Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS
Oct 3, 2003

What do you think it means, bitch?
Was there a thread somewhere like A/T for government employees or the like? Had an interview today and was looking to pick some brains, but I’m not finding anything.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Moneyball
Jul 11, 2005

It's a problem you think we need to explain ourselves.

REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS posted:

Was there a thread somewhere like A/T for government employees or the like? Had an interview today and was looking to pick some brains, but I’m not finding anything.

Maybe this?
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3324421

REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS
Oct 3, 2003

What do you think it means, bitch?

That’s the one, thanks. Looked for a good while and was never able to bring it (or even the right subforum) up, maybe I’m just bad at phone browsing.

Cretin90
Apr 10, 2006
Anyone have advice for dealing with crippling self-doubt while evaluating employment opportunities that represent the next step in your career?

I'm hoping to hear of peoples' own experiences with this (I'm sure many of us have run into Impostor Syndrome, such as it is) and how they overcame it.

If you need more info: assume you're currently in a slow-advancement job that pays okay (well enough for your lifestyle and to save an acceptable amount, etc.), you've already interviewed with the new company about a promising position working for a senior executive and have been made an offer, but you're concerned you won't perform/they'll figure out you don't know anything. Current job is focused on trading materials (been there ~3 years and not sure what else there is to learn) and the new job would be a far more analytical role which would offer an opportunity to develop an entire new set of skills.

REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS
Oct 3, 2003

What do you think it means, bitch?
Often people aren’t a perfect fit and companies, I think, make an allowance for that. Do you think it’s something you can learn? The impostor feeling is surprisingly common as I understand it, but if you’re willing and able to learn and adapt then no reason you should fear unless the culture was just that bad, in which case why entertain the offer?

Fozzy The Bear
Dec 11, 1999

Nothing much, watching the game, drinking a bud
I finally broke into the field/career I've wanted to.... Banking Compliance. My company hasn't given raises since the recession, and I'm about 25-50% underpaid per Glassdoor. How long should I work here until I start looking to move companies? 6 months? 1 year? 2 years?

I have 6 years banking experience, but I've just started in this new department. I live near SF, there are plenty of jobs open.

USDA Choice
Jul 4, 2004

BIG TEN PRIDE

Fozzy The Bear posted:

I finally broke into the field/career I've wanted to.... Banking Compliance. My company hasn't given raises since the recession, and I'm about 25-50% underpaid per Glassdoor. How long should I work here until I start looking to move companies? 6 months? 1 year? 2 years?

I have 6 years banking experience, but I've just started in this new department. I live near SF, there are plenty of jobs open.

The economy has been absolutely humming for several years now and doing pretty alright for a few years before that. If they haven't given raises in a decade then you need to be looking for jobs yesterday. Use the new position to look around.


Cretin90 posted:

Anyone have advice for dealing with crippling self-doubt while evaluating employment opportunities that represent the next step in your career?

I'm hoping to hear of peoples' own experiences with this (I'm sure many of us have run into Impostor Syndrome, such as it is) and how they overcame it.

If you need more info: assume you're currently in a slow-advancement job that pays okay (well enough for your lifestyle and to save an acceptable amount, etc.), you've already interviewed with the new company about a promising position working for a senior executive and have been made an offer, but you're concerned you won't perform/they'll figure out you don't know anything. Current job is focused on trading materials (been there ~3 years and not sure what else there is to learn) and the new job would be a far more analytical role which [b]would offer an opportunity to develop an entire new set of skills.

Go for it. They'll understand there's a learning curve. Even to look at it from a cynic's point of view, whoever hired you is not going to want to turn around and fire you any time soon because it reflects abysmally on them. A decent workplace will give you appropriate time to get productive in the new position, and people with good work ethic and a motivation to improve rarely fail in corporate jobs.

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


Cretin90 posted:

Anyone have advice for dealing with crippling self-doubt while evaluating employment opportunities that represent the next step in your career?

I'm hoping to hear of peoples' own experiences with this (I'm sure many of us have run into Impostor Syndrome, such as it is) and how they overcame it.

