Resign(ation) patterns
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Don't burn any bridges. I started showing up for 4 hour days my last week, but I was still coding my last hour of my last day (I only showed up for an hour that day). If you are going to remain living in the area, it can get worse. It's a small world and it is very easy to get a reputation.
Craigslist Troll: litaly@comcast.net "I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. " — Hunter S. Thompson
been in the business for a long time. That's good advice.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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I've gotten disgruntled and fed up with awful places to work before. It sucks. I've learned that checking out like that didn't help me feel any better, and only ended up inconveniencing people that cared even less than I did. I recommend really looking for a good place to end up, or committing to fixing where you are.
Curvature of the Mind now with 3D
Perhaps "savage" is too strong a word, having a night's rest. We had four people who call themselves developers (two hacks, two decent) and one supervisor on our little team. Since the official transition on May 1, my supervisor has bailed, and I'm pretty much out the door, just waiting for the right opportunity. So when I say, "savage", I really mean, "give an honest accounting of my perception of the flaws of this organization, hoping that it changes for the better for the people who are left behind." From their perspective, it would probably look as if I'm savaging them, as the organization is really screwed up. I don't imagine anyone would act upon my advice, so you're right, nothing to come out of it.
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It was bad management, and the guy pulled it off was a total sleeze. I don't know if I'd value the extra money for the bad karma. Before I witnessed it first hand it seemed like a way to stick it to the man. Once I saw what it really was, it's theft.
Curvature of the Mind now with 3D
Yeah, you're right. Sure it's fun to say, "wow, I'd get two paychecks for doing one job.", but it's also illegal and totally unethical. Although this organization has already shown that ethics is a phrase with which they're not familiar. Proivding a study to tell the prior organization how great it would be for the prior organization if they (the new organization) took over our group. At least there's no obvious conflict of interest there. Sigh. I couldn't do that and look myself in the mirror (not that that is any great treat in itself). When I said doing the Office Space thing above, I meant without a new position. Just to see how long it would take them to a) call and ask if I'm o.k. or b) figure it out.
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agolddog wrote:
You're right. I'm not sure if, when asked, "Why are you leaving?", that I'll be unable to stop from responding with "You're @#($^ kidding, right?" and then go down the list of ways this transition has been a disaster.
The time for that is during the exit interview.
agolddog wrote:
It's been such a bad experience, that there is zero chance I'll work for this organization again, or with any of the new organization's people. (In fact, I'm not even listing it on my resume. In the future, I'm thinking about just having a few-week blank period on there rather than admit that I was ever associated with them).
Wait, you've only been there a few weeks? Whaaa? Are you sure they are the problem? You have a job lined up I hope.
agolddog wrote:
You're right, though, you never know to whom they might talk.
Take a peak at your boss's or some of management's linked in profiles, you'll see how far their social influence can go.
Craigslist Troll: litaly@comcast.net "I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. " — Hunter S. Thompson
Yes, I'm sure they are the problem. It's not that I've only been here a few weeks. A new organization took over our team a few weeks ago, and the transition has been a total disaster. Same job, just working for different group. Agree with you on the exit interview bit. That's what I intended when I wrote that. Just not sure I'll be able to give the rose-colored view the way someone else mentioned; not in my nature to be anything less than totally honest about my perception of things.
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Oh believe me, I don't bluff! I already knew where I could be working within a day or two when I did that. As I've told others, you can say anything you want as long as
- It's the truth, and
- You are willing to live with the consequences.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E. Comport Computing Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
Completely agree with this. As I've long said, "The truth cannot be pejorative." If someone calls me a dumbass (or whatever term), and can demonstrate the truth of that with examples, I really don't understand how I can have any right to get mad about it.
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Well if you *really* don't care you could always try this: Don't quit! Just stop showing up for work. First take vacation time. Then perhaps call in sick, maybe contract some voracious disease. After a miraculous recover perhaps take a day off from the new job and pop in at the old one just to show your face. Perhaps you can work from home. Then maybe just stop communicating and see how long it takes before you get axed. Perhaps it's possible you could nurse this along and get 2 salaries for as long as a month or two.
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow
Jim - Your commentary totally made my day. Hilarious, very Dilbertian. I also liked the SQL code fragment. Have a great memorial weekend.
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Saw Nemanaja's thread on Resign Patterns, and thought it might be different ways to turn in one's resignation. Had an interview which went well this morning. I've got a good, but not great, feeling about it. I rather expect that I'm not going to be able to stop myself from burning bridges. Our development group got swallowed up by this company which is contracted to provide network support, and they've pretty much screwed up everything in the transition. So, what's everybody's best (whatever that means to you) resignation story?
I once worked at a company where a particular employee got on the bad side of an executive. He was good at what he did, but life was not pleasant for him after "the incident" (it wasn't anything bad, just a work-related misunderstanding blown out of proportion). When the time came for him to resign, he sent out one of those sappy "it was nice to work with everybody ... please keep in touch" emails to the company. Knowing how he really felt, I was a bit surprised ... until somebody pointed out that the whole email was an acrostic. The first word of every sentence spelled: [company name removed] SUCKS! Not a pattern that I ever intend to follow, but it always makes me chuckle.
