A Manager Who Has Learned Nothing

(We have just gotten a new higher-up manager to oversee a few departments, including mine. He decides to pull us all aside for a while to get to know us and go over our employee files. It is important to note that I am a high-school dropout due to family medical emergencies, but this has no impact on my work performance whatsoever, and my immediate supervisors know this.)

Manager: “So, I see this is your first job, and you were initially a part-time file clerk in a different department. How exactly did you wind up managing this department a year later?”

Me: “Well, I started assisting with other help in this office, and gradually became full-time while another employee’s performance was slipping. When they replaced her, they moved me to a newly-formed department.”

Manager: “They shouldn’t have done that. You’d never had a job before. You can’t run a new department.”

Me: “Well, I was performing above expectations and was the best fit for the new position as it was created based around tasks I did. I’ve held that position and trained three new people to assist me in it, and got the bump to manager for it quickly.”

Manager: “You didn’t go to college and didn’t graduate high school. You’re not qualified.”

Me: “Well, if I were applying from outside for this position, I likely wouldn’t get it now, since it’s listed in our required qualifications. Since I proved myself after already being here, it was different. We do make exceptions for the right person, though. One of my best assistants didn’t graduate, either, and she’s more than proven herself, as well.”

Manager: “Oh, I let her go this morning. You’re right.”

Me: “I’m sorry; you let her go? Why? She’s been a fabulous employee.”

Manager: “Because you’re right; she didn’t fit the required qualifications.”

Me: “I’m sorry, but that’s just not fair. She didn’t lie to us; we made an exception because she had a great customer attitude. She passed the 90-day probation with flying colors!”

Manager: “What’s done is done. She should never have been hired in the first place. Neither should you.”

(At this point he literally got up from the meeting room table and walked away, leaving me staring in astonishment. When I returned to my desk I found an email dismissing me from the company due to “being unreceptive to manager feedback during a performance review.”)