Change isn't always bad.
Stick it out and see if it works out better than you expect.
Stick it out and see if it works out better than you expect.
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How Would You Navigate This Work Situation?
- Thread starter jmattbassplaya
- Start date
It seems like you're the new guard replacing the old guard. As to your supervisors boss not making eye contact he/she may be worried and close to the edge being higher up. It doesn't hurt to send your resume or bank on this being a career position. Once you become a senior it may turn over. The good thing is you're making more money and at a higher position so you can apply to similar jobs. I find employers like hiring people who are currently working. Avoid drama and keep to yourself.
Not sure what your line of work is, but the only time I've been in a company with a big upper management shakeup was after a hostile takeover. The raiders only wanted a single segment of the business and moved very quickly to cut it from the herd and dump the rest of what came with it.
It can't hurt to start freshening up your resume and contact list.
It can't hurt to start freshening up your resume and contact list.
Well, the top-level folks left due to being forced out, not a result of the business going into the red. I think you aren't high enough in the totem pole to be worried about your job being replaced by someone or getting laid off.
OP, I can't offer direct advice, but only my own experience that you can add to your back-burner data archives in your brain. So take them for what they're worth - and I'm sure that the situation at the company I used to work for was far different than yours, but neither of us had all the info or float in circles that would.
I worked for an insurance company for 10 years. I started right after it was acquired from a failing company and the headquarters were relocated to my area. I was able to grow and occupy three different roles in this company, and the people on the floor were great.
During this time I watched the company restructure it's front end (insurance products, pricing tiers, etc.). When those methods stopped producing results, they turned to back-end reorganization - such as consolidating departments, shutting down unprofitable areas and/or reducing them and placing them under other areas, etc. This lead to some layoffs in remote locations, but not local to me.
When those methods were exhausted, they turned to more aggressive risk reduction measures (reducing insurance exposure in high-risk areas, trying to expand in lower risk areas of the country, etc.) They assured us that our jobs were safe.
Then layoffs started. I came back from a lunch to find that about 20 of my counterparts were gone - walked out the door. This continued for 2-3 years in several areas of the company, including the closure of more remote sites. At just before the 10 year mark, they announced an outsourcing agreement with an off-shore company. 55 people were given a 90-day notice, 20 of us were retained by the new company.
At my last town hall meeting, ALL of the company top brass were new except one - over the years they had all jumped ship. That was a glaring red flag for me. Now, there is a lot more I could share but time and typing would not suffice - however, I did learn that I should never be more committed to a company than they are to me, and I no longer refuse to look at opportunities when they present themselves (I can always say 'no').
That's not to say that longevity at a company isn't valuable - although I fixed my income discrepancy without them (I tried to work with them but that's another potential thread) the greatest thing I lost was the rapport I had built for over a decade. It's hard to get that back!
Now I'm with a state-chartered company that cannot be sold (not to say the governor won't dissolve us, but who knows?) and I no longer fear being outsourced (changes like that are very political and would be publicly visible). So I feel I'm in a pretty safe place now, with good benefits, a great team, etc. so it would take a LOT to get me to leave here.
I guess you have to take into consideration your family's needs, the risks involved, etc. which I'm sure you have. Leverage that against your long-term outlook where you are. I hope you make the best decision for your life.
Best wishes,
Eric Rasmussen
I worked for an insurance company for 10 years. I started right after it was acquired from a failing company and the headquarters were relocated to my area. I was able to grow and occupy three different roles in this company, and the people on the floor were great.
During this time I watched the company restructure it's front end (insurance products, pricing tiers, etc.). When those methods stopped producing results, they turned to back-end reorganization - such as consolidating departments, shutting down unprofitable areas and/or reducing them and placing them under other areas, etc. This lead to some layoffs in remote locations, but not local to me.
When those methods were exhausted, they turned to more aggressive risk reduction measures (reducing insurance exposure in high-risk areas, trying to expand in lower risk areas of the country, etc.) They assured us that our jobs were safe.
Then layoffs started. I came back from a lunch to find that about 20 of my counterparts were gone - walked out the door. This continued for 2-3 years in several areas of the company, including the closure of more remote sites. At just before the 10 year mark, they announced an outsourcing agreement with an off-shore company. 55 people were given a 90-day notice, 20 of us were retained by the new company.
At my last town hall meeting, ALL of the company top brass were new except one - over the years they had all jumped ship. That was a glaring red flag for me. Now, there is a lot more I could share but time and typing would not suffice - however, I did learn that I should never be more committed to a company than they are to me, and I no longer refuse to look at opportunities when they present themselves (I can always say 'no').
That's not to say that longevity at a company isn't valuable - although I fixed my income discrepancy without them (I tried to work with them but that's another potential thread) the greatest thing I lost was the rapport I had built for over a decade. It's hard to get that back!
Now I'm with a state-chartered company that cannot be sold (not to say the governor won't dissolve us, but who knows?) and I no longer fear being outsourced (changes like that are very political and would be publicly visible). So I feel I'm in a pretty safe place now, with good benefits, a great team, etc. so it would take a LOT to get me to leave here.
