Hi all, I need some help. I just accepted a second interview (yes, I'm aware there's no formal offers as of yet; however, please allow me the opportunity to explain). Sorry in advance for the chunky context. I'm going to avoid names, however I will be referring to three different Vice Presidents, two of sales for different divisions (I will call VP1 and VP2) and a third I will briefly mention, VP of operations, I will call VPO.
I, 36 F, work in a male dominated industry (manufacturing). It hasn't always been this way, I used to work in hospitality, but fell into by accident, fell in love with it, and haven't looked back. I currently work with all industries, automotive, DME (durable medical equipment manufacturers), general manufactures, etc. However, my favorite part is working with Aersopace and Government Defense contractors. This is important because when I selected my MBA program, I went to a university that had a niche program for this with the hopes of transitioning into a specific role within my company that managed prime aerospace contractors in a more direct way than I was already doing.
My current role: Account Manager:
As I mentioned, I worked in hospitality management for years, but I started as a temp admin. I was offered a permanent position relatively quickly (within two months) and transitioned into my current role as an Account Manager for the Inside Sales team, three months after that. I've been at the company for about 5 years. Two years ago, I took on a large aerospace key account. I grew the account contract (which typically renews annually) by nearly 50% the first year, while simultaneously bringing the client more value for their money (that's the hospitality industry leaking through; I want to cater to them!). The second year, I have continued to facilitate projects on the clients behalf (I'm not a project manager, by the way). Year 2 (2025) of managing this account, I secured a multi-year agreement just shy of $2M USD, along with another one year contract for a location-specific hardware contract for an additional $1.9M. This does not include the other locations, my other accounts or the remainder of my territory. Overall, I was projected to bring in $9M for 2025, and I brought in $15M. This is not to toot my own horn, but to empahsize how much I hustled. Mind you, this was all while completing an accelerated Executive MBA, and managing some sensitive family matters earlier in the year. (Shout out to my amazing boyfriend for being my rock. We love a handsome, supportive King. Singles ladies, its the blue collar men you're looking for).
My dream job at my current comapny:
I'm not going to get into specifics because it may give away the company I am working for. The role is a Director role of sorts. The responsibilities are to focus on strategic growth and health of accounts, but instead of focusing on hundreds of accounts and 1-5 product lines, I would focus on our entire portfolio. Additionally, I would only manage maybe three prime accounts (in this case, all aerospace and defense). This is my dream job.
I've been mentoring under the current director for my current accounts, but I've had the opportunity to visit these facilities with him (which is not standard for my current role). When a role opened up, a VP1 reached out to me and personally asked me to apply. This was October 2025. I had my first and second interview very quickly. My final interview was with VP2 in December 2025.
Ok, now the perpetual conundrum that I keep finding myself in and the juicy part y'all have been waiting for:
Sadly**,** I did not get that position. The feedback I got from VP2 was overall, very positive; however, I did not have enough "outside sales experienc. VP2 said "it was a tough call, and they (VP1 & VP2) were eager to see me try again in the future". I was pretty happy with the feedback I received and happy for other the candidate. Looking at "his" qualifications, he did not have as much time or experience within my company as I did, but "he" still had an applicable degree, and was with us for a year or so, so I didn't think anything of it.
[side bar; I did say tell one of my sales guys that I didn't get the position. He was bummed for me, and he made a comment about our company being a "boys club". I didn't understand what he meant until he identified a few prominent women working in my company. He eluded that there was a lingering sense of misogyny, despite them promoting diversity. He continued to say that every women who works here gets pushed/ stuck in Inside sales management. This is very important later, and this is why I am also noting "he", since it does in fact become a theme.]
Although I didn't get the position, I did, have my company flag a "Blue Bird" clause in my contract, essentially stating that my "uncapped commission" after I hit a certain yearly percentage of my anticipated sales was suddenly capped. They paid me significantly less than they should have for my contributions, but I'm not surprised. By my calculations it was at least $7k less. Unfortunately, I had a feeling that was going to happen; I got more than I was anticipating, meaning I honestly thought they were going to screw me more, so I just gracefully accepted it. Ironically, someone who had no involvement in my deal was paid out on it because "he" (different he) threw a tantrum. He helped with the order the previous year, so he received credit for that; however, he had no involvement in the 2025 order. They paid him a percentage, and it was wayyyyyyyy more than what they shorted me. He also gave ME the cold shoulder in the office for months after, as if he was slighted. Mind you, I had no involvement, interaction, or objection with this because usually it doesn't interfere with my commission. I only found out after that I got screwed.
