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Post by dschroll on Jun 11, 2014 5:53:24 GMT -5
It's definitely a big 180 in terms of how I was feeling when I originally posted on here. The work at this new company seems harder and more challenging, but also more rewarding. It seems like they offer loads of training to their people and it's a good opportunity for me to build up a new skill set. I enjoy my current job, but it's getting harder and harder to develop any new skills because I'm spread so thin that I just end up putting out fires all day addressing the latest urgent concern.
I'm good with whatever happens honestly, getting the job or not. Both my current company and this new one offer me enough things I like that I can be happy either way.
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Post by reaper on Jul 9, 2014 12:34:29 GMT -5
Any update?
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Post by dschroll on Jul 9, 2014 14:30:06 GMT -5
Nope. I heard from them a couple of weeks ago saying that things have been delayed a bit and they would get back to me. I sent a follow up email today to see where things are at. Mostly because I'm going to be doing a bit of traveling in August and am reluctant to schedule it if it looks like I'm leaving. We'll see what they come back with.
Will keep everyone posted. Thanks for checking in.
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Post by dschroll on Aug 13, 2014 13:49:20 GMT -5
Just a quick update on some things.
1) No update on the sales engineer job yet with this new company. Not sure what's going on at this point. They tell me they're still very interested in me, but are trying to work through a few things before moving forward. I asked if they have a schedule or deadline in terms of making a decision. They don't have one, so not sure how much longer this one will drag out.
2) My current employer has asked someone else to go to Japan instead of me, this time a young kid out of college. A bit disappointing to hear this news because this kid has been with the company less than a year and seems to benefit from being in the right place at the right time. He started out in our trainee program and someone from inside sales got promoted to outside sales, so they moved him into inside sales. Now that I wasn't going to Japan, they asked him, which is basically his second promotion within a year.
I don't blame this guy for jumping at this chance. I certainly would if I were in his shoes. I'm mostly annoyed that the company offered it to him. He hasn't really earned that right to get such an opportunity IMO. There are a lot of hard working people here that should've been approached before this guy. If that weren't bad enough, I've just learned that this guy won't have to do the 6 months in the other location like they were going to make me do (forcing me to live apart from my family). They're just going to have him work at the main office the entire time. That seems kinda bogus given that I was told this was non-negotiable while out in Japan.
Anyway, just wanted to give a quick update on where things are at. Will keep everyone posted if anything changes.
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Post by reaper on Aug 13, 2014 15:24:35 GMT -5
Well that sucks
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Post by fatty on Aug 14, 2014 19:13:38 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that, dschroll. That is a bummer. Thanks for the update. Who knows, could be big things in store for your future.
My wife went to her orientation today for starting the nursing program. She finished the first two years of prerequisites, now she is starting the 2 year nursing program for her RN. Things are still really slow at my job, but as a family we are definitely beginning a new chapter in our life.
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Post by fatty on Aug 29, 2014 18:04:59 GMT -5
Didn't want to start a new thread but wanted to share with you guys my job situation over the last few weeks. Things have always been slow, no backlog. Not only in our small satellite office but the main office is going through it as well. Well, we always have to maintain a certain billibility (sp) level and we weren't hitting it.
Office manager asked those of us who had extra vacation to take it to get over that hump. Or so I thought. I actually took 3 weeks of vacation of a 5 week span. Didn't help because they still ended up laying off someone, but maybe it would have been more. At our height in 2008 we had around 150 in our office and now we are down to about 18 working, 5 of those on project controls or administration type work. Not good. Last Friday the office manager and I had a talk and I tell him my project is almost wrapped up. He replies "yeah, I was hoping you might look for another job while on vacation." I'm thinking why didn't you just tell me that instead of 'hoping'. We're a small enough group that everyone knows what the deal is. So he then suggests that I go ahead and start looking (because being the least billable I would be next) and I ask how long do I have and he just says "as soon as possible". He hasn't been the best with communication.
Long story short I start looking and luckily within a week I was able to find a spot, the same people I had turned down last year. Luckily they were still interested and there was no way I was going to say 'no' again. I will start there the middle of next month and I'll still be able to get a little severance (hopefully) from this job. My last day will probably be next Friday.
