I am a recruiter and was in a similar position last year – the CEO called me into his office with a similar speech. She needs to find another position right away. The trust with the company has been broken. If she doesn't she will be the first person to go when they start looking for people to cut. Mike has proven that he can not be trusted. She needs to look at more then just the compensation. For one thing, she isn’t being compensated currently, and we spend way too much time at work to be miserable. When talking to other companies, all she has to say is that she isn’t comfortable with the instability of a start up company. She should talk to Mike about the situation and put it behind her. One way or the other I predict that in 3 months or less she will not be in that job. It is up to her on whether the change is her choice or not.
I agree with everyone who thinks she should leave. Now that 'Mike' has shown his TRUE colors, it's only going to get worse from here. If the CEO and Mike are watching her - and in small offices the scrutiny can be oppressive - every action is going to be dissected, second guessed and discussed between them. Every time she walks down the hallway they will wonder what she's up to, or goes out to lunch, or has a doctor's appointment. Sadly, her superiors have made it clear what the work environment is going to be like from here on out.
And money - regardless of how much - isn't worth losing ones self respect over. Is it really worth it in the end? I say it's time to move on - take her good work ethic and personal integrity and find a more suitable environment.
I agree she's learned a lesson that will serve her well for the rest of her work life. Things will only get worse where she is now, however, so she is wasting time there.
If she was making such great money, hopefully she has saved some of it for a rainy day, and that day has come.
Fortunately she is young and single rather than mniddle aged with children to support. Of course had she been middle aged with children, she probably would not have been so naive as to get THAT chummy with Mike the Asshat.
Since she has now learned a valuable lesson about co-workers and trust, she will not make that error again.
So, she now needs to leave, and to ensure that she has the benefit of the higher salary. This is likely to mean a locations change.
Did the paychecks start to come in again? If not then leaving soon is good because no paycheck is no salary. "30% higher" is great when it comes, but zero is zero.
She needs to join places like LinkedIn and start to get testimonials on here account and start to network.
Tiffany should keep sending out her resumes and feelers and leave. She's just been put in a really, really bad posiiton that she won't recover from, and over time the office politics will cost her her high-scale pay. Since she'd be taking a 20-30% paycut to go elsewhere, she should also see a financial counselor and really take stock of her lifestyle and living situation. She may just have to find a way to cut her spending by 30%, or save a little less than she did before.
It seems that as great as the pay is, its not very good for the well being of Tiffany. The CEO assumes that she's a rat ready to jump the ship. He didn't stop to see her side of the story, he simply took Mike's word as gospel. Thats a big strike for a boss that you should trust and work your butt off for.
And then Mike, the direct supervisor uses your openness against you and makes you feel alienated by forcing you to be his subordinate. I think that its 1. Disrespectful that he sold you out. 2. Probably manipulative since it seems that no one else got "the talk" that Tiffany did from the boss when everyone else did the same thing in looking for other jobs. and 3. Mike must think Tiffany is a complete idiot if he had to call her into a room and explain to her what happened. I'm pretty sure she knew after the CEO chewed her out. He just wanted to enjoy his victory over you i imagine. And sadly, it wouldn't surprise me if he tried to exploit and take advantage of you again.
Look at it this way, hes your boss. When one of the projects doesn't turn out right, and its Mike's fault, if he turns to the CEO and said well Tiffany didn't do a good job.. who will the CEO believe?
I work at a 12 person company and we trust and talk to each other as brothers and sisters. We have to because we work together 50+ hours a week and are committed to going public in 2 years and it requires trust, honesty, and friendship to make such a small group of people pull off great success.
Money is important, especially if you are single, just out of school and paying off all the debt you have built up. But if you are suffering personally, emotionally, spiritually, or mentally because of the treatment you get at work, its time to go. You should float your resume, and see if you can re-work your budget to manage a lower paying job, or even if it gets bad enough, to go a few weeks without work. i know it may seem crazy to quit from a big money job, but i've had to do that before. my bosses were not reasonable and i would end the day throwing up because of the stress and misery i was enduring from work. It was time to quit, and I think you might be there too...