If you need more info: assume you're currently in a slow-advancement job that pays okay (well enough for your lifestyle and to save an acceptable amount, etc.), you've already interviewed with the new company about a promising position working for a senior executive and have been made an offer, but you're concerned you won't perform/they'll figure out you don't know anything. Current job is focused on trading materials (been there ~3 years and not sure what else there is to learn) and the new job would be a far more analytical role which would offer an opportunity to develop an entire new set of skills.

If you're not worried about this when you take a new job, you're overqualified. The only way to progress in your career is to take on things that you don't know how to do. If you already knew how to do them, how would that be progress?

Every job I've ever taken made me nervous as hell. It's a good thing.

Fozzy The Bear
Dec 11, 1999

Nothing much, watching the game, drinking a bud

USDA Choice posted:

The economy has been absolutely humming for several years now and doing pretty alright for a few years before that. If they haven't given raises in a decade then you need to be looking for jobs yesterday. Use the new position to look around.

Even though I only have 2 months experience in my current role?

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


Why didn't your new role come with a raise?

JIZZ DENOUEMENT
Oct 3, 2012

STRIKE!

KillHour posted:

If you're not worried about this when you take a new job, you're overqualified. The only way to progress in your career is to take on things that you don't know how to do. If you already knew how to do them, how would that be progress?

Every job I've ever taken made me nervous as hell. It's a good thing.

This is an excellent post and mindset

Fozzy The Bear
Dec 11, 1999

Nothing much, watching the game, drinking a bud

KillHour posted:

Why didn't your new role come with a raise?

It did come with a 10% raise. So I went from 50% underpaid doing loan work to 50% underpaid doing compliance work. :-D

Everyone in this company is horribly underpaid, but I am just using it as a stepping stone. Now that I've reached the last stone here, my questions was how long should I stay? Most job postings say they want 2 years experience, so I assume I have to stay here at least 1 year or should I start looking after just 6 months?

Cretin90
Apr 10, 2006
Thanks for the input guys.

KillHour posted:

If you're not worried about this when you take a new job, you're overqualified. The only way to progress in your career is to take on things that you don't know how to do. If you already knew how to do them, how would that be progress?

Every job I've ever taken made me nervous as hell. It's a good thing.

This is a good way to look at it.

JIZZ DENOUEMENT
Oct 3, 2012

STRIKE!

KillHour posted:

If you're not worried about this when you take a new job, you're overqualified. The only way to progress in your career is to take on things that you don't know how to do. If you already knew how to do them, how would that be progress?

Every job I've ever taken made me nervous as hell. It's a good thing.

Did you lie on your resume/interview that you had the skills you didn't know how to do?

Interviewer "can you do x?"
You "I have done x to such excellence that Osiris, god of the dead and ruler of the underworld, personally commended my labor"
You [Internally] "I have not done x"


I'm being flippant but am also genuinely curious on how you handled that.

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


JIZZ DENOUEMENT posted:

Did you lie on your resume/interview that you had the skills you didn't know how to do?

Interviewer "can you do x?"
You "I have done x to such excellence that Osiris, god of the dead and ruler of the underworld, personally commended my labor"
You [Internally] "I have not done x"


I'm being flippant but am also genuinely curious on how you handled that.

"What experience do you have with x skill?" "Here is how I've used that skill effectively in a different manner at my current position."
"Have you used x technology?"
"I have a good theoretical understanding of x technology and have hands-on experience with y and z related technologies"

I don't know where you work where they only hire people that already have the exact job they're hiring for, but I imagine they have a lot of open positions.

JIZZ DENOUEMENT
Oct 3, 2012

STRIKE!

KillHour posted:

"What experience do you have with x skill?" "Here is how I've used that skill effectively in a different manner at my current position."
"Have you used x technology?"
"I have a good theoretical understanding of x technology and have hands-on experience with y and z related technologies"

I don't know where you work where they only hire people that already have the exact job they're hiring for, but I imagine they have a lot of open positions.

What industry are you in? Again, genuinely curious.

