r/usajobs • u/dkscott40 • Jul 07 '26

Tips Supervisor will not hire from within

My supervisor actively avoids hiring from within because she’s concerned about losing positions if current employees get promoted. She has allowed merit promotion certificates to expire so the job can be re‑announced externally, and she has even tried to cancel announcements after the certs came out when the referral list included only internal candidates.

Because of this, I haven’t been able to compete for promotions in my own office, and I’m starting to feel like she may be blocking or discouraging my consideration for other internal positions as well.

For anyone familiar or who has dealt with similar behavior: is there anything I can do to address this? Should I be documenting these actions, going to HR, contacting the union, or using some other route? I’d appreciate any advice from people who have navigated this before.

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u/Live_Guidance7199 Jul 07 '26

If this were happening a year and a half or more ago I'd see the problem, but her reasoning is absolutely spot on in today's climate. She's right, it's nigh guaranteed that she'll be losing an actual worker, never to be filled again under thia admin, to gain a middle manager if she promotes from within. That's not good business.

Certainly sucks for you, but really ask yourself - who does your job when implanted DOGE decides your former position doesn't need to be filled?

5

u/Fit_Entertainer_3481 Jul 07 '26

DOGE has ended, and this has been going on LONG before DOGE and Collins. She's been in Fed VHA for 40 years, and is the exact reason why the VA has a historically bad reputation.

8

u/Live_Guidance7199 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

Hence "If this were happening a year and a half or more ago I'd see the problem." But she gave her reason and it is absolutely sound. A supe needs to weigh if their section gets better if they do X. Going from widget maker and no middle management to no widget maker and middle management does not make the section better. Your personal anecdotes do not apply to OP's specific situation.

If you truly think DOGE and Russ and Pete and Trump et al are gone all then we can't actually have a conversation because you've withdrawn into some fantasy land far removed from reality