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lynck

Writing my next chapter

10/03/19 at 2:44PM UTC (Edited)

Diversity & Inclusion

This isn't it

We've all been to our share of interviews. You dress up, put your best face forward and hope you're the one they choose. We're thrilled when we get the call and the offer letter. Then the job starts and you realize in just a few weeks or maybe even days that THIS ISN'T IT. This isn't your home or the place you want to spend 8-10 housrs every day. The company isn't what they presented to you in the interview. Their financial health is in question but NOW what do you do? That's my predicament. Bad company, bad management, bad finances. I did my homework. I researched them ahead of the interview. No signs of problems then but now that I'm on the inside it's clearly not a good place to stay. So now, I bide my time, keep looking, and hope the money doesn't dry up before I can find a better place. It's too bad that we can't claim application fraud on employers. They expect truthfulness from applicants but it's not reciprocated. Then we are faced with a short tenure on our resume and the need to explain it as we continue to search. Ethical interviewing goes both ways.

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Lady Farnwell

399

10/06/19 at 5:55AM UTC

Been there, done that, 25 years ago! Except for me... Although the place gave off the right vibes during the interview process, I realised "something is wrong here" when I went back to sign the paperwork for the role just before quitting my current role. I mentioned this to my mentor and he said, nah, it'll be fine, you've just got cold feet. Inexperienced, I figured, OK, could be. But within a few hours of the first day, I realised that my last minute concern had been justified. The skilled position I had been recruited for was thought of as more of a clerical call center role, and my technical skills were minimally respected. All the developers: male. All the support team, all of whom except me were non-technical: female. Still relatively new to my career, I had more development skills than their lower-end developers but was given no credit for them. The developers' workspaces: offices. The support team's work spaces: kiosks, not even cubes (although within a couple months they did relent and move us into small cubes). It got worse. Eventually I figured out why I was treated as a different class of employee from the other technical staff. Somehow, a salary list ended up on the printer and it was shared among the technical staff. I found out that I was being paid less than 2/3 of the salaries earned by men with comparable skills and experience. And in some cases about half. No wonder I was treated like a clerical employee -- technical people there didn't work there for the kind of salary I was offered, which was in line with their clerical staff. And worse. The big company who'd acquired the small company shortly before I joined it as a subsidiary of a big company realised it hadn't done good due diligence and the product was really beta-level software that was being sold as production-ready, with the expected level of customer issues with it. So the Regularly Scheduled Quarterly Layoffs started occurring within a few months of my being hired. I survived 3 or 4 of them, possibly because of the value I added per dollar cost compared to so many others, but was whacked by the last -- which provided me the cover I felt I needed during the pre-dot-com years where job-hopping was discouraged, to leave after 2 years' service. (Same company would later hire me on to work as a contractor remotely when I was in grad school, so there was a reward to me for sticking it out.) Lessons learned include a whole heap about due diligence: 1) Ask about the company's financial situation, and do your own research about it, looking on tools like glassdoor for what people think about the company and online for information about recent deals, any public reports of finances, etc. 2) Women should check for women in tech management if you are in tech, and then check if those managers have technical or business backgrounds (see LinkedIn). 3) Be very cautious about revealing your salary history if you know it is low compared to the market, as sometimes companies assume incorrect things about your skills and ambition based on that. As women, I think it's still an issue that we can start our careers underpaid, but I'm living proof that you can overcome that and attract top-tier compensation for your role if you don't blindly accept it when employers use your past salary history to define your worth. 4) Trust your vibes. If anything feels wrong before you've pulled the rip cord on your current role to take a new one, seriously consider if you're moving to the right opportunity. In the 21st century there's no longer a reason to take something suboptimal and "wait it out". Life is too short, and you should make the most of your career to achieve goals important to you. 5) If you're technical and will be working as a dev or release engineer or devops engineer, ask if people in the role have admin rights on their PCs and ask if you can install open source software that optimises your productivity. This is one indicator of whether they're more rule-oriented or more results-oriented. 6) Insist on meeting your potential co-workers. It's the polite thing to do, IMHO, even if it's not routine. 7) Insist on seeing your potential work area. If there are any gotchas here, like a cramped open worktables environment full of disruption, you want to know BEFORE you take the offer. The answers to #5 are "no" more often than I had previously assumed they would be, FYI. And I have *never* been turned down when requesting items 6 and 7 if these things didn't happen as part of the interview process. Sometimes people have thought these to be odd requests, for some inexplicable reason, though, so be ready for a confused response from HR. On previewing work environment and co-workers, I've used those walk throughs to gather information and have noted to the hiring manager things like, "You know, I didn't see two monitors on every desk, and I've used two at home and work for years" (There were two on my desk the day I started, although others only had one, even though I'd only made an observation about what was most productive for me, and didn't ask directly for them.)

