided to take that risk. You shouldn't feel like you owe them any additional warning.

Answer 4

I kind of agree with A. I. Breveleri´s answer, but I want to offer a softer approach.

As a general rule: Don´t ever tell them about the other offer unless you have decided to switch and the contract with your new employer is signed!

What you can do, if you really want to stay, is try to give them a "last warning" (don´t call it that ;). Explain that you currently feel you are not able to grow professionally in this environment. Also state that the reason to deny your transfer because "you are doing a good job" is not satisfactory - it would mean you´d have do a bad job to progress in this company and that does not send a particularly motivating message. Ask them to give you a clear and written commitment for your career path inside the company.

There is no need to mention the other offer. If you let your manager know you are not happy with your current position and are running out of patience he will know he is about to loose you soon. If nothing is done about it, obviously, the company does not care.

So if they do not give you any commitment to support you in your professional development or if you are not satisfied with what they offer, take the other offer. Then, hand in your notice. Don´t renegotiate after accepting the other offer - the time to do so has passed.

Answer 5

The company you are working for will be hiring again. I think you just take the new position, work there as long as it is fulfilling and you are growing. If you keep being fulfilled and growing, great! If not, there's a good chance the company that thought you were doing a good job will want you back. Keep it professional. Give them notice, politiely decline if they offer to give you the position you wanted after all. Tell them you don't want to reneg on the commitment you made to the other company when you signed the offer, it's nothing against your current company. You don't need to (nor should you) say it. They know they didn't live up to their promise that you could move after two years.

Your current manager probably likes you and was going to lose you anyway. The other manager wanted you and didn't get you because of upper management. That's two good contacts at this company should you be looking to go there in the future. You also have a very credible thing to say about why you left that position (for future interviews, I mean). "They said that I could change positions after two years, but they did not follow through on their commitment."

I think this is all win for you. You expand your network, and you are leaving in a professional manner with the current company "wanting more". I think this is better from a long term perspective than the idea of getting the signed offer and using it to force upper management's hand. Unless that's a way you like doing business (and some do--it's considered by many to be a completely valid negotiating tactic and might even be respected by other people that have the same opinion about how those kind of decisions should be made), get out before it becomes the standard for how to advance at your current company.

Answer 6

If your direct manager was supportive I think it would be good to sit down with them and explain the situation. If they are sympathetic to your case and if your phrase your situation well they might be able to act on your behalf and help sort this out.

In this case talking to the right person and phrasing your situation properly will help your odds. Anyone with more leverage that is sympathetic to you will be helpful to convey the right message that they cannot keep you at this position but they can keep you in the organisation.

Answer 7

You are threatening the company and this is okay.

You don't know why Upper Management is blocking your move, but there is a global pandemic on that is likely to have messed up almost every company in the world's plans so jumping to hasty conclusions about them is unfounded. Right now they believe that you will stay at your current position and want you to carry on doing the good work because they believe that is the best thing for the company. If they know you will leave the company instead of doing that is entirely reasonable for them to change that view and decide it is better to give you the position you want. It's possible that the company is run by utter morons who will hold that against you in future but not altogether likely and if they do - eh, you can go elsewhere.

Tell them you have a job offer elsewhere and give them a few days to offer you the new position within the company, in writing, or take the new job offer. Explain you prefer to remain and move within the company but that it is more important to you to move into a data scientist role. They can then decide what to do.

Answer 8

Assuming your preference is to stay your current company

Reconfirm with the hiring manager in your current company that the data science job is still open. Follow up with that other company and let them know you are still considering their offer and will let them know in a day or two.

Then approach your manager and say this (calmly):

I thought about this a long time, but I am going to be making a job change in the next couple of weeks. I have several opportunities, but I'd like your help and support to enable me stay at this company. Can you unblock my transfer to the data science team so I don't have to leave the company? I would need to know by tomorrow.

Yes, you're putting your manager on the spot. But your words were carefully chosen so that it frames his decision between being "helpful and supportive" or let it be his fault for the company losing a good employee.

