Changing Jobs

  • Comments posted to this topic are about the item Changing Jobs

  • Banish the crappy job. If you enjoy your profession but don't enjoy your current job, then make the change. It is well worth it in the end.

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
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  • Changing jobs is a pain as well - Recruiter interviews - updating resumes - answering selection criteria - prospective employer interview - the obligitory 4 week separation wondering whether you did the right thing. Yep, start the conversation before you go crazy. In this day and age unless there is a significant financial improvement and that could be improving commute times and costs and the only reson you come up with is boredom then I'd reconsider changing.

    POO (Personal Opinon Only) !

    My renumeration hasn't changed in 4 years but they sure have given me some cool toys and a big snadpit to play in, uh work in !! 😉

    Code On

    😛

  • Do what you enjoy, and eventually the money will come. Even if it doesn't being happy and poor is still the better option.

    Don't be afraid to take big chances. I walked away from a miserable job in a miserable part of the country with nothing more than a firm believe my family and I deserved better. I was right.

    And finally, jobs are like marriages. If you have three crappy ones in a row, maybe its you...

  • Thats good advice presented today, and I would add that taking a job purely for more money is not any kind of a good idea. Instead of thinking about dollars, think about minutes. Most people spend more minutes in their lives working, than doing anything else. And if you are in an unpleasant job, those minutes affect other minutes of your life when you are not working. Add those all up and a person can spend the larger percentage of the minutes they will live, unhappy, unfulfilled and in some cases down right depressed. Imagine getting to the gates of Heaven and being informed that 75% of your time in life was wasted merely for the almighty dollar.

    I would also add another piece of advice: Steve suggests talking to your boss or manager to try to enhance your job. Thats good advice too, but for some people who work for lousy managers, that is not an option. In those cases I would strongly urge that you go over your bosses head and go to his or her boss and market yourself. Show how you are a valuable asset. Explain what you do day-in, day-out that enhances the work of the company. Then let THAT boss speak to your boss. Does it make waves? Sure it does, but it also earns you respect and if your current manager is lame, well, he or she will likely amend their ways, or at least realize that they are being watched just as you might feel you are being watched.

    Our jobs are jobs, NOT recruitment into someone's army. Stand up for yourself, show your value, and if sadly, you work for a company that cannot appreciate that, then its time to move on.

    Lives are built by the minutes, not hours, not days, weeks, months or years. Make the minutes valuable and enjoyable one at a time, and all the rest falls into place behind that.

    There's no such thing as dumb questions, only poorly thought-out answers...
  • I actually heard Steve's talk about "The Modern Resume" at SQL Saturday #59, and it was an excellent presentation.

    I left a really crappy job for my current position. I was absolutely miserable in my previous job, and my career there not only was going nowhere, it was actually regressing.

    My current position doesn't pay as much as the other did, but I enjoy what I'm doing, my career is progressing, and I'm much happier. Money, definitely, is not everything.

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  • I've changed jobs several times over the last 30 years of being in the workforce. Some were my decision to move and others were because the company was restructuring, downsizing, outsourcing, offshoring...

    So I'm speaking from quite a bit of experience when I say that if you have decided that the answer is "yes" it is time for a job change. Then talking to you current employer about other departments or opportunities in the same company is not as good as pursuing another opportunity elsewhere.

    All the moves I have made over the years, voluntary or not, have resulted in me being in the best job I've ever had. Better hours, pay, benefits, working environment, and job satisfaction. I may have been able to pick up 1 or 2 of those improvements by staying with 1 company (when possible). But I don't think I could have attained them all without all the moves.

  • blandry (12/1/2010)


    Our jobs are jobs, NOT recruitment into someone's army. Stand up for yourself, show your value, and if sadly, you work for a company that cannot appreciate that, then its time to move on.

    Lives are built by the minutes, not hours, not days, weeks, months or years. Make the minutes valuable and enjoyable one at a time, and all the rest falls into place behind that.

    Well said, blandry. I'll have to remember to remind people that minutes matter when I do the presentation again.

  • All the moves I have made over the years, voluntary or not, have resulted in me being in the best job I've ever had. Better hours, pay, benefits, working environment, and job satisfaction. I may have been able to pick up 1 or 2 of those improvements by staying with 1 company (when possible). But I don't think I could have attained them all without all the moves.

