I just saw my job posted.

Mystery Woman

Tell us more for better jobs, advice
and connections

Don’t miss out on new opportunities.

Update your profile

YOUR TOPICS

Your feed isn’t personalized yet. Follow topics like career advice, lifestyle or health.

YOUR GROUPS

Discover and join groups with like-minded women who share your interests, profession, and lifestyle.

COMPANIES YOU FOLLOW

Get alerted when there are new employee reviews.

YOUR JOB ALERTS

Get notified when new jobs are posted.

Your post is published!

Anonymous

12/15/20 at 4:24AM UTC

Career

I just saw my job posted.

I am home for my weekend and a friend messages me asking if I quit my job. "No, Why?" Then sends me a screenshot of a posting to fill my position. I message my immediate supervisor who states that they have not heard anything about replacing me. How would you all take this information?

38 Comments

Anonymous

12/15/20 at 4:40AM UTC

First of all, I understand that you're freaked out, I would be as well! I think you did the right thing by contacting your supervisor. I would follow up by contacting HR and discussing the situation. it could be a mistake especially if your supervisor doesn't know about the posting. If you make an appointment or call HR, you'll be able to put your mind at ease either way. Good luck!

1 Reply

Anonymous

12/15/20 at 5:24AM UTC

You certainly have reason to be concerned. See what HR has to say. You are certainly deserving of explanations from management, even if your job is not at risk. I would also suggest that an employer that values your presence would be forthcoming in its efforts to reassure you.

1 Reply

Anonymous

12/15/20 at 9:54PM UTC

I bet the boss lied. I sure would check on this. I've had bosses lied to my face. He wants someone in there to train the new person and out the door you go.

1 Reply

Shalini Srivastava

12/23/20 at 2:42PM UTC

Agreed

Angelica Tara

318

I drive words to emotions - in marketing & life.

12/15/20 at 9:18AM UTC

Hey Anonymous. Whereas this seems to be the obvious, it is also an indication that you're doing something so right that your manager was scared of you!!! I went through the same thing. You know what? Go offensive!!! Highlight your achievements, connect with team members and put it all on mails. A no-regret scenario is better no

Cinzia Iacovelli

295

Marketing Project Manager, Digital Events

12/15/20 at 11:27AM UTC

I would for sure ask for an explanation to HR.

User edited comment on 12/15/20 at 11:27AM UTC

Essence Dashtaray

12/15/20 at 5:49PM UTC

I can imagine how stressful it was to see that, but perhaps a new role/head was created? Hope you received an update to give you some peace of mind.

Suzanne Speak

Award-winning Senior HR leader

12/15/20 at 5:53PM UTC

I recommend you talk with someone in your HR department. At minimum, they should act as a liaison between you and your supervisor and attempt to determine what's going on with the job posting. They may or may not know the situation, but they should be able to find out by having a conversation with your supervisor and/or your supervisor's boss. The supervisor may be deflecting because you've confronted him/her about an awkward situation, but you definitely deserve to know what's going on. Good luck!

Anonymous

12/15/20 at 5:58PM UTC

If your manager is not aware of replacing you, how do you know it's your specific job? Could your company be adding another person doing the same thing? Is your business growing? A customer demanding more support? I wouldn't jump to conclusions without some indication that your specific job is really at stake.

3 Replies

Farah Bajwa

190

Manager | Mentor | Consultant | Coach

12/15/20 at 9:47PM UTC

Those are my thoughts too!

Deborah Frincke

132

12/23/20 at 1:13PM UTC

This is exactly right. If this is an error or related to a different job, calm professionalism in asking the questions will be to your credit. Anything else would hurt your reputation. Also, if it is your job, professionalism is essential. You do need to get to ground truth. Are the jobs of others in your unit postrd? Etc.

Anonymous

12/23/20 at 2:37PM UTC

It might be the exact position. It's possible too that the manager lied (happens sometimes) or didn't want to break the news.

Anonymous

12/15/20 at 6:47PM UTC

Is it possible it’s an old ad reposted or refreshed by accident?

1 Reply

Peg Glover

501

12/16/20 at 5:16AM UTC

I have to share that this happens. Job boards will scrape old postings and they will be out there for months and the job is not open, hasn't been open for years. But, just go check with HR ....

Anonymous

12/15/20 at 7:18PM UTC

In my experience, this has usually meant many things other than my replacement, such as a new hire/growing team, another similar department hiring at the company, outdated posts, etc. Think back to recent conversations with your manager and your performance reviews, has there been any indication of dissatisfaction? Try to sanity check this with your experiences.

Mary Munoz

Product Marketing Manager & Content Strategist

12/15/20 at 8:23PM UTC

I definitely agree that you should ask HR about it and see if you can determine whether they are expanding your team or not. In the meanwhile, I got advice from my first manager out of college that I'll share (and it's served me well): no matter how happy you are at your job or long you've worked there, always keep your resume updated because you just never know. Good luck!

Sarah Gaeta

Software Product Creator and Leader

12/15/20 at 9:29PM UTC

I hope you've clarified exactly what's going on. I saw a job posting that was >2 years old mistakenly posted and by alerting HR, it was taken down and they scrubbed job postings and found someone mistakenly turned "on" several old posts. I agree that this could also be team expansion. Discussing with your manager and HR are great ways to go.

Anonymous

12/15/20 at 11:09PM UTC

Are you should they are not creating a similar position that 2 people could have in your company? Perhaps reporting to another manager. Maybe they are looking to promote you. The best thing you did was reach out to your manager. If you are comfortable reach out to your manager's manager to see what this could mean for you.

1 Reply

Elianet Oliva

235

Make things happen!

