HR Advice

[burbuja0512]

Hi all

I wasn't going to post this, but I know you guys have a wealth of knowledge and always give good advice.



Here is the situation.   I started in September at a large company in a management position.    The company was very interested in my past senior management experience, which is why I got the job.  It was strange and I even told my husband that I felt like I was interviewing for my boss' position before I was hired.  (My boss was the VP)

Well sure enough, a few weeks into the position, they fired my former boss and promoted me into the position.  Months later, the position is now official and I've been given the quickest promotion of my life.  I have every reason to believe that they had planned this since before I was hired.

The money is good and I really like the job.   I have a wonderful and supportive boss and am already able to make major change in my territory, due partly to the extreme mismanagement of the past, and partly I would like to think because I'm a good fit for the role.   It's a wonderful job and I'm very happy.

So what's the issue?  Well, the guy that got fired was a VP.   No matter how much my new boss negotiated with HR, they couldn't give me more than a director title.   It's HR policy based on how many positions you can jump up for promotions.   I get it.  It's a large company and HR has to be strict.

I told my boss that this was a deal-breaker for me in spite of how much I love what I'm doing.  So he came up with the solution:  an internal and an external title.    No one on my team, and frankly no one even in the company other than HR needs to know I'm a director in the organizational hierarchy.   I can use the VP title for everything and the only real difference between me and a VP is just a few extra meetings I don't need to attend and a few extra vacation days I wouldn't use anyway.

So why am I concerned?   Well,  first of all I'm annoyed and feel a bit slighted.   Since literally no one at my company other than HR knows about it, I should let it go, but it still bugs me.

Secondly, and most importantly, I'm worried about the future.    I hope to stay at the company for years and then my HR title and my external title will eventually match.   But if I don't, I will use the VP title on my resume.  It's the level of responsibility I have and my company understands this, which is why they are ok with me using the title.     Is title something that can be verified on an employment background check?   Is there any way that this could affect me in the future, considering that I do have other VP-level experience on my resume?


I would really love your thoughts.  Thanks so much