It's been a roller coaster these last few months, heck years, but I start a new chapter in about 2 weeks. My third job (not counting the high school and college days of working at a pizza place). Kind of nervous but excited as well. I will miss the place I'm working at now, though. I hope they are able to find work and come through, lot of great people working there.
Anyways, good luck with your situation dschroll.
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Post by oldskoolboarder on Aug 29, 2014 19:03:17 GMT -5
Wow, good for you fatty. Fortunate of you to be able to land so quickly.
Carpe diem for sure.
'Hoping'!?!?! Now, that's a crappy manager.
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Post by reaper on Aug 29, 2014 20:08:51 GMT -5
Congrats on landing so quickly. Personally, I find it fun and exciting to switch to a new job and meet new people. It's also kind of liberating to just walk away from all the responsibilities I used to have. Hope you enjoy the change in the same way!
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Post by fatty on Sept 6, 2014 8:58:36 GMT -5
Thanks guys, this last week has been...different. Last day was yesterday, a lot of great people at that office and I will miss them. Now to enjoy this upcoming week off and play some games!
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Post by reaper on Sept 6, 2014 9:30:52 GMT -5
Saying goodbye is always hard. No way to soften that blow outside of time healing the wounds. Hope yo meet some great new friends at the next position and stay in touch with old friends as well. Nothing to say you can't meet up with some of them for a beer sometime or chat online...
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Post by dschroll on Sept 6, 2014 10:56:28 GMT -5
Fatty, sorry and congrats at the same time. It stinks to leave a job you've been happy at and like the people, but all things happen for a reason and I'm sure this next stage in your career and life will be equally satisfying. We all know you will be extremely successful and are always here if you ever need a place to turn for words of encouragement. I'm hoping to have some news myself in the next week or so, but for now, like fatty, I'll be playing some games in the meantime Enjoy some well deserved time off fatty before getting back into the swing of things.
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Post by dschroll on Oct 23, 2014 16:01:59 GMT -5
Ok, it's been a while since I've updated this thread, so wanted to at least update everyone on my situation. As many of you know, I interviewed for another job in June after the company approached me in March asking if I was interested. I actually went on 2 interviews with this company in June and was lead to believe an offer was coming soon. I ended up having to do a series of follow up emails with the HR person and hiring manager after that and I kept getting replies saying they were very interested in me, but the role was changing and they had to figure some stuff out and then would get back to me with an update.
What was frustrating for me during these months was not only was I not getting an update, but they weren't replying to my emails in a timely manor. Sometimes it would take 1-2 weeks before they finally replied to me only to tell me "No update. But we're still really interested in you."
Anyway, fast forward to September and I finally heard from the HR person saying they want me to come back in for a 3rd interview and meet someone that I apparently didn't meet on my first 2 times to their office. This kinda frustrated me and I was ready to tell them no thanks, but I didn't want to completely burn things. However, my current job had me doing a lot of things for the next several weeks so there was no way I was going to make it there for a 3rd interview anytime soon. I promptly replied to the HR person (within hours of getting her email) and said my schedule was pretty hectic for a few weeks but that I could schedule a phone interview or possibly do a lunch meeting.
2 weeks later I receive a reply from the HR person thanking me for my interest in the role, but they have offered it to someone else. I was so confused. Just 2 weeks ago they were inviting me back in and now they're telling me no thanks? What happened between now and then?
Anyway, I was pretty annoyed by the entire thing. I don't mind that I didn't get the job. That's fine. If they found someone they like better, so be it. But what irks me is how much of my time they wasted. If I wasn't the best person for the job, they should have told me months ago. Instead they strung me along for months and during that time I had turned down other interview requests from other companies because I was committed to working with this company since they kept leading me to believe an offer was imminent.
Long story short. I didn't get the job, so I remain with my current employer. Probably for the best as I don't want to work for a company that would be so disrespectful of my time.
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Post by reaper on Oct 23, 2014 16:47:31 GMT -5
I hate to say it, dude, but I think you were the backup option. It sounds like the classic "string him along until we get an answer from candidate A" type of situation. I agree. If that's how they felt, you're better off somewhere else. Sorry to hear about that. I've had some shady dealings with companies in the past and know how frustrating they can be.
