Programming with
a dose of satire.
Cthulhu|
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(:= Cthulhu's Corner |
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Knowing When To Quit
The honeymoon is over. Your boss set you up. You're being ignored. Whatever the circumstances, the winds have changed and you no longer feel welcome in your place of work. You feel like something needs to change. This is not a passing mood: this is a sign of your times. You may not feel as strongly in the days immediately to follow, but once the idea of change is in your mind, it remains there and grows. You are left with two paths. You will either make the change or you will leave your place of employment.
If you are not an executive or manager, you will not be able to make the change. Yes, they all listened to you when you had simple things to suggest, but this is no simple thing you're going to ask for. You may have already asked about it and been told no in so many words. No means no, buddy. Quit asking about it and get your resume ready. If you are an executive or manager, or your manager is behind your request for change, but is getting pushback, read the writing on the wall very carefully. If you're not a manager, assume no means no and get ready to bail out. If you are a manager, look around. Who is behind the opposition to you? Do they have more power than you? If so, do not hesitate to prepare your resume. If you have more power, then ask yourself, are you ready to tear the company and/or department apart in a winner-take-all battle? If not, make ready your exit. None of these are battles you want to win. Even if you were able to get things to go your way, whoever you trumped in the argument will be plotting your downfall. The war is on and if you are not willing to wage a total war to destroy your foes, you will not prevail. They were difficult enough to cause trouble for you before. They will cause trouble for you again until you are gone.
So you realize it's time to go. Good. Do not quit. Quitting your job without another to go to is the kiss of death in an interview unless you're changing careers. Not all employers will buy "I left to try my hand at consulting on my own" as a reason for leaving a job, but that's always better than, "I quit because they sucked." Sure, you could pretty that last statement up, but that's what the interviewer will hear. While you make ready your exit in searching for another job, protect yourself. Start BCC'ing your emails to a home address so you have a copy of your correspondence there should your hand be forced and your company fire you. After every meeting, summarize the points discussed and send the summary to the meeting participants. State in that email (BCC'ed to your home email, by the way...) that if anyone has anything else to add or clarify, let them do so or the record stands. This will be great later on in case an argument over what was said in a meeting comes up. Your documentation will protect you, if you play your cards right. Don't attack at this point: play defensively. Be pleasant. Be seen as hard-working. Be seen as pained, long-suffering, and martyred. People will be more likely to accomodate you and give you space so you can prepare for your job shift. Lash out, and you'll be tied down in meetings with HR and your manager's manager, draining away the amount of time you could spend more profitably on a job search.
Use your sick days carefully on your way out. You want to take as many as possible because chances are you can't step into your new job and have 2 weeks' vacation right away. Remember that mental stress is a valid illness and sick days are for physical and mental ills. Take that to heart and follow your bliss. With luck, when you announce your departure, your company will ask you stay at home for your period of notice, "for morale reasons". If so, you've won! Bonus vacation for you from a company you're leaving! That's just great. Enjoy it. If you don't get the stay at home orders, the next best thing is to work from home "on documentation". That's almost as good, so take it if you can and arrange your work schedule around television talk shows and bouts of computer games. If you have to work in the office, show up late, leave early and take loooooong lunches. What are they going to do, fire you? (:=
Great Cthulhu Jones Talkback to Cthulhu
Such is the will of Cthulhu:
Message Index:
