When you are passed over for a promotion, it is not the best sign in the world, but it is not automatically an exit sign either. Although this is a tough pill to swallow, management has said that your fellow employee merited the promotion more than you. You may have put in more years at the company, but sometimes a five-year employee actually has one year of experience five times, rather than five years of experience.
Before jumping to any conclusions or jumping ship, you should meet with your manager again, but not to voice any further complaints. The purpose of this meeting would be to jointly establish a program to help you get the promotion you seek. The two of you should come to an agreement on specific objectives and the strategies to meet them. This would not only include performance goals, but individual development goals as well, especially those that deal with additional training.
It will be important for you to have a clear understanding of the steps you need to take in order to be a more viable candidate for the next promotion, and start taking those steps at once. If you do all of this but find that you are again overlooked, then it is time to look over your options.
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