Mike Knight Passed Up Again
Looks like Assistant City Manager Mike Knight didn't get the promotion to Eureka City Manager once again. Isn't that at least the second time? I'm sure he's feeling a bit frustrated. If he didn't want the job he wouldn't have applied for it. The top pick is some new guy from out of state.
I suppose there's something to be said for searching a large group for the best qualified candidate. There's also something to be said for going with what you know and someone who seems pretty sure to hang around. Maybe I take it personally?
I got a little miffed when I applied for a full time position at Juvenile Hall. I'd put in a lot of volunteer time prior to applying. I might have even had one of the permanent part- time positions at the time. Yet some guy who came in later and put in a lot less time got the job ahead of me. He didn't last long, moving on to work at the jail within a few months. Told ya so!
The National Guard was like that, too, although for my first few years I never really sought promotion- heck, I never really pursued promotions. I figured when the time came to get promoted, I'd get promoted.
I'd put my time in and thought I might be ready for a squad leader position. I'd be next in line for it but some new guy- fresh out of the service- would join the unit and take the position ahead of me. That happened to everyone. Not just me.
I didn't care much at first. It did kind of grate on my nerves after a while. Having some guy who ran a sewer plant for the Air Force jump in ahead of me as squad leader of a combat engineer unit.
Hate it when stuff like that happens, even when I see it happen to someone else.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 9:09 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Organizations are heavily predisposed toward hiring the person they know. Other candidates are a gamble. The known person is a sure thing, even if he has flaws (the organization knows what to expect).
So, if a guy is passed over twice, take that as a sign it's never going to happen.
I applied for jobs in one HSU department 5 times over the years. Each time they hired someone who was already doing the job on a temp basis or they hired an intern already in the department who was graduating. I gave up and moved on. My only solace is that four of those people were each gone within 2 years.
Oops, I should have said, I interviewed five times over the years. This isn't sour grapes over not being good enough to be looked at in the first place.
Yeah. You have to wonder what problem some of the powers that be have with Mike Knight. I believe the Mayor said he was more than happy with him.
It's possible they depend on him for X, and don't want to find a new person who can handle X. Has he worked there a long time? They could simply value his institutional history and operational knowledge; accepting the top job is usually accepting a position you'll only be able to keep for a few years, until the city council grows tired of you.
I know two people who quit their jobs (again at HSU, sigh) with a feeling that they were stuck in their positions because they'd become too depended upon. One wanted to make a lateral move to another position in the department. The other simply wanted to go from full-time to part-time. Both situations big mistakes -- to depend upon someone so much that you lose him. In Knight's situation, it's a question of how much he loves living in Humboldt.
Arcata hired internally with Mendosa, but as we know now, he was nearing retirement, a pre-supplied exit scenario. How old is Knight?
I'm not sure how old he is, or even what he looks like. I forget how long he's been Assistant CM. Nine years comes to mind but I could be mixing that up with someone else.
You could be right, though. Maybe they think he's of best value to them in his current spot?
Another aspect is the fact there are folks that have all the skill sets to be successful except for the ability to pander to "the right people" and be able to kiss hinders on demand.
There are all kinds of folks who perform their jobs brilliantly but also have reputations for being pains in the collective supervisor's asses.
I'm not saying Mr. Knight (or Mr. Mangles or Mr. Anonymous) fall into that category but I and many people I know do. It does explain how it often happens that complete morons find themselves in positions of importance, responsibility and authority.
Mike Knight has been passed over twice for the city managers job, if he was not the obvious successor maybe he was not the right person to be the assistant city manager in the first place.
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