How do I say "I will quit if you don't promote me to full time" in a professional way?

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How do I say "I will quit if you don't promote me to full time" in a professional way?


I work at a retail location for a large corporation. I've been waiting to be able to go full time for over a year. I have made management abundantly aware that I want to go full time and it seemed inevitable for the longest time. My one co-worker, we'll call her Linda, would regularly call out at the last minute, show up late, leave early, and she broke rules right and left, and would lie about it right to the managers faces, and they knew about all of it. Yesterday they finally fired her. At this point if they hire someone else or promote someone else to fill the full time position in my department I'm quitting. It would be so ridiculous and disrespectful to me, and honestly I don't trust the management to do the right thing without me putting pressure on them. So how do I communicate that in a professional way? Thanks!


Jobadvisor

First, it’s good that you're thinking about how to communicate this professionally before acting. The key here is to frame your request around your contribution, interest, and commitment, not as a threat — even though the stakes are clear in your mind.

You want management to hear:
“I’m dedicated and want to grow here.”
—not
“Promote me or else.”

Step 1: Prepare Your Case

Go in with:

  • Specific examples of good performance

  • Times you took initiative

  • Flexibility / reliability

  • Any positive feedback you’ve received

  • Your tenure and stability compared to turnover

This makes your request objective, not emotional.

Step 2: Use Professional Language

Here’s how you might say it:

“I’ve really enjoyed being part of the team and I’m committed to continuing to contribute here. I wanted to talk about moving into a full-time role. I’ve been consistently taking on responsibilities at a full-time level for some time now, and I feel confident I’m ready for that step.

If there is a clear timeline for that transition, I’d like to understand it. I’m at a point where I need a full-time position to continue here long term. I want to stay, and full-time status is important for me to be able to do that.”

This communicates:

  • Your value

  • Your desire to stay

  • Your need for full-time hours

  • Without an ultimatum tone

Step 3: If They Try to Dodge or “Delay”

Ask directly:

“Can you clarify what needs to happen, or what criteria I would need to meet, to move into the full-time role? And what is the expected timeline?”

If they can’t or won’t give a timeline, that’s your signal.

Step 4: If You Need to State Your Boundary Clearly

Still avoid threat language:

“I want to be transparent so no one is surprised — I’m looking for full-time work at this stage in my career. I strongly hope that can be here, because I enjoy the role and the team. If a full-time opportunity isn’t something that can happen in the near term, I would need to look for that elsewhere.”

This is calm, mature, and professional.

Important Reality Check

If they value you, they'll act.
If they don’t act right after firing a chronic problem employee, there’s a good chance they won't.

In that case:

  • Start quietly applying elsewhere

  • Don’t quit before you have an offer

  • Your leverage is always stronger when you currently have a job


Should I double dip if my new employer doesn’t care and my old employer won’t know?


My current role is VERY laid back. I wfh, get maybe 2-3 emails a day, have 1 weekly team call and I hear from my boss 1 a month, maybe. I know, it’s crazy weird.

I’ve been offered another job and they want me asap, it’s significantly more money. Newco is fine if I work both for a bit, they really want to onboard me now while things are slow.

Should I start this new job now, manage both remotely, and put my 2 weeks after Thanksgiving? They are slightly different industries, no overlap, and newco is fine to keep it quiet till Jan.


Jobadvisor

Here’s the straightforward answer:

You can do it.
But whether you should depends on three risks you need to take seriously:

1. Your Current Employment Agreement (the boring but important part)

Check these things in your offer/handbook/contract:

  • Moonlighting clause (some companies explicitly forbid working another job)

  • Conflict of interest clause (even if industries differ, they may define conflict broadly)

  • Exclusivity clause (some salaried roles require you to devote full work hours to them)

  • IP ownership agreements (rarely relevant here but worth checking)

If you violate one of these and they do find out, they can:

  • Fire you immediately

  • Potentially claw back pay or benefits in extreme cases

Even if the probability feels low, the consequences can be high.

2. The Performance / Time Risk

Even if your current job is very low effort now, starting a new job is not.

New jobs are front-loaded with:

  • Training

  • Meetings

  • Social onboarding

  • Process learning

  • Mistakes while figuring things out

Which means:
You will probably need more mental bandwidth than you think.

The biggest risk here is not being caught—it’s accidentally underperforming at the new job because you're stretched thin during the ramp-up period.

This new job pays more and matters more. It deserves your A-game.

3. Ethics and Reputation Risk

This isn’t about being “moral” — this is about being strategic.

  • If your current manager discovers or senses disengagement, your reference could sour.

  • If your new employer finds your attention split early, it can damage trust.

Reputation follows you more than you expect.

That said:
This is not unethical if:

  • You are not lying

  • You are not using one employer’s time/resources for the other

  • You are not harming either business

  • And you perform your duties fully

“Don’t take money for work you’re not actually doing.”
Do that, and you're fine.

So what’s the optimal play?

Best Practice Strategy

  1. Say yes to the new job.

  2. Give yourself a 2–3 week overlap max.

  3. During overlap:

    • Keep your current job performance at its usual acceptable level

    • Focus most energy on the new job

  4. Put in your notice during that period — don’t wait for January.

The idea of overlapping until January sounds easy now, but is where burnout or performance slip usually happens.