Good luck.
this is kind of random and off-topic, and its usefulness as far as advice goes is dependent on a bunch of things -- Tiffany's location, willingness to shift gears, lots of stuff. but still. i worked in visual effects (which also encompasses computer animation) for the last 3 years (and may possibly go back as of tomorrow), and i have to say, it's a great industry for your average atypical geek -- whether the atypicalness comes from being female, or hip, or whatever.
I didn't work as an animator, or anything else artsy. most of my job was programming. so the thing is, you are writing code, but rather than being surrounded by middle aged engineers, you're surrounded by young artists. i'm not sure how much money tiffany is making currently, but visual effects industry is fueled by hollywood, so there is money to be made. one example: i've worked with one of the head engineers from the Pathfinder mission, who now works as a digital effects supervisor, and as such, is doing quite well for himself -- better making glorified cartoons than he did sending stuff to mars for nasa/jpl.
the work is not without its faults -- there can be long hours, oppressive deadlines, dark offices, etc. but i suspect that within Tiffany's current industry, even if she does move to a different company, the employee demographic is not going to be that different than what she's dealing with now.
She should consider leaving. Her salary may be high but unless she is planning on working there forever she should take into consideration that she is painting herself into a corner because she isn't building her resume for her next job. At least not with anything that she can disclose. Also, if she leaves before signing the non-compete contract I don't think they have any recourse if she decides to work for a competitor.
I am also an engineer working at a small company on a new product launch and I am also usually bored out of my mind. That alone makes me want to leave, I couldn't imagine dealing with all of the politics.
She should consider leaving. Her salary may be high but unless she is planning on working there forever she should take into consideration that she is painting herself into a corner because she isn't building her resume for her next job. At least not with anything that she can disclose. Also, if she leaves before signing the non-compete contract I don't think they have any recourse if she decides to work for a competitor.
I am also an engineer working at a small company on a new product launch and I am also usually bored out of my mind. That alone makes me want to leave, I couldn't imagine dealing with all of the politics.
Tiffany has a choice.
If the money is the most important. Find a way to get past the anger, and understand that she will never regain her lost status. If she can't work just for the money, then she needs to come to terms with that, and begin the process to move on to a new job.
The fault here is only partially with Mike. It's largely with the CEO. Rather than acknowledging the legitimacy of her worry, her right to put being able to pay her bills above company loyalty, he attacked her for having the temerity to "publically" acknowledge the company's position. If she stays she's needs to understand that her loyalty will always be suspect, and this CEO expects employees to always put the company first, even at their own detriment. Which means he is not loyal to his employees, and will likely sacrifice them without a second thought. He sacrificed Tiffany by making a public example of her as a "warning" to other employees.
If she understands this and can stay without resenting it, then stay and enjoy the extra income.
If not, then downsize the lifestyle, save aggressively, and start networking and searching for a new position. My vote is for the latter.
Not sure what I would do. I do so like my money that I just might put up with the annoyance until it got really bad, then I'd bail.
I don't know - a 30% pay cut would suck for me. I make a decent paycheck, but if you cut it by that much, I'd have a hard time making ends meet. Mortgage, and all.
It sounds to me like the situation there is only going to get worse. The first thing that Tiff should probably do is to work on forgiving Mike for betraying her and just let it go. It seems like everyone in the company is really concerned about the future of the company, and I bet a lot of people are acting out-of-character (especially when faced with the possibility of losing someone like Tiff). While Mike might actually be a bad guy, there is no sense in Tiff harboring hatred -- it'll eat her up inside.
Also, if her job pays insanely well, even a 30% pay-cut would still pay very well. Money is the worst reason to stay at a job that you would loath going to. I recently went through a "money isn't everything" a-ha moment (I'm 25), and life is much better now that I can pursue those things which are truly fulfilling in life.
Tiff's job pays well. Insanely well. Leaving would mean taking a 20-30% paycut. Apparently, there aren't a lot of well-paying engineering jobs where we live, so that's her big problem. THIS was a dream job, for the most part.
