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| Thursday, June 20, 2013 |
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Well… I sympathize. Nothing I was interested in panned out after law school and I spent several months in a kind of limbo until an attorney I knew suggested that I hang out my own shingle and simply start practicing the sort of law I wanted to practice. It was a crazy idea, but it felt oddly inspired and I went with it. It’s been a rough road. But that’s the price you pay for being “master of your own destiny.” Best of luck. |
Sorry to hear that, arj. The good news is that now you can draw unemployment. |
I recall fondly the moment I quit my last job. I left my manager a voicemail on his cell phone and told him I needed to talk to him right away. He called me right back, voicing concern that my voice sounded stressed and he asked me if something was bothering me. “No, I’m fine. I just needed to tell you that I am giving you my two week notice.” Dead silence. “Oh, congratulations on your new job opportunity,” came his feigned reply. I should have had the courtesy to give my notice in person, but I reasoned that my manager was a low-life creep who warranted none of the courtesies normally afforded a decent manager. Best wishes to you on your new opportunity! Let us know when you sign on the dotted line! In the meantime, I’m sure you can find something to dull your senses and fill the void–blogging!!! :-) |
ARJ: You should never come clean like that to an employer. In the US most employment is “at will” which means that your employer can plan for months to eliminate your job and never once give you a “heads-up” about it in advance. I’ve had plenty of friends from B-school, especially the one’s who went to work for airlines and tech companies, who showed up to work one day and were handed walking papers. If I were you I would have just played the game at your current employer and then left on my own terms (I’m assuming here that you did not). I actually did this once before with the net result that I was able to negotiate better terms with my existing employer. |
Collecting unemployment is NOT good news. It’s becoming part of the social welfare state and relying on the god of Mammon instead of the God of Heaven, and is what our prophets have warned us about for generations. I’m sorry to hear about your lost job, but if you look at this as an opportunity, you may just find a better life. Do you have something you’ve always wanted to do? Do it! I have a friend who lost his job and after months searching unsuccessfully, he started mowing lawns and trimming shrubs. Within two years he had a very successful landscaping business with several employees, and he now takes the winters off and goes to places like Peru and Nepal. This is an OPPORTUNITY! Embrace it! And be sure to look for the spiritual benefits as well. |
I don’t want to start a threadjack here, but I think it’s important to emphasize: Unemployment payments are not part of the social-welfare state in the traditional sense. Unemployment is paid for by businesses (except when adverse economic conditions over-run the fund paid into by businesses). If it weren’t for the need that businesses have to pay unemployment insurance, employees would probably have higher wages, so there’s a sense in which ARJ has already paid for his portion of it analogous to the way he’s paid for his car insurance. |
DKL, I have no intention of collecting unemployment. Right now we have a well defined start date during the next month that the client has agreed to. I just want a signature, which keeps getting delayed. If worst comes to worst I am confident that I could have several offers in a matter of days if I went job hunting. I could even have my old job back, but that would probably take more time. jmm, I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do. It just hasn’t been finalized yet, so I’m a bit out on a limb at this point. endlessnegotiation, I agree that it is a good idea to not tell your employer anything. I was a bit stuck in that the alternative was to not take the assignment and lie about the reason, and then the real reason would have come out soon enough. I have no interest in burning bridges so I decided to do what I knew I shouldn’t. I still think it is likely to work out well, though I would have liked to have stayed on for two more weeks if only to pad my 401k. As far as using this as a negotiating tactic, I told them that I didn’t want a counter offer since I don’t feel like anything they could offer would really compete with what I’m working on doing. In my experience people can get raises that way and even promotions, but it comes back to haunt them. |
