Please, let this be the time. →[More:] So I'm still working for the guy that mentioned "the P word" almost two years ago. In a way, it's been a frustrating two years in that there have been many starts and stops and changes in direction. I've felt that the promotion thing was slipping away because of all the things that haven't happened.... such as canceling out of training that would be very helpful at the next level. (I should be starting a 4-day course tomorrow for instance, but instead I leave for a business trip to Orlando that came up suddenly.)

My boss had a deputy that left last year and the position has been open ever since. He recently mentioned that he finally got approval to refill the position. The very first requirement in the job description is something I can't meet because of the training courses I've had to cancel because of business commitments and schedule conflicts.

So I didn't apply.

Somehow it came up and I said I'd like to apply but I don't have the right certifications. He countered that it didn't stop others from applying.

So I applied for the job.

Since then, some of that work I've been doing instead of taking the certification courses has gotten noticed, including mention by the company VP at the senior staff meeting (or so I was told) and today I found out I got a bonus.

I'm riding a wave of accomplishment right now, doing work that I don't have the formal, company-mandated training for, playing over my head a bit. I'm hoping I'm peaking at a good time.

Tomorrow, as I said, I leave for a trip to negotiate a proposal with our customer. My boss can't be there, so it will be up to me. If this goes well, it could give me the inside track on the promotion, despite not having all the right certifications.

When my boss told me about the bonus, he followed it up with, "Do your best with this proposal, and let's see what comes next." It could have been just an idle comment, and maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it sure looks to me that the planets are coming into alignment.