When do you know it's time to jump ship?

[flowerbug]

for me the sign it was time to go was when the job was winding down and the hard and interesting stuff was mostly done.

it was also a good time for me to take a break from what i had been doing for about 20yrs (working hard without many vacations). the last 15yrs of that time were when i went to college for my degree and i was also working my way through college so i was almost constantly working on a computer terminal of some kind or another or a PC or the mainframe or a minicomputer. it was pretty much all i did for 15 years.

there were other issues which made leaving easier (a failed pay adjustment i had been promised from the start that never happened even after going through all the paperwork and meetings to get them to finally agree that yes i was doing the same job, but oh we don't have money this year to make any adjustments... blah, blah, blah. ok, i'm gone...).

at the most recent part-time job, i loved it until one manager left and the new one came along. i stuck it out for three years with them, but the final straws were rediculous (being written up for doing volunteer work i'd been doing for the whole time i'd been there). it was a lot of stress for a low paying part-time job. i still miss the people and the library, but i do not miss the BS. and guess who's having a hard time keeping employees? hmm...

 

[CrealCritter]

As I suspected... My boss during our weekly mentoring session. Told me, but in a not a so direct way that he is retiring the end of 2Q. He has already recommended me for a portion of his responsibilities. But I told him I don't want it.

He then told me, again but in a not so direct way that some restructuring is going to occur Q3, and basicly he won't be here to protect my position. Dispite being his top proformer and that when he leaves, it's going to be like a feeding frenzy. I already know it's going to be, he is the one that protects all his reports.

So that's all I needed, now I know it's time to jump ship. I do appreciate him, I've worked with him three times in my career with the company. The first time he was a peer of mine. Then as a manager and now an senior manager. We know each other very well, perhaps too well in all honestly. Anyways he said to me directly, that he'll put out the word that I will becoming available soon and he also said that he was sure one of the other managers will nab me. The only problem is I don't want to work for any other managers in my division.

So I think I'll start looking in other divisions or outside the company all together. It's kind of tough though... working for the same company for so long, to just up and leave for another one...

 

[baymule]

You have been given warning. Now you know to make preparations and you will be ahead of the game. Better than getting clobbered from behind, at least you see this coming.

 

[FarmerJamie]

That's more of a heads up than most get.

 

[CrealCritter]

I feel horrible obviously they are not listening. My boss is out on vacation starting today, I'm covering for him. My first action was to put a under preformer in an improvements program. Strange how everything was scripted. All I had to do was read to him from a 5 minute script.

 

[CrealCritter]

Just got my second task... Develop an education program for an area I know nothing about. Lucky I was given the names of a few people who will do the work. This is going to be a fun 2 weeks NOT.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Who knows, you may find a position elsewhere that gives you a whole new lease on life. When God closes a window, he opens a door.... or something like that. You have work ethic, and initiative. 2 traits that are often not present in the younger generation.

 

[baymule]

Time to start looking for that door.....

 

[CrealCritter]

Well there's nothing quite like presenting your own deck to the General Manager that you wrote for your boss to present but he's away on vacation.

Lesson learned... I make my bosses job easy, maybe a little too easy!

I'm done for the day, I need a nap or a beer or three. I can't decide which I need most. It's been a hell of a day! I hope my boss is enjoying his elk hunt.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Yep, such is corporate life these days. It's was a long week here, refereeing a "difference of opinion " between two CIO direct reports in a project meeting. Good times. My boss sat there with a stupid grin on his face