Resigned today - guilt trip by the big boss and FUD
Discussion
After 13 years in the same company and 7 in my current role I resigned today after being offered a very attractive package with a much smaller but growing company. They do some interesting stuff and it also leverages my existing skills and experiences and offers a new challenge. Happy days, I think.
My current colleagues and organisation are like a family and one I've been at pretty much my entire adult life, certainly my working life, so it's not an easy decision to make and not one I took without a lot of consideration. I'm leaving a company with 7500 employees that is over 25 years old and a leader in what they do to go to an emerging company with just over 500 people and under 30 in the UK. However they have little to no politics, a more open way of communicating, much better renumeration and since I'm there at the start there is a lot of scope to grow - they doubled in size in under a year. There's also the possibility of the company going public which could mean paying off a chunk of the mortgage and giving my new family more than I could if I stayed. Or just buy a 911 - I jest.
So there's a lot of positives and when I told my new boss the news, who was also a peer for 4 years, he was great. He listened, understood some of my frustrations and even though it's not the easiest thing to articulate it's how I felt in the current job that made me want to look for a change. He shared a few of my points too as he's pretty much in the same boat. However when I told my director, who was my boss up till a few weeks ago, he seemed to talk me down and only focus on the fear of leaving a secure environment where I'm well known and respected. It's not always greener. I'll have far less flexibility. I could be so busy I won't get to spend time with my new daughter and see her grow up as I would now etc etc. All speculation and from my research not true.
These were all points that I've thought myself but he didn't offer anything on the flip side and this annoyed me somewhat, particularly the heart strings ploy mentioning my daughter. Then the FUD started...
"They're a smaller company and they might not even be around in a year."
"They must have only a few developers (it's a software company) so how good can their products really be?" and things like that.
To me this is clutching at straws as he doesn't know much about them but it just frustrated me that someone I've known for 14 years can't have a less emotive conversation with me about what is the biggest change in my professional life. On one hand he's looking out for me but on the other he has to protect his own interest and that is keeping his team intact. A couple of hours later I get a text saying "I did forget to mention. I don't want you to leave as I rate you very highly. But you knew that already."
I'm annoying myself just reading this back in my head so I apologise as this is becoming a vent rather than anything useful to the forum.
It's just I expected a bit more and wanted a less aggravated ending.
Glad I bought some beers on the way home...
My current colleagues and organisation are like a family and one I've been at pretty much my entire adult life, certainly my working life, so it's not an easy decision to make and not one I took without a lot of consideration. I'm leaving a company with 7500 employees that is over 25 years old and a leader in what they do to go to an emerging company with just over 500 people and under 30 in the UK. However they have little to no politics, a more open way of communicating, much better renumeration and since I'm there at the start there is a lot of scope to grow - they doubled in size in under a year. There's also the possibility of the company going public which could mean paying off a chunk of the mortgage and giving my new family more than I could if I stayed. Or just buy a 911 - I jest.
So there's a lot of positives and when I told my new boss the news, who was also a peer for 4 years, he was great. He listened, understood some of my frustrations and even though it's not the easiest thing to articulate it's how I felt in the current job that made me want to look for a change. He shared a few of my points too as he's pretty much in the same boat. However when I told my director, who was my boss up till a few weeks ago, he seemed to talk me down and only focus on the fear of leaving a secure environment where I'm well known and respected. It's not always greener. I'll have far less flexibility. I could be so busy I won't get to spend time with my new daughter and see her grow up as I would now etc etc. All speculation and from my research not true.
These were all points that I've thought myself but he didn't offer anything on the flip side and this annoyed me somewhat, particularly the heart strings ploy mentioning my daughter. Then the FUD started...
"They're a smaller company and they might not even be around in a year."
"They must have only a few developers (it's a software company) so how good can their products really be?" and things like that.
To me this is clutching at straws as he doesn't know much about them but it just frustrated me that someone I've known for 14 years can't have a less emotive conversation with me about what is the biggest change in my professional life. On one hand he's looking out for me but on the other he has to protect his own interest and that is keeping his team intact. A couple of hours later I get a text saying "I did forget to mention. I don't want you to leave as I rate you very highly. But you knew that already."
I'm annoying myself just reading this back in my head so I apologise as this is becoming a vent rather than anything useful to the forum.
It's just I expected a bit more and wanted a less aggravated ending.
Glad I bought some beers on the way home...
I am currently looking at a similar prospect, I currently for for a division (I'd rather not say which) of a company called General Electric, one of the ten largest companies in the world. I have been offered a job by a firm with less than fifty employees, it does seem like a bit of a hard decision but the more I think about it and what seems like a return to a more straight forward and simple way of doing business the more I am tempted to just say yes. I don't think I am cut out (see patient enough) to work within a large company and this just seems like a breath of fresh air, no matter how well GE treat me.
