Lead Tech

I've been working at this job for over 4 1/2 years, in that time I've only received two raises and never been promoted. Matter of fact, I've watched two individuals that I trained promote ahead of me.

An opportunity opened up for me while I was on vacation, when our new Lead Technician put in his two weeks notice. This is the third person hired from the outside to fill this role, all of whom left the company within 6 months of assuming full responsibility.

The problem, in a nutshell, is our boss. He's the worst micromanager I've ever encountered, and is impossible to please. He never forgets a mistake made by an underling and brings them up frequently as examples. He wants us to make him look good (granted, what manager doesn't), but we get no reward or support in return. Matter of fact, he treats us like we're completely untrustworthy.

Let me point out that over 3 years ago I'd previously accepted this position. For a solid year and a half I was in the office every day doing most of this workload, for no increase in pay...matter of fact, two days after accepting it the job was split between myself and another individual; that person (who did not want the full responsibility, and left a month after it was finally given to him) got the title and management portion, while I kept the work portion (coordination, delegation and tracking of daily work, dealing with external venders, reports, database cleanup, and frequent data mining).

So when I got back from vacation, I had an chance to apply for the position. None of my coworkers applied for it, though one did suggest a salary and was told his figure was too high. So I submitted my resume and cover letter, outlining three conditions:

Salary of $##,###
Immediate promotion
Written offer letter

I should note, the last item is based on my own experience as well as that of others. This place is famous for promising the world, but once you're hired on and actually get your offer letter the dollar amount is way less than what was promised. This has forced some to look for another job immediately, most notably one guy who moved up from Atlanta.

Anyway, today was supposed to be the big interview, but first my manager wanted to have a private pre-interview. During this discussion he outlined the position in painfully negative detail, I think he was intentionally trying to make it as overwhelming as possible. He also brought up two of my mistakes, one from 6 months ago, as well as highlighting my weaknesses as opposed to going over my resume (we never discussed that, by the way).

In the end I turned it down, but not because it seemed like an incredible amount of work and responsibility (it is), or the fact that he's just impossible to deal with on a daily basis. Not even pride, stupidity or simple self-preservation drove my decision. My refusal was based on his actual counter-offer:

Pay = $??,??? - He would not tell me what the position payed, just that it was "on a scale based on performance". To me this sounds like the pay raise is not immediate, or you get a little at first and maybe some more down the road. Anyhow, it was nowhere near the figure I'd suggested, he did manage to convey that.

90 day evaluation period - Despite the fact that I've worked here for years and already performed >75% of the tasks for more than a year, there's a probationary period of 90 days. In that time, he evaluates my total job performance every week. Knowing what a ball buster he is, this can't be good.

Position may not be permanent - At any point during the 90 day period, I could be removed from that position by my manager. At that point I would also lose the raise and promotion, returning to my current salary!

No Written Offer Letter - He instead present me with an "example of the type of offer letter" I'd see, basically a form letter with no dollar amounts filled in.