Hmm.. tricky.. but I think your friend Tiffany needs to have a talk with Mike about what he just did. Sounds cheessy, yes, but he might just be one of those "can't keep a secret" "ambitious yet clueless about other people" type people. But if she finds out that he is not (and she is absoutely sure of it... straight from the "horse's mouth", aka Mike) and he really was as backstabbing as he sounds like he could be AND now he is also her superior, then it's probably time to leave.
I also wonder if Mike (or the other men in her office) baby her or "father" her in terms of projects and career stuff. It could be a case of Mike thinks he knows what is best for her (but doesn't) and just totally messed her up.
As what i read on this posted article, i found out the informativeness of this
kind of topic. For that reason i opened up an idea and some knowledge in this
field. well, you made just did a great job..more power!
I'm one of your RSS lurkers and I love the blog! Thanks for the fantastic content!
While I'm not in the same position as your friend, I've recently gone through some of the same paycheck delays. It's awful! Were I in the same spot, I would leave. Politics have no place in the office. Especially involving individuals with a back-stabbing tendency. I know they'll always be there, but Tiff can make a definitive effort to find somewhere else to work.
From what it sounds like, Tiff is a competent and valuable employee and would make any organization a better place. What's the harm in putting out the feelers for another full-time position? I would probably recommend against announcing it to the company she currently works for, but I have a feeling she wouldn't have a problem finding another permanent position in short order. I'm assuming she's a software engineer of some sort (you mentioned coding) and those types of jobs are in pretty high demand right now.
Though, a good pencil through the eyeball might get the point across a little more quickly. :)
I am a recruiter and was in a similar position last year – the CEO called me into his office with a similar speech. She needs to find another position right away. The trust with the company has been broken. If she doesn't she will be the first person to go when they start looking for people to cut. Mike has proven that he can not be trusted. She needs to look at more then just the compensation. For one thing, she isn’t being compensated currently, and we spend way too much time at work to be miserable. When talking to other companies, all she has to say is that she isn’t comfortable with the instability of a start up company. She should talk to Mike about the situation and put it behind her. One way or the other I predict that in 3 months or less she will not be in that job. It is up to her on whether the change is her choice or not.
and then got the same downloadable file! thanks.
I agree with everyone who thinks she should leave. Now that 'Mike' has shown his TRUE colors, it's only going to get worse from here. If the CEO and Mike are watching her - and in small offices the scrutiny can be oppressive - every action is going to be dissected, second guessed and discussed between them. Every time she walks down the hallway they will wonder what she's up to, or goes out to lunch, or has a doctor's appointment. Sadly, her superiors have made it clear what the work environment is going to be like from here on out.
And money - regardless of how much - isn't worth losing ones self respect over. Is it really worth it in the end? I say it's time to move on - take her good work ethic and personal integrity and find a more suitable environment.
I agree she's learned a lesson that will serve her well for the rest of her work life. Things will only get worse where she is now, however, so she is wasting time there.
If she was making such great money, hopefully she has saved some of it for a rainy day, and that day has come.
Fortunately she is young and single rather than mniddle aged with children to support. Of course had she been middle aged with children, she probably would not have been so naive as to get THAT chummy with Mike the Asshat.
Since she has now learned a valuable lesson about co-workers and trust, she will not make that error again.
So, she now needs to leave, and to ensure that she has the benefit of the higher salary. This is likely to mean a locations change.
Did the paychecks start to come in again? If not then leaving soon is good because no paycheck is no salary. "30% higher" is great when it comes, but zero is zero.
She needs to join places like LinkedIn and start to get testimonials on here account and start to network.
Tiffany should keep sending out her resumes and feelers and leave. She's just been put in a really, really bad posiiton that she won't recover from, and over time the office politics will cost her her high-scale pay. Since she'd be taking a 20-30% paycut to go elsewhere, she should also see a financial counselor and really take stock of her lifestyle and living situation. She may just have to find a way to cut her spending by 30%, or save a little less than she did before.