I get what you're saying. On my cover letters and interviews I'll state "I have a good theoretical understanding of [grilling burgers[ because I have years of experience [grilling hot dogs[." But ultimately they will just hire somebody who has experience [grilling burgers[. And I don't see why they wouldn't.

Mainly I'm just stoked to hear that sometimes there are success stories of this.

JIZZ DENOUEMENT fucked around with this message at 06:20 on Dec 23, 2019

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


I have a pretty senior role at a software company in the security/risk management space. My background is in IT and Physical Security. How do you think people progress in their careers if they're never allowed to take on new things? Not everybody is content doing the same job they went to school for until they die (Disclaimer: I dropped out of school, so I'm just assuming that part).

Personally, what I've noticed that gave me the leg up is that I can quickly learn and then explain complicated things to other people that don't have a lot of depth in that subject. If you can explain technical/specialized things to a generalist/executive audience in a way that lets them make good decisions based on that information, you will have people offering you jobs. Generally over the drinks they're buying you. And that's the key - have one core thing you're really really good at that is in demand, and people will hire you for that and won't care if you flip burgers or hotdogs or pancakes.

KillHour fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Feb 23, 2018

KYOON GRIFFEY JR
Apr 12, 2010



Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22
Once you develop some base of technical skills as an individual contributor, your most important skills are soft skills like the ones KillHour mentions. This also includes more learnable skills like sales , negotiation, people management, project management, etc. Work on this stuff.

In my industry it's less have you used X technology and more have you worked on Y type of project. You don't have to have worked on Y provided you can articulate the problem and potential solutions to explore and how you would explore them. I don't care if you've never done a pricing project as long as you can talk about pricing theories and how you would develop a project based on theoretical knowledge and client interaction.

JIZZ DENOUEMENT
Oct 3, 2012

STRIKE!
^I sure hope so, because I'm not even getting through to the stage where I can communicate that.

KillHour posted:

I have a pretty senior role at a software company in the security/risk management space. My background is in IT and Physical Security. How do you think people progress in their careers if they're never allowed to take on new things? Not everybody is content doing the same job they went to school for until they die (Disclaimer: I dropped out of school, so I'm just assuming that part).

Personally, what I've noticed that gave me the leg up is that I can quickly learn and then explain complicated things to other people that don't have a lot of depth in that subject. If you can explain technical/specialized things to a generalist/executive audience in a way that lets them make good decisions based on that information, you will have people offering you jobs. Generally over the drinks they're buying you. And that's the key - have one core thing you're really really good at that is in demand, and people will hire you for that and won't care if you flip burgers or hotdogs or pancakes.

I think you have a distorted view of hiring and the market because you work in software. Add to that, you are pretty high up the seniority ladder. Which implies you're older and got into the market when it was blowing up.

Obviously people want to develop new skills and grow professionally. But from the hiring side perspective, what value does it have to bring in somebody who wants to learn those skills versus somebody who is already good at those skills?

e: I should just give up my passion and learn to program. Most of my friends are already in that field making 6 figures and have offered to teach.

JIZZ DENOUEMENT fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Feb 24, 2018

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


JIZZ DENOUEMENT posted:

I think you have a distorted view of hiring and the market because you work in software. Add to that, you are pretty high up the seniority ladder. Which implies you're older and got into the market when it was blowing up.

I'm 28 with no degree and I started in pre-sales tech support during the recession. Oh, and I live in Buffalo, so I'm not exactly surrounded by huge companies desperate for talent. But sure, use a strawman to justify your bizarre idea that people are born with some innate knowledge that defines the only career they're allowed to have. I think I have an idea about why you're having a hard time moving up.

If you actually told us something about what you want and what experience you have, maybe we could give you better advice.

E: to answer your question, if you're hiring someone for a job that consists entirely of routine tasks, nothing. If you're hiring someone to be able to make important decisions and handle unexpected changes (i.e.: most senior roles), the ability to learn and adapt is more important than the rote knowledge.

The best question I've ever had in an interview was "Do you have 5 years of experience or 1 year of experience 5 times?"