The Messages: Hmmmmm.I like this sage advice - Thanks You and Good Night. I will leave a window open. HOAUGHT´THIGNIH HOAUGHT_THIGNIH@hotmail.com Beneath the Oceans, Probably the USA Tue Aug 14 13:36:09 EDT 2001 True, true... Having BT and DT, I can say that CJ has hit this one right on the money. John john@harrisments.com Okaloosa, USA Tue Aug 14 16:55:28 EDT 2001 damn Wish I had read this a few months ago; now it´s too late and I´m between a rock and a hard place. Damn I hate *@!#in´ management-by-Excel office-sitters! Nunya justme_72@hotmail.com TX, USA Tue Aug 14 17:54:22 EDT 2001 Lunch time... Is it necessary to make it back from lunch before quitting time? Can we just claim the additional time as overtime? (just kidding... sorta). The writing does sometimes appear even in midair, not necessarily on the wall... Very good advice about resume... Lihp lihp55@hotmail.com Not sure where exactly, Probably the USA Tue Aug 14 18:39:23 EDT 2001 Great advice Upgraded to DEFCON 3. Resume updated, back door passwords safely tucked away. Private files & winnuke.exe on CDs. Fire at will (Will seen ducking into an alley). David david@heartlessbastards.com West Coaster, US Tue Aug 14 19:00:30 EDT 2001 test Just a test message - please ignore, discard from your mind, pretend you never even saw this... Matt Not sure where exactly, Probably the USA Wed Aug 15 08:15:44 EDT 2001 Most Excellent As always. Ya´ll out there better pay attention to the great one. Widget widget@mad-techies.org Northeast - it´s snowing, Probably the USA Wed Aug 15 08:27:44 EDT 2001 Great advice IF this doesnīt Work, can we call the Great One and order some squirrels? Rick meow@ptd.net Signus 43-2c45A, 4th planet from the left Wed Aug 15 09:10:05 EDT 2001 About those squirrels... No. (:= Great Cthulhu cthulhu@zzzptm.com Sunken R´lyeh, Close to Vanuatu Wed Aug 15 11:05:34 EDT 2001 Knowing when to quit your job What are the top ten signs that itīs time to get out of dodge? Rank in order please. Mahalo (Thank You) alan racboyz@yahoo.com Hawaii, United States Mon Nov 26 10:57:23 EST 2001 re: Knowing when to quit your job Iīm not sure about a top TEN list (although - hmm, thereīs an idea for an article...) However, the number one thing I guess would be that you find the job frustrating. The reason doesnīt matter: simply, if you find that on regular occasions you find your blood boiling over and you just canīt work the way you want to, AND thereīs definitely nothing you can do to change that, then itīs probably time to find a more rewarding job. An example would be if your boss (or even the entire organisation) thinks along different lines to you, e.g. they all love to work extra-long days, and regard it as "macho" that they worked until 4am. This can affect you in two ways: the peer pressure to join them in their strange behaviour; and the general pressure-cooker environment that affects everybody, when they discover that their software is so riddled with bugs that itīs moving, like a piece of infested cheese. Ekh! Matt matt@SPAM-YAK-bad-managers.com London, England Tue Nov 27 05:47:56 EST 2001 watch out for non obvious signs be careful if your boss starts being nice to you after giving you a period of hassle. this is normally the build up to the big push. adam UK Mon Feb 24 11:22:03 GMT 2003 sigh of relief Just left my job over a month a go. Excellent advice. I did most of it, but I didn't bcc myself. That's a good one. rot rt3764rt@yahoo.com so cal, usa Thu Oct 21 08:10:12 BST 2004 here's my top ten input on knowing when to quit 1) They hire another person with your title to do your job because they need 2 of you. 2) You aren't on the email list for important meetings that you use to go to. 3) They hire a marketing group to come up with ideas without asking your input. 4) VP of Marketing doesn't look you in the eye when he passes you in the hallway, not to mention his office is next door to yours. 5) Your colleagues and subordinates joke around about how management wants you out. 6) They hire a new boss who is an idiot and mananagement thinks otherwise and you and everyone else knows that she's an idiot. 7) HR tells you to keep doing what you are doing, but wait... they hired someone to do my job? 8) No one asks you to lunch any more or hangs out in your office because they are afraid of you by association. 9) When you realize that there is life outside of your company and your company is not the world. 10) You know that you family and friends will be there for you and your job won't. rot rt3764rt@yahoo.com so cal, usa Thu Oct 21 08:24:13 BST 2004 hmmm...strange boss I've noticed my boss in mood swings. One day he's upset and will smart off at things I do. The next day he's as nice as can be (almost like he regrets it). I can't figure him out anymore...not sure I ever did. I can't deal with my teenagers, demanding customers and a boss that acts like a woman going throught "THE CHANGE". I wish he'd make up his mind...does he hate or not! Oh, doesn't matter. I plan on having a new job by the end of the year if it kills me. neglected_one neglected_one@dodgeit.com somewhere in hell, same as above Wed Nov 02 02:07:07 GMT 2005 Get a Clue How do you know if you are wearing your heart on your sleeve and being overly sensitive or truly this is the case "they" want you gone? Kristi OutSidrQQn@aol.com Arkansas Thu Feb 16 20:47:49 GMT 2006 |
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