Category Archives: Employment

Job Hurdles With Potential Holes Behind Them

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While reading the Financial Samurai‘s post: “Overcoming The Wall“, I felt the need to cover an aspect the might be darkly invisible to Sam, since his path to promotions has beamed so brightly (nice job Sam, We believe you’ll keep moving, albeit more slowly).  Get promoted depends on a lot of factors, some not so obvious, especially if you are promoted quickly!

Less Than Obvious Factors For Getting Quick Promotions:

  • Managers that don’t fear their employees.  My 2nd manager (my first manager that hired me moved out of state to for a promotion), wasn’t as qualified as I was in our area of employment.  So much so that VPs even asked me if I thought my manager at that time was a hindrance to the department.  Back then, I protected my manager because it’s what I believed was the proper thing to do.  That and the fact that she wasn’t a bad person overall, even though she wasn’t that good at her job.
  • Managers that promote their teams.  In our company, only our segment was and is very slow to promote.  My manager demeans her group, even when compared to other in different states that do similar work.  I think this is related to the point identified above.
  • Proper recognition.  Just this past weekend, I work 11 hours on a Saturday task to help with a major problem.  I was a very important factor in getting our customer facing systems in place and working as expected (with just 2 days of prep time) not to mention helping troubleshoot other problems.  Even though such a feat was accomplished, I’m sure I won’t be part of the team that gets recognized for my efforts.
  • Accepting Management positions when they arise.  I was offered a managerial position in a group that I didn’t want to manage.  I was also offered a higher position that I am currently in a development role that I turned down for the next reason that I will talk about below.  This is my own folly that I regret.  Now my less qualified buddy is the a manager in the group I could have had and obviously more happy than I.
  • False promises.  My 3rd manager has made promises about promotions that he didn’t keep.  He made promises to me and others, but later we found out that he flat out lied.  This manager also had a tendency to tell his employees to do one thing, then at a future time, come back and complain about what he told them to do.  This guy was obviously an idiot.  Ironically he’ll probably be promoted in a few years because he has been kissing up to a VP these past few years.
  • Getting along or making friends with the right group.  It’s hard to predict who will be the stars of tomorrow.  Their brightness in the company is based on much more than skills, even in the technology field (this surprised me).  Kissing up really does pay off, don’t believe those that say otherwise. 😉  If I had to do it over again, I would definitely be more aware of this!

So while I’ve been promoted three times at my current place of employment, I could have moved up much further than I am today.  But I don’t beat myself up too badly!  Sometimes if the combination of factors don’t line up or if you get unlucky and have an incorrect combination of friends when you pull the company friendship slot machine, you might not get the promotions or recognition that you deserve.

So what’s a good/great person to do in a situation that I describe above?

  • Look for a better job when the market is ripe for it.
  • Start some side jobs
  • Look for a new job cautiously when the job market is sour or immature…

Anyway, that’s my take on the matter, keep believing and try to look out for those hidden holes.

Do you have any additional suggestions?

-MR

It's Not Always The Sharpest Tool in the Shed That Gets Ahead!

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Often at work, I hear the analogy “so and so” isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.  But sometimes, that isn’t necessary to get ahead in the company rat race…

For example, the guy that sits in the cube next to me is one of the smartest technology individuals in the building.  I admit, he’s smarter and more crafty that I am…  He has plenty of awards for the incredible things that he has done at the company…

And yet, he is at the same level in the hierarchy as I am and probably makes less money.  It doesn’t make sense huh! 

So why is this the case?

He lacks a certain ability to distinguish morally correct behaviour vs deviant behaviour.  Actually, he’s the kind of person that I would describe as a malicious hacker, and I wouldn’t even keep him onboard if I owned the company.

My boss know that he’s not trustworthy and does some questionable activities, but also recognizes that he has a certain value and genius about him.  Sometimes, he has gotten caught and reprimanded, but never disciplined to a high degree.  Typically he blows the entire punishment off.

I feel sorry for him in some ways…  If he would control the way he behaves (even if he had to fake it), I’m sure he could become a director or VP. 

Below is a quick list of the activites that I find questionable?

  • Remotes into his home servers and works on family activities (facebook, make family videos, etc) while on company time.
  • Makes and takes Personal calls during work for hours at a time, at least until his boss comes over.
  • Plays practical jokes on people, taking way to long to create some of the uncomfortable jokes he plays.  He’s kind of creepy this way…
  • Run untested code, sometimes communicating to external clients by accident (this was embarrassing).
  • Occasionally he takes 3+ hour lunches.

This list is just scratching the surface, but I won’t go beyond this list…

Sometimes the Sharpest Tool in the Shed is too sharp and dangerous and should be used with care or not used at all 😉

Have you ever encountered someone that was so clever and also so bored that they go outside of the comfort range acceptable in the workplace?

-MR

Goldman Sachs Is Being Used as a Whipping Boy

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Today, I was reading a post by Jeremy Seigel about Goldman Sachs, and most of his viewpoints reflect most of my own (see Crucifying Goldman Sachs, Start of The Witch Hunts).  I have to note that I don’t always agree with the famous author (who wrote “Stocks for the Long Run“), but on this topic, I mostly agree with Dr. Seigel.  Please I encourage you to read Dr. Seigel’s article to get the lowdown and a very logical and realistic explanation of events.

I have a feeling that as the SEC and US government digs deeper, they are going to realize that among the banking bunch, Goldman is one of the good guys!  I guess they couldn’t attack a company that had greater involvement that caused the issue because they are still in a fragile state?  So I guess the logic is attack one of the few companies that made the correct moves…

I think it’s funny, Government is focused on punitive actions instead of preventative actions.  Not to mention the continual job drain that is occurring.  Why don’t they focus on the problems with Americans continually losing jobs to offshore?  We already lost a huge chuck of our manufacturing business overseas…  Isn’t that a great example of losing jobs to cheaper foreign labor?  Why let the service industry go overseas too?

I know these last few post at www.moneyreasons.com haven’t been totally personal finance, but if we don’t have jobs and companies to supply jobs…  Well then, we really don’t need to worry about money, because nobody will have money…

-MR

Can An Individual Make A Difference At Work

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I have a friend that’s a director that told me that we’re all replaceable.  Her claim is that everybody at where I work, can easily be replaced.

I’ve been thinking about this, and I agree, we can all be replaced… but does the company suffer when they replace the wrong person?

I’ve noticed that sometime a company doesn’t realize the value of their employees.  This is observable with layoffs, I’ve seen instances where employees get laid off, then rehired back and promoted shortly there after.  I’ve seen this happen through the various rounds of layoffs that my place of employment has performed.

A great example is the incredible successful company Apple.  Steve Jobs left Apple and the company just barely slipped by for years.   Then Steve Jobs can back and shook things up, and now they once again are the great company that the were.

Would Microsoft be Microsoft if it wasn’t co-started by Bill Gates?  I don’t think it would!  How about Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway?

Do you think that it’s only the CEO that make a difference?  I know people at work that are rock stars and they don’t even know it.  They have incredible skills, but because they lack social skills, they stay hidden except to those that work directly with them.  Even after getting numerous awards…

Have you even seen hidden invaluable people at work, and it seems that only you realize their worth?  So yes, in the end a person can be replaced, but does the company suffer without anyone realizing it?

Regards,

MR