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Post by dschroll on Oct 23, 2014 20:30:45 GMT -5
I don't disagree with you, but I know they weren't fans of where I lived. I live close to Chicago, but their office is way out in the burbs about 40 miles northwest. Even though I'd be calling on customers in Chicago, they wanted me coming into the office at least twice a week and I told them that I didn't mind doing that, but I needed flexible office hours since I'm the one responsible for dropping off and picking up my daughter from school as my family only has one car. Anyway, my residence was a bit of an issue a few years ago when i interviewed with this company and I could tell it still was today. When they reached out to me 6 months ago they wanted to see where I was at and if I had planned on moving further out west. I told them eventually I would, but there was nothing on the books right now. I suspect that while they liked me for the role, they didn't like where I lived and the office hours I told them I had to work during office days. Most likely they then put me on hold to see if they can find someone more ideally located and it sounds like they did. Still though, it's not a cool thing to string someone along like that. They could've been honest with me and told me this was an issue, but instead I got nothing and that frustrated me. I'm over it as I was already waffling about leaving my current job to begin with, so when this company pulled this on me it just further validated that it's not an employer I want to work for. I'm mostly bummed I burned 2 vacation days to meet with these people. That's 2 days I could've spent playing games
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Post by fatty on Oct 27, 2014 23:24:43 GMT -5
Yeah, that is a bummer but it seems like it worked out for the best in the end. Would hate for you to start a new position to find out it wasn't what you were expecting. Hope things are going well at the current a job. My job is going pretty well, good drop of guys to work with but a lot more office rules than I'm used to. But it is good.
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vado
Gamer
360 > Wii > 360 > Wii > 36...
Posts: 1,564
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Post by vado on Feb 11, 2015 0:47:34 GMT -5
holy crap i've missed a ton. Mr David, definitely agree with everyone else, it seems this was ultimately the better outcome after all. Here's to new opportunities in 2015!
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Post by dschroll on Jan 15, 2016 23:54:20 GMT -5
Ok, everyone, this seems to be my thread where I get to vent and complain about various dilemmas I have. Seems like when it comes to my career, nothing is ever easy. I'll try and keep this one a bit more concise.....who are we kidding...it's me.
First, an update that I forgot to post a while back. The young guy that was selected to go to Japan after I turned it down.....turns out, he didn't even make it a year there. Within 9 months, they announced he was relocating back to our office(he's back now) Guess he wasn't too happy there and they weren't thrilled with him. Still, he now gets to come back to our office and essentially gets to work in the same department as me, just 2 years earlier than was planned. I felt a little vindicated by the whole thing. Many people told me I had dodged a bullet by turning it down as the program was not well organized at all.
Now, fast forward a bit. For the past year I have been less than thrilled with my current position as product manager at my employer. A few months ago I was asked by the sales manager in Boston if I would consider coming to work for him in Boston. He had been promoted recently and wanted someone to take his old sales position. My wife and I were thrilled about moving to Boston and couple that with my unhappiness in my current position, I basically told him, "Hell yeah!" After a few weeks, he told me that apparently hiring someone in Boston was a lower priority and they first needed to replace someone in Hartford, Connecticut and asked if I would consider that area instead. My wife and I discussed and we still liked the sound of it. Still East Coast and plus it puts us right in between Boston and NYC, so that is definitely appealing. So, I pursued the CT sales job with eagerness and enthusiasm.
I know the sales director was still bitter about me turning down Japan. But I tried to do my best to show her that I was seriously interested in this position and this was a more "family friendly" position as opposed to Japan. Last week I flew out to CT to interview with the area and regional sales managers, along with the sales director. The interview was honestly a formality as I was pretty much a shoe in for the position. I found out this week I got the job. Great!
Now is the tough part. Compensation. I was just given the details of the package. Overall, compensation is a little higher than I make now, but nothing huge. No cost of living adjustment(even though I wrote up a document showing that CT was on average 8% higher cost of living than Chicago), but since they are increasing my compensation a little as they consider it a promotion, I was fine with that. The big thing that caught me off guard was the relocation package. My company is offering me a lump sum of $6k to relocate my family to CT.
This number seems shockingly low to me. I personally know 2 other people within the organization that have been relocated form corporate to outside sales positions. One person (10 years ago) received $28k in relocation expenses. The other was relocated 2.5 years ago and received $25k. The company has no set policy/procedure for relocation, so it's all done on a case by case basis. When I was first investigating the outside sales position, I immediately reached out to the 2 guys I know to talk about relocation packages to get an idea of what was covered. They both gave me details (including actual amounts received) which helped.