Crystal Lopez

Student. Mom. Writer. Esthetician.

10/05/19 at 5:41PM UTC

Been there too Lynck, but I ended up staying with the company 2 years too long. I finally (after realizing that my boss was a narcissistic pig and no one working under him would ever be good enough to do their job...and his) left and I could not feel more alleviated. Visualize where you want to be or see yourself, believe in it and make whatever it is you want happen! I wish you much success.

Anonymous

10/04/19 at 10:04PM UTC

At my last job, I had the feeling within the first week. I ended up staying two years in a job that, at first, I tolerated, but grew to deeply detest. I wasn't deceived (well, a little) but mainly it was a bad fit. They said they wanted a leader, but in reality they wanted someone to quell their unruly, toxic work culture and never change or improve anything. Then they started having financial difficulties and I was laid off. My best day at work we when I finally walked away. I'm appalled that I stayed so long and embarrassed that I let it get so bad. Lessons learned: 1) Ask about culture, keep asking. Ask about leadership style and leadership communication. Grill your employer like they are trying to date your best friend (aka subtly but with purpose.) 2) If your gut says go, do yourself a huge favor and focus on the exit plan. It can get better, you may be able survive but you owe yourself a job where you thrive.

Anonymous

10/03/19 at 5:21PM UTC

I agree ethical interviewing goes both ways!! For us being interviewed, it's hard to ask questions about company culture, management, etc. when the q&a portion of the interview is generally only 3 questions long and you wanna ask about the specific role. I would interview for new positions, and leave once I find one I feel like will be a better fit. I wish you the best of luck in this situation (and hope this doesn't happen to you again!!)

Jamilla Segar

665

10/03/19 at 5:19PM UTC

This happened to me recently. Within the first few days I had the “this isn’t me” moment. I felt better after I looked back at the job description on the job post and it didn’t match the majority of the tasks I was being trained to do. I tried to stay just to make money as I looked for something else but, it was just to frustrating. I suspect the hiring manager and manager did not look at my resume. I was overqualified and none of the skills I was using would expand any of my past experience. I’m on the job hunt again and am reworking resumes, working on interview skills. The important thing is that you realized the position wasn’t for you. I’m in the same boat and i’m glad you shared your story. I think there are companies who are looking for a body. Always think about your value!

Anonymous

10/03/19 at 3:57PM UTC

Good luck! I've definitely been there, and all you can do is start the job search over and hope you find a better, more stable place. Hang in there!

Anonymous

10/03/19 at 3:45PM UTC

So true! Happened to my husband! Once he realized that company was not honest during interview process he decided to quit and went back on market again! Now he asks all he questions he wants to know answers for to do not get in the same situation. So, good luck, hope you'll find what you're looking for!

Lori Schmitz

234

Girl Friday and much more in SFO Area

10/03/19 at 3:26PM UTC

I am so sorry; it is so frustrating when you have been courted by a company / team / organization and within the first week you see what you were told and your decision to take the offer was based on falsehoods. I just went through this myself; fortunately the financial piece wasn't at issue but everything else about the opportunity was not presented in an honest manner. Get out; there is no reason to stay somewhere that is creating stress for you on so many fronts. I think we have convinced ourselves that we must be martyrs to our resume. Most hiring managers get it... we have all had that "oh no... what have I done" moment at a job. You wouldn't stay in a relationship or friendship with the same indicators... be good to yourself.

Ann Schulte

186

Strategy Consultant | Team Leader | Mentor

10/03/19 at 4:53PM UTC

Agreed - having been there and stayed, I highly recommend continuing your search and leaving while you can still omit it from your resume without having to fill a gap.

lynck

Writing my next chapter

10/03/19 at 3:32PM UTC

That's my plan! I've updated the resume and sent it to all of the recruiters I know as well as updated all the job boards. I'm actively looking again. I agree with you totally. This is a bad relationship and I deserve better.

Lori Schmitz

234

Girl Friday and much more in SFO Area

10/03/19 at 3:37PM UTC

Good for you! Good luck!

Anonymous

10/03/19 at 2:54PM UTC

Many times, your sitting there doing your work you hear doors slamming, cursing, and yelling in your first week. Yikes! I've been there. I've learned if you say something you may be let go because that's the way they have been doing things before you got there so don't stir the pot. Refresh that resume and don't look back. Put a little to the side after each pay check just in-case you decided it just isn't for you hope this helps~