We did a post along the same lines at scrapscene today. It is called 5 ways to save money on scrapbooking supplies. You can see it at: http://www.scrapscene.com/2007/04/five-ways-to-save-money-on-scrapbook-s...
Angie
www.scrapscene.com
my favorite, albiet cruel way to deal with slugs is to pour salt on them.
It seems that as great as the pay is, its not very good for the well being of Tiffany. The CEO assumes that she's a rat ready to jump the ship. He didn't stop to see her side of the story, he simply took Mike's word as gospel. Thats a big strike for a boss that you should trust and work your butt off for.
And then Mike, the direct supervisor uses your openness against you and makes you feel alienated by forcing you to be his subordinate. I think that its 1. Disrespectful that he sold you out. 2. Probably manipulative since it seems that no one else got "the talk" that Tiffany did from the boss when everyone else did the same thing in looking for other jobs. and 3. Mike must think Tiffany is a complete idiot if he had to call her into a room and explain to her what happened. I'm pretty sure she knew after the CEO chewed her out. He just wanted to enjoy his victory over you i imagine. And sadly, it wouldn't surprise me if he tried to exploit and take advantage of you again.
Look at it this way, hes your boss. When one of the projects doesn't turn out right, and its Mike's fault, if he turns to the CEO and said well Tiffany didn't do a good job.. who will the CEO believe?
I work at a 12 person company and we trust and talk to each other as brothers and sisters. We have to because we work together 50+ hours a week and are committed to going public in 2 years and it requires trust, honesty, and friendship to make such a small group of people pull off great success.
Money is important, especially if you are single, just out of school and paying off all the debt you have built up. But if you are suffering personally, emotionally, spiritually, or mentally because of the treatment you get at work, its time to go. You should float your resume, and see if you can re-work your budget to manage a lower paying job, or even if it gets bad enough, to go a few weeks without work. i know it may seem crazy to quit from a big money job, but i've had to do that before. my bosses were not reasonable and i would end the day throwing up because of the stress and misery i was enduring from work. It was time to quit, and I think you might be there too...
Good luck.
this is kind of random and off-topic, and its usefulness as far as advice goes is dependent on a bunch of things -- Tiffany's location, willingness to shift gears, lots of stuff. but still. i worked in visual effects (which also encompasses computer animation) for the last 3 years (and may possibly go back as of tomorrow), and i have to say, it's a great industry for your average atypical geek -- whether the atypicalness comes from being female, or hip, or whatever.
I didn't work as an animator, or anything else artsy. most of my job was programming. so the thing is, you are writing code, but rather than being surrounded by middle aged engineers, you're surrounded by young artists. i'm not sure how much money tiffany is making currently, but visual effects industry is fueled by hollywood, so there is money to be made. one example: i've worked with one of the head engineers from the Pathfinder mission, who now works as a digital effects supervisor, and as such, is doing quite well for himself -- better making glorified cartoons than he did sending stuff to mars for nasa/jpl.
the work is not without its faults -- there can be long hours, oppressive deadlines, dark offices, etc. but i suspect that within Tiffany's current industry, even if she does move to a different company, the employee demographic is not going to be that different than what she's dealing with now.
She should call Mike's daughters and tell them that theiir father doesn't have any faith in them.
Teach him the concept of confidence.
She should consider leaving. Her salary may be high but unless she is planning on working there forever she should take into consideration that she is painting herself into a corner because she isn't building her resume for her next job. At least not with anything that she can disclose. Also, if she leaves before signing the non-compete contract I don't think they have any recourse if she decides to work for a competitor.
I am also an engineer working at a small company on a new product launch and I am also usually bored out of my mind. That alone makes me want to leave, I couldn't imagine dealing with all of the politics.
Good Luck!
She should consider leaving. Her salary may be high but unless she is planning on working there forever she should take into consideration that she is painting herself into a corner because she isn't building her resume for her next job. At least not with anything that she can disclose. Also, if she leaves before signing the non-compete contract I don't think they have any recourse if she decides to work for a competitor.
I am also an engineer working at a small company on a new product launch and I am also usually bored out of my mind. That alone makes me want to leave, I couldn't imagine dealing with all of the politics.
