I work for a small international company of 35 staff spread across a number of cities. My branch has three permanent staff members, of whom I am the middle-ranking person. Usually, if a director leaves, the person in my role is automatically promoted. Internal promotions are the norm.
However, in 2011 when my director left, I was not offered his role as I had suffered issues with depression and had not been performing well (I had one bad year out of four in the role at that stage). The director and our administrator had been very supportive during that time, but I am sure that when asked about offering me his role, he explained to senior management that I was probably not capable of taking on the responsibility.
I agree that this may have been the case. The job was advertised and we got a new director, while I stayed in my role. I had a chat with the two major decision-makers in the company recently and made it clear that I am now completely healthy again.
Eighteen months later, the new director has handed in his notice and once again the director role is being advertised. No one has spoken to me about the role. The assumption seems to be that I will continue to stay in my current position.
I now feel that I would be capable of taking on the director role and intend to apply for it. However, I am concerned that the senior management either feel that I am not capable of the job in terms of sheer competence, or fear that health problems will interfere with my ability to perform in the future if I am offered the role.
How should I approach their concerns? I understand that they must do the best as they see fit for the office. I think that the best thing for the office is for me to take on the director role. I have been in my current position for five and a half years and have trained the most recent director. I am really worried that even if I have a good interview, I will be denied promotion because of a depressive episode that happened three years ago.