KillHour fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Feb 24, 2018

Fhqwhgads
Jul 18, 2003

I AM THE ONLY ONE IN THIS GAME WHO GETS LAID
Killhour has a very good point though. I now work with people many times smarter than I am (which is seriously great), but senior and C level people come to me to explain things to them because I can take the technical and basically explain it to a 5th grader. It's in part how I got my job and has to be part of how I was fast tracked for a promotion and will keep me on the radar for more. That sort of soft skill is what can separates you from your peers, especially in highly technical fields.

Skizzzer
Sep 27, 2011
i work in the public sector, in an area also closely connected to risk management and IT security. my experience has been pretty similar to Killhour, wrt the importance of soft skills. i've found personally that people tend to value my communication, negotiation, mediation and relationship building skills with stakeholders. my last 2-3 positions all involved me having the underlying skills and some but not all of the experience that an ideal candidate would probably have. to add to that, i have also consistently tried to take advantage of opportunities and projects that would teach me things i didn't know before. my current job (now in management), most of my peers in other organizations in the same area tend to be 10-20 years older than me. but that's probably just a public sector thing lol

edit: it's easy to find people with experience. it's the other stuff that'll make you stand out

Hannot
Nov 29, 2007
Grimey Drawer
I accepted a job offer a couple days ago. I am excited and grateful, after 9 months of looking. It's a steady job that pays well for my field and experience level. They're getting stuff ready for me. The next day (yesterday) I got a call about Job B I'd interviewed for at the same time, and I'm going for another interview round early next week, just to see what they say. Except I have several very good reasons to think they actually want to make me an offer. I'm not counting on it and I UNDERSTAND I DO NOT HAVE AN OFFER, but if I do I will need to be able to evaluate the issue very, very quickly, so I want to be prepared just in case.

Job B involves things I'm passionate about and offers the opportunity to work on different types of projects, while I find most of Job A's daily activities quite boring. At Job A, I will likely be asked to focus on a subject I have little interest in and knowledge of. Overall, I find the work both boring and extremely intimidating -- it is intimidating partly because I've never bothered to learn the details of it before because...it's really boring. I'm sure I could, it's just less appealing and a bit frightening.

In contrast, I have more of the main skills/knowledge I would need at B already, yet there is also a lot to learn and develop further. Those things I would need to learn are ones that I would really love to learn and already study in my free time. At B, I'd also get to work with the public, which I like, and employees of companies that are of interest to me. Job A also has good networking opportunities, but it would almost entirely be with people who do not work in the areas that I very much want to -- they actually work in the very places in my field I'm least interested in getting involved with.

So, why the gently caress would not I be jumping up and down for B?

1. The salary is for sure less than A, but I don't know by how much yet. Benefits are about equal. Even a few thousand dollars would be meaningful because it is more expensive and dangerous to live in the city where B is. So besides a lower salary, I'd have higher costs to find a decent and safe place to live. I could stay where I currently am for A.

2. Even the idea of taking back my acceptance at A freaks me out. It is a prestigious organization that has close ties to important parts of my field. Most likely, they would just call up the next candidate and never mention my name to anyone, but I have this fear that I'd be burning a bridge and look really unprofessional, especially since I said I would need a day to consider but was just so stunned to *actually get a good job* and nervous about looking unenthusiastic that on advice of my parents and friends I accepted later that afternoon instead (this was stupid and I shouldn't have let their fear push me when I knew it was normal to wait -- 100% my fault).

The bridge-burning fear is not completely irrational though, since this "world" of my industry is pretty small and I may encounter these people later.

3. I always check out what people who have previously held jobs I apply to are doing now via LinkedIn. However, B is pretty new and A is one where people either stay for years and years or they have such an advantage in getting jobs at connected places that they don't need to do LinkedIn. Seriously -- I can only find literally three people who previously held these jobs and are doing new stuff now, despite both companies being among the most established of their type.

Thanks for reading my dumb garbage about a problem I don't actually have yet.

