Doesn’t Have A Long Term (Inter)View

(I’ve worked managing a telesales route for one of the largest soft drink companies in the world for about a year. There’s a lot of fuss in my department about how you must work there for a year before applying anywhere inside the company, but they never have you sign anything agreeing to it. A position that I’m very interested in opens up in a different city. I mention it to a couple of the managers there who practically beg me to apply, so I do. I get called in almost immediately for an interview, but before I can request the PTO for it, my manager calls me into her office.)

Manager: “Why did I get a call saying that you applied for an internal position?”

Me: “Because I did? I was just about to put in a PTO request for a half day so I can go interview at the other office.”

Manager: “You know that you can’t apply for anything internally until you’ve been here for a year! You haven’t been here for a year yet! The only reason that [Coworker] was allowed to change departments was because she waited out the year.”

Me: “I started working under you in June of last year. It’s now July. I’ve worked here for a year.”

Manager: “The first 90 days that you worked here were probationary and don’t count towards the year time. You cannot apply for an internal position until September. Also, when the time comes you are not allowed to apply for any positions within the company without asking me first.”

Me: “I already applied for this one and they really want me to come in. [Other Manager] is waiting on my reply.”

Manager: “You weren’t supposed to have applied in the first place! I won’t let you go.”

Me: “All right, then. I’ll let [Other Manager] know.”

(My manager started getting daily phone calls and emails from the other manager asking her to let me come in, and I started getting daily phone calls from him, as well, asking if she had okayed it yet. This went on for over a week, with me constantly telling the other manager that I still didn’t have approval to take time off during working hours to go. I finally got called back into my manager’s office and told that I could go interview. When I excitedly called the other manager back, I was told that they were forced to close the position and choose someone else the day before, and that there was no way to get me in anymore. I turned in my two weeks notice and moved across the country shortly afterwards.)