If you want to keep it tight and clean, here's the timeline:

Week Action
Week 1 Start new job, feel out workload + ramp up demands
Week 2 or 3 Submit resignation at current job
Final 2 weeks Transition out gracefully

This gives you:

  • Smooth onboarding

  • No unnecessary stress drag

  • Zero “getting caught” risk

  • Maintained references

Bottom Line

Double-dipping is fine when it’s short-term and you fully perform at both.

Double-dipping becomes risky when it drags on.

So yes—doing both for the next ~3 weeks?
✅ Reasonable
✅ Low risk
✅ Good move

Doing both until January?
⚠️ High risk of burnout
⚠️ Higher chance of performance slip
⚠️ Unnecessarily prolonged exposure


People keep asking “which job board is best?” The truth is, none of them are better.

Every week I see posts saying “LinkedIn is useless” or “Indeed doesn’t work anymore.”

The truth is that the platforms aren’t the real problem. The market is just extremely competitive, and everyone’s applying to the same few jobs at the same time.

The smart move isn’t abandoning LinkedIn or Indeed. It’s broadening your reach: using more sources, more company career pages, and more niche job boards.

The hard part is staying on top of all of them. Nobody has time to refresh 5-10 websites every few hours just to see if something new popped up.

What helps a lot is finding a way to automate that part, something that checks multiple sites for you and notifies you when new listings are available.


Jobadvisor

You’re absolutely right about the core issue:
It’s not that any one job board is “bad.”
It’s that everyone is using the same ones in the same way.

When thousands of people apply to the same job post within hours, it’s not your résumé that’s failing — it’s supply and demand.

So the advantage comes from:

  1. Finding jobs before everyone else sees them

  2. Finding jobs that fewer people know exist

  3. Reducing the time cost of searching

And that’s where automation and diversification actually matter.

Here’s a simple, practical roadmap for doing exactly that:

Step 1 — Use the mainstream boards (but use filters well)

  • LinkedIn: Filter by posted in past 24 hours, salary visibility, and “under 10 applicants”

  • Indeed: Use Boolean search to exclude junk (-recruiter -agency -remote-call etc.)

  • Glassdoor/ZipRecruiter: Good for alerts, not always best for applying

These platforms work — you just need to be early.

Step 2 — Add niche job boards for your industry

Examples:

Field Niche Boards
Tech Wellfound, BuiltIn, Arc.dev, Hired
UX/Design Dribbble Jobs, AIGA, RemoteOK Design
Marketing MarketerHire, GrowthHackers Job Board
Nonprofit Idealist.org
Academia HigherEdJobs
Healthcare Health eCareers, Indeed Healthcare filters
Trades/Labor ZipRecruiter is stronger, plus local union listings

Niche boards = fewer applicants = higher visibility.

Step 3 — Track companies directly

Most companies don’t even post every opening on job boards — especially smaller ones.

Make a list of:

  • Companies in your city

  • Companies in your industry

  • Companies you admire

Check their Careers page weekly.

Better yet…

Step 4 — Automate the repetitive part

You don’t need expensive tools. Free options:

  • LinkedIn saved searches → daily email

  • Indeed job alerts → immediate notifications

  • Google Alerts for job titles

  • RSS feed watchers (many company career pages have hidden RSS feeds)

  • IFTTT / Zapier to ping you when specific pages update

This literally removes the need to refresh 10 sites manually.

You can get the same effect as "being early" without constantly scrolling.

And the real advantage?

If you’re seeing the job before the crowd:

  • Your application is somewhere near the top

  • Your résumé is more likely to be opened

  • Your chances of interview increase dramatically

Speed matters more than people realize.

What you said is the exact takeaway:

It’s not:

“LinkedIn is bad”
“Indeed is dead”

It’s:

Everyone is competing in the same place at the same time.

The job search edge in 2025 is:

  • Early visibility

  • Multiple streams

  • Automated alerts

  • Applying when competition is lowest

Not switching platforms out of frustration.


It amazes me how discouraging people are when you are older


I am in my 30s now and I spent my 20s chasing acting which didn't work out. I still try to audition here and there but don't expect anything.

I've been working at hotels and restaurants living paycheck to paycheck. I got so tired of it and decided to enroll to community college. (I am an orphan from another country and had no HS transcripts so I started anew) Some people are telling me what a waste at this age. I have gotten As so far and I would like to get into an Ivy League institute. I asked a question on Reddit and I was called out because I am a non-traditional student and how is pointless when I am at this age and how I won't be able to network in school clubs with the age gap.

It feels like if you haven't achieved anything by the time you are 30, you are considered a loser...


Jobadvisor

First, let me say this plainly: you are not a loser. Not even close. You’ve actually demonstrated more courage than most people ever will.

You’ve survived difficult circumstances, you moved to another country, you supported yourself entirely on service jobs, and you made a major life decision to try again and pursue education. That is resilience. That is grit. Most people underestimate themselves because they only see where they are, not how far they’ve traveled.