Obviously, what I really want is for someone to tell me what I'll be thinking about this decision three months from now and ten years from now, and that's impossible. I'm afraid that if I stick with A, which on the face of things seems most sensible, given the good salary and low cost of living, I will be unhappy thinking about how I had a chance to do things that actually intrigued me and used my best skills. I also feel like the role is relatively narrow, and I may have a hard time convincing people outside of that particular area to hire me compared to somebody who actually has experience at the places I ultimately want to be (aka a place like B). But I worry I will burn bridges or be a fool for basically giving up guaranteed-to-find-another-job-under-this-umbrella status if I gave up A, 'cause people stay involved in that system for life most of the time.

Hannot fucked around with this message at 19:03 on Feb 28, 2018

ultrafilter
Aug 23, 2007

It's okay if you have any questions.


A is the guaranteed moderate payoff, whereas B is the higher variance lottery. I think it really comes down to how risk-averse and boredom-tolerant you are. Some things that might be useful to think about :
  1. How actually burdensome would living in the other city be? Is it just going to mean that you can't go on expensive vacations any more, or does it meaningfully affect your quality of life and ability to save?
  2. What sort of career progression are you likely to have at either place? What sort of opportunities do you have to move beyond the boring stuff if you stay at A for a while? Will you be able to make more money at B in the future?
  3. How long would you have to stay at A before you have an advantage in getting related jobs? What are your exit opportunities from B?

ultrafilter fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Feb 25, 2018

Jordan7hm
Feb 17, 2011




Lipstick Apathy
What amount of money do you need to make to take B.

Tell them you have another offer, and that while you really want to take the job because it is a great fit, salary is a factor in your decision. Wait for them to make an offer. No matter what that is, ask for more. How much more depends if they’re above or below the amount you need. If they respond and are still too low, take job a and keep looking for your dream job.

Maybe go to the negotiation thread too.

No such thing as a job for life, especially one that isn’t interesting to you, stop thinking about A that way.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR
Apr 12, 2010



Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22
the "dangerous city" piece is kind of weird to me. Where is B? Mogadishu?

Hannot
Nov 29, 2007
Grimey Drawer
Thanks for the replies! I'm like 80% at A, mostly because of money. After talking to some more people, I feel like if I can do a good job for a year or two I'd be in an OK position to find something I'd like much better, especially if I network right. My attempt to get a salary quote for B failed miserably, so I'll have to wait for the interview to know.

ultrafilter posted:

  1. How actually burdensome would living in the other city be? Is it just going to mean that you can't go on expensive vacations any more, or does it meaningfully affect your quality of life and ability to save?
  2. What sort of career progression are you likely to have at either place? What sort of opportunities do you have to move beyond the boring stuff if you stay at A for a while? Will you be able to make more money at B in the future?
  3. How long would you have to stay at A before you have an advantage in getting related jobs? What are your exit opportunities from B?
Thanks for this.

1. Once I actually found a good place to live, day-to-day life would not be more burdensome except for the extra money.

Expensive vacations pffft. I've never made more than 18K and spent the last two years as a student (free tuition though). These jobs aren't luxurious, 50K for A and maybe 43K for B, but either is an obvious improvement. I'd say 42K? is the average for my graduating class. I would be saving as much as possible.

2. There is really no advancement in the typical sense at A. You get a bit more responsibility, but the type of work is fundamentally the same. There are many positions within Place B you could conceivably try for, but not a set progression like Assistant > Coordinator > Manager or something like that.

3. I want to say 1 to 2 years because that's probably necessary to learn a lot/have projects to share, not look like a job hopper, and develop useful connections. Same goes for B. Exit from either would require a lot of selling myself. B would be easier because of the wider skill range + more relevant connections, but as long as I retain those skills while I'm at A I feel like employers wouldn't be like "you didn't do X at your last job, you obviously don't know it!" I would be at a disadvantage to those who did use some of B skills at their last job, I'm sure, though.

Jordan7hm posted:

What amount of money do you need to make to take B.

Tell them you have another offer, and that while you really want to take the job because it is a great fit, salary is a factor in your decision. Wait for them to make an offer. No matter what that is, ask for more. How much more depends if they’re above or below the amount you need. If they respond and are still too low, take job a and keep looking for your dream job.