Good Luck!
Tiffany has a choice.
If the money is the most important. Find a way to get past the anger, and understand that she will never regain her lost status. If she can't work just for the money, then she needs to come to terms with that, and begin the process to move on to a new job.
The fault here is only partially with Mike. It's largely with the CEO. Rather than acknowledging the legitimacy of her worry, her right to put being able to pay her bills above company loyalty, he attacked her for having the temerity to "publically" acknowledge the company's position. If she stays she's needs to understand that her loyalty will always be suspect, and this CEO expects employees to always put the company first, even at their own detriment. Which means he is not loyal to his employees, and will likely sacrifice them without a second thought. He sacrificed Tiffany by making a public example of her as a "warning" to other employees.
If she understands this and can stay without resenting it, then stay and enjoy the extra income.
If not, then downsize the lifestyle, save aggressively, and start networking and searching for a new position. My vote is for the latter.
Not sure what I would do. I do so like my money that I just might put up with the annoyance until it got really bad, then I'd bail.
I don't know - a 30% pay cut would suck for me. I make a decent paycheck, but if you cut it by that much, I'd have a hard time making ends meet. Mortgage, and all.
It sounds to me like the situation there is only going to get worse. The first thing that Tiff should probably do is to work on forgiving Mike for betraying her and just let it go. It seems like everyone in the company is really concerned about the future of the company, and I bet a lot of people are acting out-of-character (especially when faced with the possibility of losing someone like Tiff). While Mike might actually be a bad guy, there is no sense in Tiff harboring hatred -- it'll eat her up inside.
Also, if her job pays insanely well, even a 30% pay-cut would still pay very well. Money is the worst reason to stay at a job that you would loath going to. I recently went through a "money isn't everything" a-ha moment (I'm 25), and life is much better now that I can pursue those things which are truly fulfilling in life.
Best of luck to Tiff!
being a student. My income is less than $12,000 and I still find a way to feed my biscuit addiction.
Tiff's job pays well. Insanely well. Leaving would mean taking a 20-30% paycut. Apparently, there aren't a lot of well-paying engineering jobs where we live, so that's her big problem. THIS was a dream job, for the most part.
Hmm.. tricky.. but I think your friend Tiffany needs to have a talk with Mike about what he just did. Sounds cheessy, yes, but he might just be one of those "can't keep a secret" "ambitious yet clueless about other people" type people. But if she finds out that he is not (and she is absoutely sure of it... straight from the "horse's mouth", aka Mike) and he really was as backstabbing as he sounds like he could be AND now he is also her superior, then it's probably time to leave.
I also wonder if Mike (or the other men in her office) baby her or "father" her in terms of projects and career stuff. It could be a case of Mike thinks he knows what is best for her (but doesn't) and just totally messed her up.
Greetings,
As what i read on this posted article, i found out the informativeness of this
kind of topic. For that reason i opened up an idea and some knowledge in this
field. well, you made just did a great job..more power!
sincerely,
Lea Go
Hey guys and gals,
I'm one of your RSS lurkers and I love the blog! Thanks for the fantastic content!
While I'm not in the same position as your friend, I've recently gone through some of the same paycheck delays. It's awful! Were I in the same spot, I would leave. Politics have no place in the office. Especially involving individuals with a back-stabbing tendency. I know they'll always be there, but Tiff can make a definitive effort to find somewhere else to work.
From what it sounds like, Tiff is a competent and valuable employee and would make any organization a better place. What's the harm in putting out the feelers for another full-time position? I would probably recommend against announcing it to the company she currently works for, but I have a feeling she wouldn't have a problem finding another permanent position in short order. I'm assuming she's a software engineer of some sort (you mentioned coding) and those types of jobs are in pretty high demand right now.
Though, a good pencil through the eyeball might get the point across a little more quickly. :)
...no sane person will EVER give out money!
Check this MSN Money video here
...if some thought had been put into it, he could have rented a truck and...hang on, didn't they do a Seinfeld episode about that??!
What do you mean, $800? In michigan you can get ten cents each for those!