    Absolutely! I have said this for years. If you want to be successful in this business you have to move around. Do not let other people set the agenda of your career. They will not look out for what is best for you, but what is best for them, or their company. If you work for a jerk, then report them as I have done in the past, and get them fired, or prosecuted. If they have too much influence in their company because basically they are all crooks, then just leave. It's that simple. As Steve said. "life is too short" to work for a pinhead that is only interested in using your expertise to further their career and then throw you under the bus when it suits them. Take control of your life and sometimes, that means just leaving a bad situation right away:-D

    "Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"

  • WOW, how timely this article is.

    Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.

  • My wife "opened a dialog inside her company" and she was made redundant 6 months later; replaced on a whim really. I "opened a dialog inside my company" a few years ago, seeking to move into a team lead position. Nine months later, my manager filled the role externally and I was, effectively, cut off from advancement. From my personal experience "open a dialog inside your company" is terrible advice. Being "sneaky, secretive, and non-communicative" regarding my career aspirations has worked out far, far better for me personally.

    I'm curious if "opening a dialog inside your company" has actually ever worked for anyone.


    James Stover, McDBA

  • James, has opening a dialog ever helped me... in a word: No.

    It will, of course, depend highly on your management, but the higher up management you go the more likely I've found this to be true: Any squeeky wheel that needs grease is making too much noise and should be replaced.

    The cogs are purchased to fulfill a task. We are the cogs. This is simple business, like it or not, even if it's personally aggravating. Let's take the scenario of taking over the job of manager in your own company. Now, they're interviewing twice for two positions instead of once. You're competent in what you're doing already, they like it being done that way. Now, they have to interview/process you to the new, higher position, AND then go through a full process for the one you are leaving.

    Instead, leave the cog where it's working, if squeeking a bit, and do the process once for the management position.

    Opening a dialogue has rarely worked for me and has backfired more often than it has been helpful. If you are not confident in your higher leadership (remember, immediate leadership is not necessarily as important when you're dealing with this...), open up MS Word with your resume... and then decide if you want to open a dialogue as well.

    I normally wouldn't advocate NOT working with your employer, but this has attempt has been met with everything from ambivalence to me, to outright hostility. If you're opening the dialogue, expect to open the now hiring section of the newspaper as well. It rarely works well. "We have an open door policy" is usually corporate lingo for "We really want to know when you're going to start goldbricking because you don't like your job anymore."


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  • bwillsie-842793 (12/1/2010)


    Do what you enjoy, and eventually the money will come. Even if it doesn't being happy and poor is still the better option.

    Don't be afraid to take big chances. I walked away from a miserable job in a miserable part of the country with nothing more than a firm believe my family and I deserved better. I was right.

    And finally, jobs are like marriages. If you have three crappy ones in a row, maybe its you...

    Really? I enjoy playing with my kids but no one will pay me for that. Playing with other people's kids? Childcare? Couldnt get a much more lowly paid profession!

    Big chances should scare you - and you should be wary of taking them. Big chances come with big risks, such as losing your house. If you arent afraid of losing your house, and making life difficult and unpleasant for your family then go for it.

    I agree that jobs are like marriages though, who hasnt been sc****d by their employer?

  • 😛

    I normally wouldn't advocate NOT working with your employer, but this has attempt has been met with everything from ambivalence to me, to outright hostility. If you're opening the dialogue, expect to open the now hiring section of the newspaper as well. It rarely works well. "We have an open door policy" is usually corporate lingo for "We really want to know when you're going to start goldbricking because you don't like your job anymore."

    I agree. A mentor of mine once said "Never take the problem to the problem." It's counter-productive, and will usually backfire on you. If the problem could address itself, it wouldn't be a problem in the first place. When it comes right down to it people, you have to make your own moves in this world. Don't expect others to clear the path for you, because they most probably won't. 😀

    "Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"

  • James Stover (12/1/2010)


    I'm curious if "opening a dialog inside your company" has actually ever worked for anyone.

    I've seen it work many times. My wife has had this help her a few times, moving to new positions within large companies. I had friends at JD Edwards move to new positions because they were not happy with the current one.

    It could fail, without a doubt, but I think to some extent it depends on how you do this. You should open the dialog with the thought that you want to stay, but you are not happy where you are. You'd like to try something new, or switch out some of your duties with other ones. The idea is that you are not looking to make a big salary jump, but find a better fit for your talents.

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