I guess you have to take into consideration your family's needs, the risks involved, etc. which I'm sure you have. Leverage that against your long-term outlook where you are. I hope you make the best decision for your life.
Best wishes,
Eric Rasmussen
A couple updates:
1.My boss's job posting has been pulled from the company website. I'm not sure what that means just yet, but I'm sure there's more to come in the near future. My boss has been taking a lot of time off lately, too, so we'll see what happens.
2. I've been revamping my resume and professional web presence. I've been reaching out to a few networking contacts to get a feel for what's out there to get a sense of what options I may have.
1.My boss's job posting has been pulled from the company website. I'm not sure what that means just yet, but I'm sure there's more to come in the near future. My boss has been taking a lot of time off lately, too, so we'll see what happens.
2. I've been revamping my resume and professional web presence. I've been reaching out to a few networking contacts to get a feel for what's out there to get a sense of what options I may have.
I got out of my boss's office an hour ago. He confirmed all the rumors. He'll be leaving by the end of November, if not earlier. The other execs were essentially forced out by the board and the new CEO, and, although he's not being forced out, he doesn't have complete faith in their strategy, and he doesn't trust them.
He has told me to keep my head down. The CEO sent me an email earlier today asking me to get involved with monthly management meetings. I told him I would excited to join them. My boss, who was CC'd on the email, came out to the floor soon after looking mad beyond belief. He pulled me aside and said I did the right thing, but he cautioned me that many people have lost their jobs due to these meetings.
He then pulled me into his office and spilt the beans. He said he felt responsible for me as he would not have hired me on had he known what was going to happen to the other execs. He said he'd hook me up with other job prospects and would write me an excellent referral if I decided to leave.
He said he really was uncertain as to how the CEO was going to handle the Ops team once the new VP comes in. My boss couldn't say if I was in danger or not because he frankly didn't know, but he told me to trust no one and to avoid doing anything asked of me by anyone if I felt there was something wrong with it. He then questioned the new metrics they've been using to determine the health of the company. As I already knew, a person can make numbers say anything, but he reinforced this by stating that the numbers they've been using for our monthly all-building meetings haven't been completely transparent with what all is going on.
Personally, I'm flabbergasted by this whole situation. I thought I knew what was going on, but to have my boss confirm it has really elevated it to a whole new level. If anyone saw my thread about taking the GRE then you'll know I'm considering grad school. Part of me is also considering finding a way to move into software development, so I'll be looking into options there. I thought I'd have more time to plan things out, but it looks like I'll be needing to make some major life decisions over the next couple days. Let the craziness ensue.
He has told me to keep my head down. The CEO sent me an email earlier today asking me to get involved with monthly management meetings. I told him I would excited to join them. My boss, who was CC'd on the email, came out to the floor soon after looking mad beyond belief. He pulled me aside and said I did the right thing, but he cautioned me that many people have lost their jobs due to these meetings.
He then pulled me into his office and spilt the beans. He said he felt responsible for me as he would not have hired me on had he known what was going to happen to the other execs. He said he'd hook me up with other job prospects and would write me an excellent referral if I decided to leave.
He said he really was uncertain as to how the CEO was going to handle the Ops team once the new VP comes in. My boss couldn't say if I was in danger or not because he frankly didn't know, but he told me to trust no one and to avoid doing anything asked of me by anyone if I felt there was something wrong with it. He then questioned the new metrics they've been using to determine the health of the company. As I already knew, a person can make numbers say anything, but he reinforced this by stating that the numbers they've been using for our monthly all-building meetings haven't been completely transparent with what all is going on.
Personally, I'm flabbergasted by this whole situation. I thought I knew what was going on, but to have my boss confirm it has really elevated it to a whole new level. If anyone saw my thread about taking the GRE then you'll know I'm considering grad school. Part of me is also considering finding a way to move into software development, so I'll be looking into options there. I thought I'd have more time to plan things out, but it looks like I'll be needing to make some major life decisions over the next couple days. Let the craziness ensue.
That sounds like it was an interesting conversation to have.
I'm going to just focus on one part of your latest post, and because it's directly in my field. Jumping from an ops management position to software dev might be a bit tricky. I don't know what you're background or schooling history is, but that might be a somewhat tough transition. If you have the schooling or background, SDET would likely be the best you could hope for, but most likely something like Jr Developer. Without a BS in Comp Sci or some years of experience coding though, it'll be difficult to get your foot in the door. If you're really looking into this path, skip the grad school, and start with stuff on codeacademy instead.
Overall, it sounds about what I would expect from a buyout - new CEO is in, and brough part of his posse with him. No matter what, it'll be a rough few months while things sort out, and if there are "odd" things going on with the metrics, that can really make your life hell (especially if they start changing them frequently, and in a manner such that the old metrics mean nothing against the new ones).
I'm still not sure I see the need to make an absolute decision in the next few days. Going back to the development idea... if you can start building up your knowledge there while maintaining the day job, that is how I'd do it. Look for some open source projects that you can get some code commits to in the off hours to build up the experience and resume. Do some things around the home, grab a RaspberryPi and an Arduino and start some projects (and document them somewhere online).