I hope the decision you have made pays off my good man!
I hope the decision you have made pays off my good man!
Axionknight said:
I am currently looking at a similar prospect, I currently for for a division (I'd rather not say which) of a company called General Electric, one of the ten largest companies in the world. I have been offered a job by a firm with less than fifty employees, it does seem like a bit of a hard decision but the more I think about it and what seems like a return to a more straight forward and simple way of doing business the more I am tempted to just say yes. I don't think I am cut out (see patient enough) to work within a large company and this just seems like a breath of fresh air, no matter how well GE treat me.
I hope the decision you have made pays off my good man!
You and me both, sir. I didn't know GE were so big! If you're in the same boat I feel your annoyances too. As a colleage in the Netherlands said when he left, ironically to the same place, "The next month will be utter sI hope the decision you have made pays off my good man!
t but after that you'll feel much better and confident."Ved said:
After 13 years in the same company and 7 in my current role I resigned today after being offered a very attractive package with a much smaller but growing company. They do some interesting stuff and it also leverages my existing skills and experiences and offers a new challenge. Happy days, I think.
My current colleagues and organisation are like a family and one I've been at pretty much my entire adult life, certainly my working life, so it's not an easy decision to make and not one I took without a lot of consideration. I'm leaving a company with 7500 employees that is over 25 years old and a leader in what they do to go to an emerging company with just over 500 people and under 30 in the UK. However they have little to no politics, a more open way of communicating, much better renumeration and since I'm there at the start there is a lot of scope to grow - they doubled in size in under a year. There's also the possibility of the company going public which could mean paying off a chunk of the mortgage and giving my new family more than I could if I stayed. Or just buy a 911 - I jest.
So there's a lot of positives and when I told my new boss the news, who was also a peer for 4 years, he was great. He listened, understood some of my frustrations and even though it's not the easiest thing to articulate it's how I felt in the current job that made me want to look for a change. He shared a few of my points too as he's pretty much in the same boat. However when I told my director, who was my boss up till a few weeks ago, he seemed to talk me down and only focus on the fear of leaving a secure environment where I'm well known and respected. It's not always greener. I'll have far less flexibility. I could be so busy I won't get to spend time with my new daughter and see her grow up as I would now etc etc. All speculation and from my research not true.
These were all points that I've thought myself but he didn't offer anything on the flip side and this annoyed me somewhat, particularly the heart strings ploy mentioning my daughter. Then the FUD started...
"They're a smaller company and they might not even be around in a year."
"They must have only a few developers (it's a software company) so how good can their products really be?" and things like that.
To me this is clutching at straws as he doesn't know much about them but it just frustrated me that someone I've known for 14 years can't have a less emotive conversation with me about what is the biggest change in my professional life. On one hand he's looking out for me but on the other he has to protect his own interest and that is keeping his team intact. A couple of hours later I get a text saying "I did forget to mention. I don't want you to leave as I rate you very highly. But you knew that already."
I'm annoying myself just reading this back in my head so I apologise as this is becoming a vent rather than anything useful to the forum.
It's just I expected a bit more and wanted a less aggravated ending.
Glad I bought some beers on the way home...
Never fail to remember that you are doing them a service and they pay you for this service. You are helping them not the other way around. Also there are (or were) loads of stories of people working for companies for decades who were laid off at the drop of a hat when things got tough. If the situations were reversed don't believe that how well respected you are or how long you've worked there would make anyone think twice about laying you off. Sure the director may not want you to leave but there's some FUD on his part about finding someone to do your job when you leave and them learning the ropes, making mistakes and getting up to speed (or failing completely, having to fire them and starting again) for several months.My current colleagues and organisation are like a family and one I've been at pretty much my entire adult life, certainly my working life, so it's not an easy decision to make and not one I took without a lot of consideration. I'm leaving a company with 7500 employees that is over 25 years old and a leader in what they do to go to an emerging company with just over 500 people and under 30 in the UK. However they have little to no politics, a more open way of communicating, much better renumeration and since I'm there at the start there is a lot of scope to grow - they doubled in size in under a year. There's also the possibility of the company going public which could mean paying off a chunk of the mortgage and giving my new family more than I could if I stayed. Or just buy a 911 - I jest.
So there's a lot of positives and when I told my new boss the news, who was also a peer for 4 years, he was great. He listened, understood some of my frustrations and even though it's not the easiest thing to articulate it's how I felt in the current job that made me want to look for a change. He shared a few of my points too as he's pretty much in the same boat. However when I told my director, who was my boss up till a few weeks ago, he seemed to talk me down and only focus on the fear of leaving a secure environment where I'm well known and respected. It's not always greener. I'll have far less flexibility. I could be so busy I won't get to spend time with my new daughter and see her grow up as I would now etc etc. All speculation and from my research not true.