12/16/20 at 2:52AM UTC

I thought the same thing about possibly promoting you and needing to replace you eventually, hoping it turns out to be just the need for another team member.

meggonjinn

insurance product and professional violinist

12/16/20 at 12:09AM UTC

Maybe they realized you were so good at your job, they needed "another you!" I have seen this happen several times at my current employer. So don't assume it's anything bad about you--could be the opposite! Still think it's the right idea to connect with your manager and HR, though.

Anonymous

12/16/20 at 12:58PM UTC

Trust your intuition on it.

Corrine Taylor-Chin

101

Writer, with background in website management

12/16/20 at 1:46PM UTC

Same thing happened to me. I honestly never got information about it (probably because I wouldn't have minded moving on). But nothing came of it. No new hire at all. I did think it was to find a cheaper replacement though, but this was after a company acquisition. Trust your gut. HR may not be totally truthful either, since they do really work for the company's interest.

1 Reply

Kay Ingram

12/23/20 at 3:18PM UTC

I agree. HR is not there for its employees. They will lie right to your face.

Malissa

579

Controller in the Agricultural Industry.

12/16/20 at 5PM UTC

Have you been at this company long enough to see how they handle replacements in the past? That could tell you everything. Can you go up the ladder one rung and ask them about this new position?

Cherise Peterson

Owner of BariatricA, LLC

12/23/20 at 1:23PM UTC

So this actually happened at my work with someone's job. It was a glitch in their posting system and instead of posting the correct job it posted another one because it had been previously posted.

Michelle RhodesBrown

12/23/20 at 2:03PM UTC

Boss is lying. Start a job search regardless of what HR says.

1 Reply

Ms. Brodie

12/23/20 at 3:06PM UTC

This is accurate.

Anonymous

12/23/20 at 2:39PM UTC

I'm sorry. I'd also prepare my resume and update my LinkedIn just in case. That seems fishy, and the manager could've lied or possibly passed the buck of breaking bad news to someone else. I'd be ready. I'm so sorry this is happening, especially around the holidays.

Anonymous

12/23/20 at 2:40PM UTC

This actually happened to me. A headhunter called and talked to me directly about the position. I was so shocked. I had no idea. I knew in my position that the CEO was replacing me. I asked him and he didn't deny it he told me I could stay till I found another job or got the new person trained. He was just kind of evil. In your case, check with HR first since your supervisor denies it. I would polish my resume and start searching for a job TODAY. What happened to me is I started searching immediately and took a great temp job and was gone within 4 days and I got all my PTO since the CEO was the one who wanted me to leave. I felt so bad about my coworkers getting stuck like this but the CEO was too toxic to stay. He had already been under investigation with ICE which is how I explain my leaving with all the illegal employees.

Deborah Waddell

12/23/20 at 2:52PM UTC

It happened to me. I worked for a fortune 50 company and my position was a district level. I was the only person for 100 miles with that position. Turns out they recruit and move someone if the candidate is the right one. I would still check with HR. There may be a similar explaination.

Anonymous

12/23/20 at 3:06PM UTC

I saw mine posted and quit.

AmandaBerri

Managing small med. supply co. for big clients.

12/23/20 at 3:17PM UTC

Could it be that they want to promote you though?

Susan Kehoe-Sutphin

12/23/20 at 3:51PM UTC

Sadly, this happened to a colleague, and when he approached our PM, she had not been informed of the posting to replace him. So I agree, go to HR, ASAP!! I hope all works out well for you.

Kelley

Higher Education professional in Upstate NY

12/23/20 at 7:51PM UTC

This can certainly be scary. I echo many other comments that you should contact HR. I’m not sure what your industry/company is like, but where I work (higher education), there are a number of people with my same title. We may work with different tasks or groups within the department, and there is someone in my title in every department within the university. My hope is that if the posting is up but your supervisor is not aware, perhaps the intent is to fill the same position you have but in a different department or add an additional person at your level because of added work for the company. Best of luck and I hope this results in a positive or no change for you.

User edited comment on 12/23/20 at 7:51PM UTC

Anonymous

12/23/20 at 11:08PM UTC

There are many possibilities, as previously noted, including the possibility that your boss is also being replaced, or that both you and your boss are being replaced, perhaps by 1 person. I suggest you hope for the best but prepare for the worst by beginning a search for a new position. Best of luck to you.

Rena Cromer

12/23/20 at 11:38PM UTC

The same thing happened to my old boss. My coworker found the ad for our boss's job and she showed me. We decided to tell our boss about it. She was floored! Turns out that her boss was putting out feelers and trying to replace her but didn't think that she'd find the ad. This was back before the days of internet ads so the company didn't list their name in the ad but asked that resumes be sent to....our building address....haha. That's how my coworker figured out it was our boss's job. Shortly after that discovery, things went in motion real fast to get my boss out of there. We had no idea that upper management was not pleased with her. We thought she was a great boss. It floored us too. So yeah, if I were you I'd be concerned.

friendlygardens

12/24/20 at 3:50PM UTC

Agree with those who are saying your immediate supervisor lied. Either that or depending on where that person is in the org chart, if there are enough layers above, it's possible they haven't been made aware yet. Either way, I would start looking for a new job STAT.

Elise Luddy

Nonprofit and Corporate Events Manager

01/04/21 at 5:29PM UTC

The advice given is correct! I would add to be cautious and wary of the job posting. I had it happen to me, but I knew the conversation was coming because they didn't like how I approached the job, and HR posted it before they had a chance to talk to me about it. (I was planning on leaving anyway, and I did a few months later.) I would have a honest conversation with your boss. Maybe they see that you are overworked and they need someone else to help fill in the gaps or to help with more projects they have coming down the pipeline. Start looking for a new job, but who knows maybe it'll work out better for you in the long run. Good luck!