But now here I am getting a fraction of what the other guys got and I feel dumbstruck. In the past, our company used to help people with selling their home (realtor fees), moving expenses, buying a new home, etc. It seems like now all they are doing is offering me enough to pay for the movers and that's about it. I plan to do some research and draw up a document that shows all the costs I will incur to relocate and I am hopeful this number is negotiable. I really did not plan on having to possibly out of pocket a good chunk of costs in order to move my family for this new job (on top of losing my wife's income temporarily until she finds a new job).
There are 2 points I need people's advice on:
1) I know what kinds of amounts and coverage our company has done for people in the past. However, management doesn't know that I know this. And I don't want to get the 2 other guys in trouble for telling me. So, how do I go back to management knowing I'm getting a fraction of what has been given out in the past without revealing that I know what's been given out? If I had been offered say $20k or something, I wouldn't have bothered questioning it, but $6k is less than a quarter of what had been offered less than 3 years ago.
2) If I end up declining this position, my career at this company is effectively over. Management was already still bitter I turned down Japan after having been offered it. For them to offer me CT and me turn it down pretty much means they'll never offer me another thing again. But I don't think it's right to expect someone to out of pocket their own relocation expenses when I'm effectively moving for the company.
I plan to meet with the sales director next week to discuss the relocation number once I've received several quotes from various movers. Any advice or recommendations? Why can't things ever be easy? It feels like things start going well for me, but then there's always that proverbial wrench that gets thrown in just to make me think twice about it.
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Post by reaper on Jan 18, 2016 10:33:41 GMT -5
So I read your short summary of the new opportunity . I'll toss out my opinion on the matter. Overall, I think the most important thing to consider is whether this position is right for you and your family. You said you and your wife like the sound of this new job. You also mentioned that you have been "less than thrilled" about your current position. So, in my mind, those are the big picture items. You are not happy, you could be happier. This job could get you there. So, what's the hangup? $19k. Your life could be better but you are going to risk it over $19k? My opinion is that the $19k hurts. It sux. but it wouldn't even factor into my decision on whether to take the job. $19k sounds like a lot but in the grand scheme of your life, it's not. I would make the decision completely independent of this issue. Now would I let it drop completely? No. I wouldn't. I also wouldn't expose friends who provided the feedback. I would simply go to management and tell them, I want the job. I am taking the job. There is no question there. But I feel that the relocation is unfair and too low. I wouldn't provide any details related to anyone else. I would offer some stats on how much it will cost you to move and ask if there is any way they could up the relocation package. Plead your case. If they relent and you get more, great. If not, you still have a better job in a better location and in 3 years you won't even be thinking about that $19k anymore. You'll just be living a happier life overall and glad you made the switch. That's my opinion. I always look at the big picture, long term game and blow off items that feel painful now but I know will be small drops in the bucket later. For instance, when I took the job here at Qualcomm, I took $0 relocation expenses. I had a choice to do that and have a higher contract salary or take some relocation $$ and have a lower salary. I calculated out the differences and knew long term (expected 6 months of contract to convert to full time), the salary would pay off. Then what happened? I got a pay cut by 30% (and I got stuck as a contractor for 12 months)! It sucked for sure. I lost money on the relocation and the salary. But I was in it for the long game. So, I kept my goals set. Eventually I got hired full time and I love living here and have made more money here than I would have at any other place I interviewed. Sure there was a bump in the road. But I don't regret it for a minute. I did the best thing for the long play that I could at the time and I just rolled with what life gave me. That's really all you can do. Good luck with your decision. Feel free to completely ignore any of this as you see fit!
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Post by dschroll on Jan 18, 2016 12:39:47 GMT -5
reaper, thank you for your reply. What you said really struck a chord with me and I like that approach. I think that's the best strategy, just going in there telling them I'm taking the job, but asking for additional help.
I'm currently researching numbers on everything and will put it into a spreadsheet to turn in pointing out all the costs I will incur to make the move. Hopefully I can get some additional help. Thank you again for your help and making it easier for me to see the big picture. It's easy for me to get bogged down in the details and lose sight of that.
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