Maybe go to the negotiation thread too.

No such thing as a job for life, especially one that isn’t interesting to you, stop thinking about A that way.

For sure, I don't want it to be a job for life anyway. Thank you for the negotiation advice. If they make an offer, I will definitely immediately do the "I'd love to work here, but I just go another offer and..." speech. I am not sure they have much flexibility in salary, however.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

the "dangerous city" piece is kind of weird to me. Where is B? Mogadishu?

lmao, that probably does sound bizarre. I've lived there before. There are many really great middle and working class areas, but also many genuinely dangerous ones (this is not, like, a sheltered suburbanite opinion, I promise). Landlords know this and gently caress with prices more than is justified. I'm also a young single woman and have had some unpleasant experiences, so I'd pay extra to avoid break-ins, etc.

Hannot fucked around with this message at 19:05 on Feb 26, 2018

deadly_pudding
May 13, 2009

who the fuck is scraeming
"LOG OFF" at my house.
show yourself, coward.
i will never log off

Haze Thank Liberty posted:

lmao, that probably does sound bizarre. I've lived there before. There are many really great middle and working class areas, but also many genuinely dangerous ones (this is not, like, a sheltered suburbanite opinion, I promise). Landlords know this and gently caress with prices more than is justified. I'm also a young single woman and have had some unpleasant experiences, so I'd pay extra to avoid break-ins, etc.

I think in the US, at least, this is usually localized to specific neighborhoods. If you look at a map of my city, there's like middle class-to-affluent neighborhoods less than a mile away from the "every window has bars on it and you might get robbed in broad daylight" zones. Like I'm talking about the goddamn mansion the lawyer I hired one time lives in. It's like a short bike ride away from where the crack addicts are. It kinda comes with the territory of living in a city.

Hannot
Nov 29, 2007
Grimey Drawer

deadly_pudding posted:

I think in the US, at least, this is usually localized to specific neighborhoods. If you look at a map of my city, there's like middle class-to-affluent neighborhoods less than a mile away from the "every window has bars on it and you might get robbed in broad daylight" zones. Like I'm talking about the goddamn mansion the lawyer I hired one time lives in. It's like a short bike ride away from where the crack addicts are. It kinda comes with the territory of living in a city.

Thank you, I'm very aware. My concern was less about finding a good place as paying for it, so it really is a salary issue.

ultrafilter
Aug 23, 2007

It's okay if you have any questions.


KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

the "dangerous city" piece is kind of weird to me. Where is B? Mogadishu?

Oakland, CA or Camden, NJ? The expressed concerns would be reasonable for either of those.

Media Bloodbath
Mar 1, 2018

PIVOT TO ETERNAL SUFFERING
:hb:
I'm currently at a point where my next decision will substantially determine my long term career.

I have three paths before me

A) move internally and build a Data team (BI, BA and Marketing) at a regional branch of globally operating Digital Media company (slowly moving towards IPO, consolidating their offices this year, I'm save an well established to global directors and VPs)

B) move to a local (ops in one country but one of the largest) legacy media company that wants me to build and lead their currently not existent programmatic advertising department.

C) move out of the media business and join up a mobile providers new business development team as Expert for Digital Marketing and Growth.


Yes I sold my soul a long time ago.

SuperSpiff
Apr 4, 2007
Mentally retardation is such a strong word.
I’m in the same industry (I’m currently at a B-type company, focusing on programmatic ads).

Do you have a shot at getting anything out of the IPO, especially after getting into a leadership position? That’d make a difference financially. Normally I’d say switch it up if you’ve been at a place for a while, but if you’re on a good path for a good payout, might be worth riding it out.

Between B and C, not sure what country you’re in, but at least in the US, given the efforts of media companies to disintermediate content and customers, I would bet that you’d be working on more interesting and faster projects on the media side as opposed to the mobility side.