These were all points that I've thought myself but he didn't offer anything on the flip side and this annoyed me somewhat, particularly the heart strings ploy mentioning my daughter. Then the FUD started...
"They're a smaller company and they might not even be around in a year."
"They must have only a few developers (it's a software company) so how good can their products really be?" and things like that.
To me this is clutching at straws as he doesn't know much about them but it just frustrated me that someone I've known for 14 years can't have a less emotive conversation with me about what is the biggest change in my professional life. On one hand he's looking out for me but on the other he has to protect his own interest and that is keeping his team intact. A couple of hours later I get a text saying "I did forget to mention. I don't want you to leave as I rate you very highly. But you knew that already."
I'm annoying myself just reading this back in my head so I apologise as this is becoming a vent rather than anything useful to the forum.
It's just I expected a bit more and wanted a less aggravated ending.
Glad I bought some beers on the way home...
Look after yourself first.
Edited by MissChief on Friday 9th May 23:08
Well done for breaking the institutionalisation and leaving. I also did 13 years as a developer for a very large IT company before leaving for more money in an IS department in a smaller firm. Best thing I ever did, it was like getting out of prison! Interestingly, my previous boss also tried to badmouth my new employers to dissuade me from leaving - didn't work though.
I got promoted six months after joining the new firm, I have no regrets about leaving. You won't either.
I got promoted six months after joining the new firm, I have no regrets about leaving. You won't either.
I made a similar move c.seven years ago, in an industry where company sizes are a couple of orders of magnitude smaller, and 50% of the profession work in companies under 10people.
I'd really delivered (and was terminally bored) so on abruptly binning the role the MD gave me the same sort of FUD. Being young&dumb and it gave me great pleasure in the moment to observe the decision was made, I'm here to say I'm leaving etc.
He then offered me 15% more salary to stay. At this point I felt liberated anyway so observed that he ought to do that more often to more people anyway, yet the door didn't hit my arse on the way out.
Of course it wasn't about the money, nice as the idea was (remains! - what I do will not make anyone rich); but the sense of really doing worthwhile things, in a peer group to learn from and with was and remains a much greater motivation. Still the best choice I've made yet, prefessionally.
I'd really delivered (and was terminally bored) so on abruptly binning the role the MD gave me the same sort of FUD. Being young&dumb and it gave me great pleasure in the moment to observe the decision was made, I'm here to say I'm leaving etc.
He then offered me 15% more salary to stay. At this point I felt liberated anyway so observed that he ought to do that more often to more people anyway, yet the door didn't hit my arse on the way out.
Of course it wasn't about the money, nice as the idea was (remains! - what I do will not make anyone rich); but the sense of really doing worthwhile things, in a peer group to learn from and with was and remains a much greater motivation. Still the best choice I've made yet, prefessionally.
Edited by Huff on Friday 9th May 23:21
Ved said:
You and me both, sir. I didn't know GE were so big! If you're in the same boat I feel your annoyances too. As a colleage in the Netherlands said when he left, ironically to the same place, "The next month will be utter st but after that you'll feel much better and confident."
A few Chinese firms may have knocked them down the listings, but I believe they were seventh on the overall listings only a few years ago, and even higher in "market value" - third or fourth if memory serves.t but after that you'll feel much better and confident."Haha, tell me about it, the frustration just doesn't seem to dim these days, I have tried my best though - I contracted to them then they put me on the books, they have been good to me financially and contractually, but everthing just seems to be a struggle and hard work.
I'm only young (ish) at 26, but I have seen it before with large firms, they lose the big A in my eyes... accountability, I don't deny they are a global powerhouse, but on a local level, not impressive.
Edited by Axionknight on Friday 9th May 23:34
Edited by Axionknight on Friday 9th May 23:39
MissChief said:
Never fail to remember that you are doing them a service and they pay you for this service. You are helping them not the other way around. Also there are (or were) loads of stories of people working for companies for decades who were laid off at the drop of a hat when things got tough. If the situations were reversed don't believe that how well respected you are or how long you've worked there would make anyone think twice about laying you off. Sure the director may not want you to leave but there's some FUD on his part about finding someone to do your job when you leave and them learning the ropes, making mistakes and getting up to speed (or failing completely, having to fire them and starting again) for several months.
Look after yourself first.
Absolutely, the only thing loyalty to a company gets you, is a bigger apology when you get kicked in the nuts...Look after yourself first.
Edited by MissChief on Friday 9th May 23:08
When a software company reaches 500, it's relatively well established and you know they're not going to go under if you've done your homework. My current company was at 120 when I joined, previous 3 before that were all sub 200. Only one flopped (the first one!!).
Don't worry about it.
Don't worry about it.
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