Despite millions of unemployed job seekers desperate for work, many open positions are languishing unfilled. The reason? Not enough candidates.

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I apologize in advance for length.

First, some background. I have B.S. degrees in aerospace and mechanical engineering and upon completion of my thesis, I will have a M.S. in aerospace. Recently, I got engaged. Weddings are not cheap and my fiance (also a graduate student) has significant student loans, so we decided that I should get a second job.

At this time, I cannot relocate so my options were very limited. I originally applied for a full-time technical assistant position which required no more "technical expertise" than proficiency with Visio and Excel. The compensation was $12/hour, and I figured that was okay for the expectations. Upon seeing my resume, they decided to interview me for a mechanical engineering position (which they had not yet listed as available). A couple days later, they offered me a "mechanical engineering assistant" position, full-time, $12/hour. The description sounded like the original tech asst. job description. I was told this position would last 3 months, at which point they may or may not make an offer to hire me as an actual engineer. We need the money and I had no problem with that payment for those responsibilities in the first place, so I accepted. I figured either I just bombed the interview or their work load wasn't quite yet big enough to justify hiring another engineer.

So my first day, I find they've placed me in the engineering department. My boss introduces me as an engineer. My duties include CAD, design of experiments, data analysis – the whole works. What's more, it was clear they really need someone who has more knowledge of fluid flow and controls than most mechanical engineers. I spent some time in the lab today, and it seems they need someone who has had some experience in designing test schedules. And from the sound of it, they expect the person to fill all those niches to be me. I was talking to the woman in the cubicle next to me after clocking out and she asked me how I liked it there so far. I told her the work was interesting, but different from what I'd been told it would be. She said a new guy is starting tomorrow in the tech assistant position.

Now, I do find the work interesting and I think it will be rewarding. But it seems like they've hired me as an engineer for $12/hour with no benefits. I know engineering salaries aren't what they used to be, but that seems low (equivalent to around $24k/year). Maybe that will change in 3 months, but at this point, I have no guarantee. Even if I did, I still don't think it's right to expect the performance that they are at that rate for any amount of time. Are my expectations unreasonable, or is this much lower compensation than normal? If it's the latter, do I have any leverage or did I give that up when I was willing to accept that pay for the tech asst position?
@Batman, the hiring was done through a temp agency. I was interviewed by an engineer at the company, though. I do wonder if there was some miscommunication between the engineering dept. and the temp agency, but I have no idea how to bring that up.

As for my responsibilities, I'm sure I didn't misinterpret. They're having a problem with one of their products that requires someone in fluids. My biggest fear is that they've only hired me to fix that, given the project 3 months, have no intention of extending a permanent offer, and are getting away with that rate of pay since I originally applied for the lower position.

When you ask for a pay rise your boss may agree to everything you’re asking for, or to most of it, or to a small percentage, or to none at all. But when it comes to promotion, either you get the job or you don’t. Occasionally your employer might create a new intermediate post for you, but generally a no is precisely that. No.

So what do you do? You have the option of leaving, of course, and you might decide to do that if you feel you want to move up the ladder and there’s not likely to be another opportunity here for a while. But most people who miss out on promotion still choose to stay in the organization. Assuming you want to stay -at least for the moment – how do you handle being turned down? There are two important steps you can take to make sure that you still benefit from the situation, even though you haven’t got the job you wanted:

• Ask why you weren’t appointed to the job.
• Ask for a pay rise.

Why didn’t you get the job?
Fix up a meeting with your boss, following all the guidelines for asking for a pay rise: preparing your case, and setting up a good half hour to an hour in private with them. Begin by asking for the reasons why you missed out on the promotion. You felt you were a strong candidate, and you’d like to know what your boss considered were your weak points so that you can work on them. That way, you’ll stand a better chance next time.

If your boss tries to flannel you, and tell you you’re wonderful but the successful candidate was even better, explain that this isn’t very helpful: ‘I really want to know where I was weak, or where they were stronger than me, so that I can improve my chances next time there’s a possibility of promotion. I appreciate that you don’t want to hurt my feelings, but you’ll be doing me a favor if you give me feedback that helps me in future.’

Get your boss to be as specific as possible about any areas where you may have failed to make the grade:
• qualifications
• skills
• experience
• interpersonal skills.

Make a written note so you can’t forget what they’ve said, and then make it your mission to work on all these areas ready for the next promotion opportunity. There’s no point arguing with your boss about their opinions of you. For one thing, the decision is made now. And for another, if they perceive that you are weak, that’s what counts: they make the decisions on promotion. It doesn’t matter what you think.

If your boss has, say, three reasons for not promoting you yet and you argue defensively and vociferously with the first one, they may decide not to bother to mention the others and thus save themselves an unpleasant row. Few people enjoy criticizing others, so make it easy for them. Otherwise you may never find out all the things you need to know to improve your chances next time.

Swallow Your Pride
Whatever happens, make sure you are pleasant and co-operative with the person who gets the job you wanted, even if you now have to work directly under them. They may be a previous colleague or someone from outside the organization. Either way, by taking the job, they only did what you would have done yourself in their position. No matter how strongly you believe they are the wrong person for the job, if you behave badly towards them in any way, you will be seen as petty and mean-spirited. This image will do nothing for your chances of promotion, salary increase or anything else in the future. Be magnanimous, however, and you’ll score big brownie points.

Ask for a pay rise
You’ve just gone through the whole process of demonstrating your value in order to earn the promotion. You may have missed out there, but you’ve almost certainly shown that you are at least some way better than the job you’re doing. So capitalize on this opportunity to get your salary increased, according to all the principles we’ve already covered.

And let’s not forget that you have the psychological advantage here. I’m not suggesting you ask for a rise you don’t deserve, but there’s no denying that this is good timing. Your boss has already turned you down for promotion. They’re going to feel dreadful if they don’t even give you a pay rise in compensation. Of course, they may be prepared to feel dreadful. But if you’ve got a strong case for a rise, it would take a pretty hard-headed boss to refuse you just now.

No chance?
And what if there’s no chance for promotion? Maybe you work for a small company, or in a ‘flat’ organization. Or perhaps it’s just that no one above you shows any sign of leaving, so the opportunity doesn’t arise. If this happens, don’t despair. You simply need to create a new job for yourself and make sure you get the salary and the job title that reflects the added responsibilities and achievements.