In this economy you might not get a raise, but promotions seem to be plentiful.

This phenomenon is partly due to the many layoffs we’ve seen. Managers are short handed and want employees to do more so they offer them a promotion so they’ll do the job of two people but feel better about it. I call this a fake promotion.

There are also the real promotions, when companies grow, add projects and need people to run those. And of course there’s the traditional moving-up-the ladder promotion. Your employer has a long-time promotion process and you’re number has finally come up.

In all these scenarios you are not insane if you decline such an offer. Trust me, lots of people do this for lots of reasons. The trick is doing it the right way so you don’t end up hurting your career. (more…)