About the “too old” narrative

A lot of people cling to the idea that life needs to be linear:

  • graduate high school

  • go to college

  • get a career by 25

  • achieve everything by 30

  • coast

That’s not how real life works. People reinvent themselves all the time:

  • Ray Kroc founded McDonald’s at 52.

  • Vera Wang entered fashion at 40.

  • Colonel Sanders franchised KFC at 62.

  • Morgan Freeman got his first big break at 50.

Life is long. And your story is still unfolding.

About community college and transferring

Community college → Ivy League is absolutely possible.
In fact, non-traditional transfer applicants have stronger chances at many top universities because they bring maturity and real-world experience, not just AP test scores and high school clubs.

You already have:

  • A compelling personal story

  • Work ethic proven by your As

  • Life perspective many younger students lack

Schools value that. They need that in their student community.

Networking and age differences

Yes, you may feel a bit older in some spaces. But here’s a secret:

Networking is not about clubs.
It’s about showing up consistently, asking questions, building relationships with professors, and following up.

And older students tend to be better at that.

Reddit

Reddit does not know your life. Reddit is full of:

  • teenagers who’ve never worked

  • burnt-out 23-year-olds projecting their fear

  • people who mock what secretly intimidates them: effort

Do not take advice from people who have never stood where you are standing.

The real truth

30 isn’t the end. It’s the start of self-knowledge.

You know yourself better now. Your decisions now are not random or impulsive. They’re strategic. You’re building something.

And also—you’re allowed to want a life you are proud of.

Let me leave you with this

You are building a second life out of nothing but your will. Most people never try even once.

Instead of “I’m behind,” try:

“I am just getting started—with my eyes open this time.”

You don’t need permission to change your story.

And you’re already rewriting it.

If you'd like, I can also help you:
✅ evaluate Ivy transfer pathways
✅ identify majors that align with your goals
✅ build a compelling personal statement narrative
✅ look at financial aid options for non-traditional students


HR said they lost my written complaint and want me to resend it is that normal?

Filed a formal complaint about a supervisor three weeks ago. HR acknowledged it and said they’d review then went silent. Today they emailed saying “we can’t seem to locate the file could you resend it?” either they’re unbelievably disorganized or they’re testing how serious I am.
I’ve got the original email chain saved, the timestamps, everything. I even printed a copy just in case, because the way they worded it made my stomach drop.
Was sitting at my desk trying to look busy while I thought about how bad this could go so I kept rereading the email like it would suddenly sound less sketchy if I looked at it long enough.
It feels off like if I resend it, they’ll pretend the first version never existed.
Has anyone else dealt with this before? Do I resend the complaint as is or loop in someone higher up to protect myself?


Jobadvisor

Your instincts are right: this is not normal, and it is a red flag.

HR departments do not just “lose” formal complaints—especially ones alleging misconduct. When something disappears, it’s usually one of these scenarios:

  1. They’re stalling while they figure out how to handle (or suppress) it.

  2. They’re testing whether you’ll back down or forget.

  3. They’re trying to create deniability or reset the timeline.

It is very common for HR to prioritize protecting the company (and management), not the employee. So you're smart to pause and make a strategy.

What to Do Right Now

When you resend it, you want to:

  • Keep everything documented

  • Make the timeline obvious

  • Make it hard for them to pretend the initial complaint didn't exist

So yes, resend it—but not quietly.

How to Resend the Complaint Safely

Send it as a reply in the same email chain where they acknowledged receiving it.

Your message could look like this:

Hi [Name],

Per your request, I am resending the formal complaint originally submitted on [date], which was acknowledged by HR on [date] (see email chain below for reference).

As this matter has already been pending review for three weeks, I look forward to receiving confirmation of receipt and an update on next steps.

Attached is the original document I submitted.

Best,
[Your Name]

This does two things:

  • Re-establishes the original timeline

  • Makes it harder for them to delete/erase the record

Attach:

  • Your original complaint document

  • Screenshots or PDF copies of the earlier email acknowledgement (if you have them)

Also: Blind Copy (BCC) Yourself to a Personal Email

This ensures you have proof outside the company network.

If You Have an Employee Handbook or Policy

Look up:

  • “Complaint procedure”

  • “Retaliation policy”

  • “Workplace conduct policy”

Because you want to know what rules apply.

DO NOT:

  • Change your complaint wording

  • Add new accusations yet

  • Start talking about feelings, motives, or guesses

Stay factual and consistent.

If Things Escalate or You Feel Retaliation

You can:

  • Contact your state’s EEOC or labor board

  • Consult a workplace attorney (many offer free consults)

  • Request your personnel file (in many places, legally allowed)

Retaliation after filing a complaint is illegal in most jurisdictions.

Bottom Line

You are right to be cautious.
This is sketchy.
Your job now is to document everything and keep calm.

And remember:
HR is not “on your side.” HR is on the company’s side.
You’re protecting yourself—and you're doing it wisely.

If you'd like, I can also:
✅ help you word the email cleanly
✅ review your complaint for strength & clarity
✅ help you plan next steps if they drag their feet again

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