To make up for it, they gave me a fancy MVP award, a $500 bonus for getting said award and my manager (who is a saint, I adore her) gave me the max salary increase she possibly could. Unfortunately, that was 4%, from the normal 3%, which barely keeps up with inflation. I knew this wasn't her fault and if she had the power she would increase the salary for everyone, but honestly, as much as I appreciated the gesture from her, I think a part of me felt more insulted.
Moving forward, I saw another position I was interested in. It was managing a different product line, but hey, I could learn, right? It was an outside sales position (so taking into consideration the feedback I got from my other interview). Applied. HR called me, and explained I didn't have enough "technical experience". Ok, no worries.
A few weeks later, I see a new employee had filled the position. Guess what... "HE" not only had the same job title as me, but reading through his LinkedIn had LESS technical experience/ experience in our field, and the experience he did have was for our competitor.
Oh, then the caveat? HR called me back and recommended I apply for an Inside Sales Manager position. 🙃 I still applied even though, after a comparison to my commission versus the salary, it's only like $10k more. At this point I'm looking for experience.
The LinkedIn Message:
I had a recruiter message me about an opportunity. While I'm not actively looking, I've always been open. I've had a few first interviews that have either led to second interviews requests which I've declined, or no where at all. This one however.... this one...
It's essentially the same position as the dream job that I applied for in my current company; however, it's a smaller company. It's also 10 mins closer than my current position (it's just shy of an hour, I currently drive an hour and ten mins or so). I currently go into the office 3 days a week, I would only be required to go into 2 days. The potential new company has every other Friday off. I wouldn't be working off of commission structure (currently I have about a 40% base/ 60% commission); however, I would have a solid base with a bonus structure, which would get me around just shy of what I'm making now. They would also pay for health insurance in it's entirety (hopefully it's decent lmao), gas (yep!), they would lease me a car which I am open to using for personal use (yep again), and they would pay for the maintenance and insurance. I had my first interview last week, and it very very well. The guy was also very transparent about what their challenges were (which I very much appreciated!). It was also not in the red flag kind of way either. I've had interviews where the company is like "we're a family", and "we're looking for rockstars", which usually indicates you're about to be worked to death. This guy explicitly stated the challenges, but also pointed out the SOPs in place to alleviate them. I also had questions/gave him some pointers during the interview, which he was super receptive to (another great sign). Mind you, all of the challenges he described are relevant in most companies and in every industry. I've also seen my (again, very wonderful) manager overcome these with our team, so I'm sure I could overcome them.
Anyways, I got notification that my second interview is in two weeks. I want to also add, they wanted me to come in next week, but were very accommodating when I told them I already had a schedule vacation.
Social anxiety strikes:
VP 3, who originally notified VP1 that I was looking at my dream role to begin with, asked about my dream role last week. I explained another another candidate got it, but I was excited for him. I also mentioned the feedback VP2 gave me, noted the other positions I had applied for, and that I was not having any luck. I very tactfully noted the comment that was made to me about the "boy club". I didn't say who said it, but VP3 is super young and progressive. He's also been a key player in creating a healthy work environment (when I started, it was a sh!t show, but that's for another thread). He said some outside positions were opening up, but I may need to travel to another territory (you guys paying? Fine by me!).
VP1 & VP2 reached out to my manager and told her they were going to offer me a position. At first she thought it was an outside sales role, as they recommended because we knew some were opening up. We agreed, it would only make sense if it would accommodate my growth efforts. She followed up by saying, she also got approval for Sr. Account Manager Roles and planned on promoting myself and one of my colleagues. Which I knew she was working on, and very much looking forward to that position.
As y'all may have guessed. My manager confirmed VP1 & VP2 wanted to essentially just move me over into the new division, which is a lateral movement. Its the accounts I ised to have that got segregated in the reorg. It's technically less work than I have now (less quota; I'd probably make the same), and I would lose my large account that I've worked so hard to build a relationship with and continue to work on projects for.
They haven't formally reached out yet, but just my manager telling me that, infuriates me. It's insulting, and I feel like I'm on a hamster wheel. That said, the news about the senior role being approved and offered to myself and my colleague was exciting. It's a promotion, and a bump in pay. However, it's still in its infancy and I don't know what that looks like long term. My mentor realistically told me that the experience I am looking for and the pay that follows won't be found where I am.
So, although nothing has been presented yet, I have a good feeling about my next interview. WIBTAH if I took another job after being told I'm getting a promotion?