I’m always amused at the concern employees have for their employer. Your post has some of that in it, as if you were talking about a friendship, worrying about decorum and fair play, instead of a business whose only worry is the bottom line. Of course you may be friends with your boss but he is usually not your employer. And even your boss is really only worried about his bottom line. When he expresses disappointment about an employee leaving he’s really thinking, “Crap, now what am I going to do about project x? I’m short staffed, who’s going to get all of this done so that I look good to MY boss?” Like endless said, does the employer worry about informing you about a possible layoff or reduction in benefits or salary freeze? Loyalty in American business is a one way street, but the owners have masterfully trained their employees to believe that it will be reciprocated even when it never is. |
KLC, I do not consider the company my friend and I owe it no favors. I do consider my boss to be a friend and I do feel like I owe him something. Maybe I’ve been brainwashed. |
arJ, after rereading my comment I saw that I used the word “you” and “your” a lot. I meant it in a completely generic way but realize that it can come across as meaning you personally. Wasn’t meaning what I said as a comment on you, your situation or your perceptions, but rather a comment on common attitudes I’ve seen all too often in the workplace. |
Sure you screwed it up, but on the bright side you probably bought some goodwill from your former employer, which is not worth nothing, even if you’re changing fields. |
KLC, I didn’t take any offense. I’m the one admitting I probably didn’t do this in the best way. I’m probably coming off as a bit defensive at this point. Sorry about that. |
If these new employer has been delaying in signing a contract with you for weeks or months, then you should start shopping your resume around now and have things lined up in the event they dont sign. If you let things drag on indefinitely, you are the one who could get burned. Set a firm date with them and tell them if they dont commit, then you are moving on. You put yourself in limbo once and considered it a mistake, dont do it again. |
My Wall Street Journal gurus Rule #3: Never quit a job unless you have another job. Although I think honesty is the best policy and I think you did the right thing. It’s really hard to quit at Wal-Mart. They beg you to stay and make you talk to a lot of people. Even when they are jumping for joy inside that you’ve quit, as in my situation. |
I’ve been mostly unemployed for several months, and I can totally relate. I’ve actually learned quite a bit about myself during this time, and (assuming it ends soon) I might end up happy that I had this experience. |
After what seemed to me like an unending stream of small delays we have a signed contract. So I’ve been jobless without a net for a day and a half and start my new job the middle of next month. So everything turned out well this time, though I probably could have handled things better. |
Well done, arJ. Glad to hear it. |
Glad things worked out. |
It’s no secret that bad feelings about your job rarely stay confined to the workplace. And considering that Americans quit more than 32 million jobs just last year, it’s likely that you too have suffered in a kick-the-cat job. Whether you’re an entry-level starter or a mid-level careerist, learning how to approach a tough job situation — and how to bail out — is an important experience to have in your professional toolkit. |
It’s really hard to quit at Wal-Mart. They beg you to stay and make you talk to a lot of people. Even when they are jumping for joy inside that you’ve quit, as in my situation. Do they bar the door? Or come to your house and pick you up? I’m not sure that it’s really that hard to quit a job… |
Well, it’s a process. They have people talk to you and make sure you really really want to quit. Then you have to fill out forms and sign them, etc. It takes awhile. Most jobs you just say “I quit” or “you have two weeks notice.” Wal-Mart, they sort of act like you’ve hurt their feelings and they want to know why you don’t like them anymore. |
so there’s a sense in which ARJ has already paid for his portion of it analogous to the way he’s paid for his car insurance. I’d note that many employers include those payments when they calculate your total compensation. Glad you have a new contract, hope it goes well. |
I quit a software company when I was a student, in favor of a better software company. I gave them 2 weeks’ notice in writing; they didn’t believe me. Seriously. I even reminded my boss of my resignation when I left on my last day. I showed up for my shift each day, did my work. On the first Monday when I didn’t show up, they called. “I told you I was leaving”, I said. They got huffy and demanded that I come back in to sign forms and have an exit interview. I replied that I had consulted with my my attorney (father-in-law) who had assured me that I had done nothing wrong, that I did not have to return for anything, that they could mail my last check. |
Given that this thread is getting unexpected attention I suppose an update is in order. I’ve been working with my brother for the past year and it has been fabulous. The work is interesting, we’re making reasonably cool stuff, and we tend to work at home. Hopefully things will continue to go well. |
