DEAR MISS MANNERS: Before the pandemic, I applied for a promotion at my workplace. I was told that the job was mine, and I just had to wait for the paperwork to go through.
Then the pandemic hit. My employer instituted a hiring freeze, and the position vanished. I've asked a few times since then for an update, and was told that there was no news.
Because I don't know if or when the position will reappear, I have been applying for other jobs. I expect to be getting an offer soon from a company that I interviewed with. The job is better than my current position, but not as good as the promotion that I was supposed to get. I'm worried that if I accept this job, the other position might materialize.
Is there a minimum length of time one should stay in a position before moving on to a better offer?
GENTLE READER: Promotions have a miraculous way of materializing just as one is making an earnest attempt to move on.
Ideally, you would work this out as a bargaining ploy with your current employer before your actual departure. But if that is not possible, Miss Manners sees nothing wrong with using the tactic on the new company as well -- as long as this trend does not take on a pingpong effect and continue indefinitely.