If he asks about the other job offer, dodge that question and just keep repeating you want to stay at the current company and getting the transfer unblocked.

I see the following as possible outcomes:

• He relents and possibly negotiates on extending the internal transfer date so that you can transfer your knowledge to the others on your team before changing teams.

• He wants to help, but fidgets about it being out of his hands and it's an upper management decision. Again, just repeat that you need your internal transfer request needs to be confirmed by tomorrow. But don't threaten to quit. Just say you are going to be making a decision within a few days.

• He refuses to budge, just tell him you'll let him know at the end of the week what your final decision will be. Then go confirm and accept that other offer.

Answer 9

Should I just break the news to my employer that I got an offer but I wish to stay within the company and ask them to expedite my transfer request?

It sounds like you're asking "Should I use the offer from the other company as an incentive for my current company to give me what I want?"

No. It rarely works, if ever.

Consider from your current employer's point of view. You come in and say "Give me my transfer that I want or I'm going to quit". Why would they give something to an employee who already went out and got another job?

Answer 10

Do what makes you happy

You already have a good idea about what it will be like if you stay at your current company. You want to leave the plant and don't like working there, especially since they blocked your transfer. About the notice, don't worry too much. The best way is to explain to your manager that you have decided to quit in person, but you can also write a letter. Good luck on your future endeavors!

Answer 11

It depends on how you get on with the two managers, and whether you want to leave a good impression there.

Upper management doesn't know you nor really care, but you can build a rapport with the two managers by quietly telling them, confidentially, about the offer.

Your current manager would have lost you as a worker had the internal promotion gone through; and the hiring manager is in the same general data science field as you've going to. This is good networking.

I've found that it is never a good idea to burn bridges, and you likely have decades in the workforce ahead of you. There's a small, but non-zero chance that you'll run into one of them in the future, in some capacity.

Separately, by sharing this with someone at work, it adds some weight and commitment to your plan to move jobs. That can help you get momentum on your plans in what can be a scary change, and more so in this current climate.

Answer 12

A word of warning

The sequence of events is very important. Think carefully before doing anything. I know a little about contract law and so should you.

True story

Many years ago, an uncle of mine got a fantastic job offer from a company. Thrilled, he gave notice at his existing job. Everything got into motion.

Two weeks later he got a letter from the new company saying that the offer to him had been withdrawn - they had found a better candidate. Immediately he went back to his old employers and asked for his job back. They refused saying they had formally accepted his resignation. He was left with no job and a family to support.

Moral of the story

Make sure you get a job offer in writing in contractual terms before giving your notice. Also formally accept the contractual offer in writing and make sure they have acknowledged your acceptance of the offer before handing in your notice at the old job.

---

Having given that warning, it is common for employees to use a job offer as a negotiating tool.

Suggested course of action (but I am not a lawyer so consult one before following my ideas)

1. Get a formal, written job offer from the new people.

2. Do not accept it yet.

3. Show the formal job offer to your current employers.

4. Ask them to provide a better offer (promotion) in writing, saying exactly what your new position/salary will be.

5. You now have two offers in writing. Each forms the basis of a possible contract. Decide which you want and formally accept that one. You must then receive formal written confirmation from the company you choose that they have received your acceptance.

6. Finally, formally decline the offer from the non-chosen job and, if it is the current one, give them your notice.

---

Summary

Everything should be in writing at every stage and the sequence of events is critical. To use contract law, get the following things in formal written/printed and signed documents.

1. Job offer in writing
2. Promotion offer in writing
3. Accept 1 or 2 in writing.
4. Get formal written acknowledgement of your acceptance.

NOW YOU HAVE A CONTRACT.

5. Decline offer of party you don't want to be with. (Give notice if necessary)

---

DISCLAIMER

I am not a lawyer nor an employment specialist. I am merely giving lay advice based on experience of a family member and a limited knowledge of contract law. You must use your own judgement, and obtain legal advice if necessary.

Answer 13

Yes, you should give them notice that you are leaving the company. Otherwise, if you are not giving notice and staying neither the company, there is nothing to notify them about.