I'm going to just focus on one part of your latest post, and because it's directly in my field. Jumping from an ops management position to software dev might be a bit tricky. I don't know what you're background or schooling history is, but that might be a somewhat tough transition. If you have the schooling or background, SDET would likely be the best you could hope for, but most likely something like Jr Developer. Without a BS in Comp Sci or some years of experience coding though, it'll be difficult to get your foot in the door. If you're really looking into this path, skip the grad school, and start with stuff on codeacademy instead.
Overall, it sounds about what I would expect from a buyout - new CEO is in, and brough part of his posse with him. No matter what, it'll be a rough few months while things sort out, and if there are "odd" things going on with the metrics, that can really make your life hell (especially if they start changing them frequently, and in a manner such that the old metrics mean nothing against the new ones).
I'm still not sure I see the need to make an absolute decision in the next few days. Going back to the development idea... if you can start building up your knowledge there while maintaining the day job, that is how I'd do it. Look for some open source projects that you can get some code commits to in the off hours to build up the experience and resume. Do some things around the home, grab a RaspberryPi and an Arduino and start some projects (and document them somewhere online).
I am relieved to see your post #26 - you're doing the right thing by lighting up your network connections. This is clearly a situation where you're in jeopardy. By getting resumes out and searching energetically, you're taking the right actions. The hammer may or may not drop, but it is pretty obvious that this is not going to be a good place to work and the stress levels will be through the roof.
Ideally, you'd look for a position that will provide pay AND support your work on a master's degree at a distance. You can study and earn the degree while fully employed - most of our distance graduate students are in that position.
This is not a commercial, but if you want to get a sampling of graduate degrees available online, you can check our website: Online Degrees, Certificates, and Courses - CSU Online . Many excellent universities offer distance programs for employed adults, and those degrees are transcripted and awarded identically to on-campus degrees.
Ideally, you'd look for a position that will provide pay AND support your work on a master's degree at a distance. You can study and earn the degree while fully employed - most of our distance graduate students are in that position.
This is not a commercial, but if you want to get a sampling of graduate degrees available online, you can check our website: Online Degrees, Certificates, and Courses - CSU Online . Many excellent universities offer distance programs for employed adults, and those degrees are transcripted and awarded identically to on-campus degrees.
You have a lot going on man. To echo @Selta, if you really are interested in a development type job, do not go to grad school. I am a Business Analyst and manage developers. The best ones always had real world experience rather than merely a degree. The best I ever worked with didn't even have a H.S. diploma. PluralSight is a great online training tool.
Not sure of your degree or operational experience, but business analysis is a very rewarding career and also very broad-based. Some do only spreadsheet work, some work in Access, some do process management, some only database work.
Good Luck OP!
Not sure of your degree or operational experience, but business analysis is a very rewarding career and also very broad-based. Some do only spreadsheet work, some work in Access, some do process management, some only database work.
Good Luck OP!
Lots of warning signs. Nothing particularly surprising, however
This part caught my attention the most:
OTOH, if there are issues that you know about and feel need to be addressed, it may be that the new management is on the same page with you. It's possible that the shakeup is exactly what the company needs. I have no way of knowing, but before you go to the meeting, think about what you might hear that would indicate that this is actually a step in the right direction for the company.
Bottom line is that you have more information, but are still limited in knowing what's going on. I like to think that contemplating what you think might happen or should happen will help you prepare to respond to a wider variety of situations. That's the kind of thing I'd be doing in your situation.
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Mini disclosure: I was a supervisor once during a period of layoffs for a large company once, and it left a very bad taste in my mouth. I took my responsibility to the team I was managing seriously, but in the end the company's cost cutting prevailed and the majority of my team was laid off. No fun at all. I survived there for 2 years of layoffs before they eventually laid me off. The same year I was laid off, the company had multi-billion dollar profits.
This part caught my attention the most:
It sounds like they're going to ask you to help find reasons to get rid of people that don't fit the new culture. My suggestion to you is that you think about what role you're willing to play and hopefully be a bit more prepared for the surprises that will arise during those meetings. Your boss is providing you background, and at this point it doesn't sound like the new management is forthcoming. This could be a test of your loyalty to the new direction, or they could just be letting you play the heavy while they clean house, after which you're seen as dispensable too. You are almost certainly going to be put on the spot in some way during that meeting. Be prepared.
OTOH, if there are issues that you know about and feel need to be addressed, it may be that the new management is on the same page with you. It's possible that the shakeup is exactly what the company needs. I have no way of knowing, but before you go to the meeting, think about what you might hear that would indicate that this is actually a step in the right direction for the company.
Bottom line is that you have more information, but are still limited in knowing what's going on. I like to think that contemplating what you think might happen or should happen will help you prepare to respond to a wider variety of situations. That's the kind of thing I'd be doing in your situation.
-
Mini disclosure: I was a supervisor once during a period of layoffs for a large company once, and it left a very bad taste in my mouth. I took my responsibility to the team I was managing seriously, but in the end the company's cost cutting prevailed and the majority of my team was laid off. No fun at all. I survived there for 2 years of layoffs before they eventually laid me off. The same year I was laid off, the company had multi-billion dollar profits.