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Saw Nemanaja's thread on Resign Patterns, and thought it might be different ways to turn in one's resignation. Had an interview which went well this morning. I've got a good, but not great, feeling about it. I rather expect that I'm not going to be able to stop myself from burning bridges. Our development group got swallowed up by this company which is contracted to provide network support, and they've pretty much screwed up everything in the transition. So, what's everybody's best (whatever that means to you) resignation story?
I was brought into a company as the lead developer on a project, we ramped up with more new people. 3 months later the company announced that about a third of the people were being laid off, and the rest would be getting paid for 30 hours a week. We were given about 3 hours notice before it went into effect. I went back to my old company, arranged to go back to work there, and gave the new company the same notice they gave everybody else (3 hours). They begged and pleaded, told me I could work 40 hours, etc. Then they told me that I was being unprofessional and unfair. I responded that I was doing exactly what they had done to us, using the same ethical standards that they had and walked out. The old company that took me back increased my salary by 25% over the next year without any encouragement from me. And gave me a glowing referral when I finally moved on about 2 years later. So what can you learn: 1. Don't burn bridges with good people 2. Don't worry about management if they really are incompetent/evil 3. Don't threaten, just do it
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
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I was brought into a company as the lead developer on a project, we ramped up with more new people. 3 months later the company announced that about a third of the people were being laid off, and the rest would be getting paid for 30 hours a week. We were given about 3 hours notice before it went into effect. I went back to my old company, arranged to go back to work there, and gave the new company the same notice they gave everybody else (3 hours). They begged and pleaded, told me I could work 40 hours, etc. Then they told me that I was being unprofessional and unfair. I responded that I was doing exactly what they had done to us, using the same ethical standards that they had and walked out. The old company that took me back increased my salary by 25% over the next year without any encouragement from me. And gave me a glowing referral when I finally moved on about 2 years later. So what can you learn: 1. Don't burn bridges with good people 2. Don't worry about management if they really are incompetent/evil 3. Don't threaten, just do it
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
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Saw Nemanaja's thread on Resign Patterns, and thought it might be different ways to turn in one's resignation. Had an interview which went well this morning. I've got a good, but not great, feeling about it. I rather expect that I'm not going to be able to stop myself from burning bridges. Our development group got swallowed up by this company which is contracted to provide network support, and they've pretty much screwed up everything in the transition. So, what's everybody's best (whatever that means to you) resignation story?
When my Dad resigned from the Air Force, he wore his dress uniform to work on the last day -- with a sprig of mistletoe pinned to the coat-tails.
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Saw Nemanaja's thread on Resign Patterns, and thought it might be different ways to turn in one's resignation. Had an interview which went well this morning. I've got a good, but not great, feeling about it. I rather expect that I'm not going to be able to stop myself from burning bridges. Our development group got swallowed up by this company which is contracted to provide network support, and they've pretty much screwed up everything in the transition. So, what's everybody's best (whatever that means to you) resignation story?
Hi AGoldDog, I think there's no one-size-fits-all here: a lot depends on the nature of the contractual agreement in place between you and employer. If you are a full-time employee, have medical coverage, stock-options, etc., that's one reality: if you are an "independent contractor" with no benefits, and no taxes withheld: that's another. If you happen to be at a "big company," that has a legal division, I'd be very careful. If you have signed an agreement with "non-compete" clauses in the event of ceasing to work at the company, or if you have access to source-code, and your employment contract has "clauses" about that, I'd seek a qualified labor attorney's counsel before giving notice. No way would I expose myself to any possible legal vulnerability by short-changing the company I was working at by abuse of sick leave, or just "not showing up," etc. On the other hand, you have certain inalienable legal rights that may vary with your home country's (or state, province, etc.) labor laws. A frequent practice at companys who do layoffs, and offer a "severance" package, is to demand signing of a non-compete in order to grant post-employment rewards: again, I'd seek legal counsel before signing anything. If you are going to "vote with your feet," by quitting the company, what's the point of telling them why ? A temporary satisfaction that might make "enemies" needlessly ? Revenge can be expensive. While you have every right to "walk," why not avoid setting yourself up to be a scapegoat ? I've had the personal experience of being layed off at a time when I knew the company in question would need my services again; by handling that layoff with dignity and self-control, resisting the temptation to tell them what a mistake they were making, I set the stage for being employed by the company a few months later at an absurdly high rate of compensation for months, as independent contractor, and with complete freedom to work at home, and no questions asked about any other employment (although as a matter of principle I would never have worked for a competitor while working on the company's product). Good luck with your decision ! Hope you keep your eyes on where you want to be in the future, as well as what you need to do now, to resolve the immediate problem. best, Bill
"Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning." C.S. Lewis