Two days.
So for those that don’t know, I recently went from the private sector to the public sector and got a slight pay raise when I did it (though the total compensation is much, much bigger now with benefits).
My job consists of writing documentation for our applications, but the documentation consists of:
- Date: Enter date
- Time: Enter time
- Name: Enter clients name
That is no exaggeration. That’s literally what I’m doing. I’m creating documentation that provides 0 additional value to the end user. It would be like writing documentation for Amazon that explains what the fields are when you’re entering your billing and shipping address.
It’s soul crushing. I can’t believe anybody is getting any benefit out of the documentation that my team is writing.
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My first job was working for the tax office in the uk.
Most of my job entailed filing post where people wrote in to ask about their tax.
- When it came in. I would file it in the <28 days file.
- after 28 days I would move it into a series of alphabetical files for more than 28 days
- I would then regularly file the follow ups which said “please refer to our letters of x date, y date and z date” and I would just put them next to the old letters with nothing being done in between
Every smart not insane person goes through the same pattern with jobs. You start out working in good faith assuming good things will happen and end up realizing there is no justice and just trying to carve out a work life where you’re left alone and paid well enough to achieve whatever financial goals you have.
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I think that before they even get there, there is a decision point something along the lines of “Do I take some risks and be my own boss?” or “Do I take the security of a guaranteed paycheck and put up with someone else’s shit?”. People who choose the latter then go down the path you describe.
The correct answer is to not get on that path to begin with. Easier said than done, I know.
In the current market, at least at larger companies, there is a much more lucrative third approach. If you accept that large companies are run by finely honed sociopathic norms (indisputable IMO) then you should treat the employment relationship as purely transactional. I am pretty sure that the optimal outcome for most workers in that arrangement is to capitalize on gross inefficiencies in the hiring market. You can change jobs every three years or so and wrangle a pay bump each time. To do this you have to make your priority at work to build bullet points for your resume that you plan to use to get your next job. Fuck your employer’s “needs”. If it aligns with your goal to have an attractive bullet point for your next move / pay increase then sure. But don’t do stuff to help your boss or help your team. Do it to empower your next move / pay increase.
Basically, on Day 1 if your new job you should draft what you want your resume to look like in 3 years to move for more pay. And start working on that.
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What do you guys think of really small companies? I’m moving from a 500 person company to a company of 40 people. Seems like there is much less room for advancement in a small company?
True unless it’s growing at a good clip.
Working at a small company that is growing rapidly is the best situation if you play it right. They have a influx of cash and you are part of the “core” team. As long as you are valuable you can up your salary significantly as they continue to grow.
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Its probably not out of the question to get a share of the equity too, if you have any management responsibilities.
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In a lot of cases it’s very likely, if only so they can try to justify paying you less. These situations have to be evaluated carefully because it also can function as handcuffs to some extent. Better make sure there is a real chance for the equity to pay off if you make a large bet on it.
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A very common asshole JOB CREATOR tactic is to present golden handcuffs to a key manager as if it’s some kind of benevolent gift when in fact they’re just locking someone down at below market comp.
Say a company is making $5 million, and the owner offers you, the key manager, 10%. $500k a year - great, right? Well first you have to buy the shares. And owner guy isn’t going to give you a minority discount and he will probably charge you interest on the “loan.” All your profit sharing will go to pay back the loan until it’s paid off. Oh and you can’t sell your stock (except back to the owner) or borrow against it, and you probably have no voting rights or control over distributions (though you’ll probably have tax bills). This is just the start, unless one is very experienced or has a good attorney they’re probably going to get screwed.
I agree with all this, I was pointing it out as a potential contrast between small and large firms. At large firms you also often have an opportunity to get equity through buying company stock on favorable terms, and that usually comes with better liquidity. The one big benefit of having equity in a small place is that sometimes bigger companies buy smaller companies and the owners of the smaller companies make off like bandits.
So not putting your two weeks in until you pass background and drug test is normal right? Even if you know you’re 100% to pass? After I pass those I get the official job offer then do the two weeks?
I know this place is in a huge hurry to get me, they even asked if I really needed two weeks, then saying they really respect my stance when I said absolutely. Looks like it’s going to end up taking 3 weeks lol
Yes. I would say they I accept on the contingency that my background and drug screen go through. I’ll put my 2 weeks in right after that.
Yes, you should hold back on resigning until the background check is done. The worst outcome for you is to resign from Job A and have the offer yanked on Job B. It’s almost certain that Job B has the right to yank the offer if the background check fails.
Lots of companies give away shares without having to buy them. Doesn’t mean they’re less golden handcuffs but at least they’re free and guaranteed. In my situation they gave me a bunch of stonks and in the past 3 years the stonk tripled so… now I’m here for life I guess. 
Yeah publicly traded stock is a whole different ballgame with way fewer pitfalls.
I’ve got some in between stuff where half my bonus is deferred three years and indexed to the stock price. So I can’t cash them in now, but they also don’t tie me to my current employer forever.