Xguard86
Nov 22, 2004

"You don't understand his pain. Everywhere he goes he sees women working, wearing pants, speaking in gatherings, voting. Surely they will burn in the white hot flames of Hell"
Getting to build your team at a place you have good connections seems like the best option if all else is neutral. That's my feeling anyway

Large Hardon Collider
Nov 28, 2005


PARADOL EX FAN CLUB
I’m looking for a product manager role in tech. If I’m planning to stay with my current company until June 1 for vesting reasons, when is the earliest I should start applying to other positions?

I assume that smaller companies are probably looking to staff up for a specific project, so they won’t be willing to wait more than a month. But can I start applying sooner to big companies that have dozens of projects going?

Media Bloodbath
Mar 1, 2018

PIVOT TO ETERNAL SUFFERING
:hb:

Large Hardon Collider posted:

I’m looking for a product manager role in tech. If I’m planning to stay with my current company until June 1 for vesting reasons, when is the earliest I should start applying to other positions?

I assume that smaller companies are probably looking to staff up for a specific project, so they won’t be willing to wait more than a month. But can I start applying sooner to big companies that have dozens of projects going?

You might also want to drop by the YOSPOS interviewing thread if you are in tech as it's more active than this thread.

C-Euro
Mar 20, 2010

:science:
Soiled Meat
I was talking to my buddy the other day and learned that his mother-in-law is in the industry that I want to be in (food/food science if that matters), and after introducing me to her she's agreed to get on the phone with me later this week for some mentoring. While she's not quite local enough to be able to give me a job, she did spend a lot of time working in this industry in the area where I currently live. However I do have a genuine interest in this industry having worked in it in my previous job, and I want this conversation to be more than "can you give me a job or introduce me to someone else who can".

If you were able to have an open-ended conversation with a local veteran of your chosen industry, what would you ask them? How they got there, who the major players are in the area, what are the currently-prized skills, what direction(s) the industry is headed in, ???

JIZZ DENOUEMENT
Oct 3, 2012

STRIKE!

C-Euro posted:

I was talking to my buddy the other day and learned that his mother-in-law is in the industry that I want to be in (food/food science if that matters), and after introducing me to her she's agreed to get on the phone with me later this week for some mentoring. While she's not quite local enough to be able to give me a job, she did spend a lot of time working in this industry in the area where I currently live. However I do have a genuine interest in this industry having worked in it in my previous job, and I want this conversation to be more than "can you give me a job or introduce me to someone else who can".

If you were able to have an open-ended conversation with a local veteran of your chosen industry, what would you ask them? How they got there, who the major players are in the area, what are the currently-prized skills, what direction(s) the industry is headed in, ???

I do a lot of informal interviews. I went in with the mindset of learning about :

1. The contact's person story
2. New Skills/classes/certifications - to make myself a more attractive candidate
3. New Organizations/firms/people - to find new resources and jobs - :siren: I highly recommend asking about new firms. While many jobs are posted on aggregate sites, some jobs will only be posted on the company website. Which means it's harder to find unless you are actively checking those organizational websites. For example, I have a spreadsheet of over 150 cool, smallish firms in my region that I've collected largely from informational interviews and blind googling.

In terms of the structure of the professional interview, I usually commit the first 66% on point 1, then the last 33% on points 2 & 3.

Edgar Allan Pwned
Apr 4, 2011

Quoth the Raven "I love the power glove. It's so bad..."
ive asked my dad and perused the Internet and im getting different answers, so Ill ask Goons:

would it be bad to leave a job at the year mark?

The current job I have is ok. but it can be pretty demanding, and I work with lovely clients (lawyers). Thats manageable but I also get a low salary for programming work. (30k). My previous job was not programming related but I stayed for 2 years, and before that was college.

Ive become more confident with my programming skills, and Id like to have a job with a better quality of life, and a better pay. I would like to go back to school at one point for a different STEM degree, but id like to be able more financially stable before going.

My dad says I should wait until at least 1.5 years.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Edgar Allan Pwned posted:

ive asked my dad and perused the Internet and im getting different answers, so Ill ask Goons:

would it be bad to leave a job at the year mark?

The current job I have is ok. but it can be pretty demanding, and I work with lovely clients (lawyers). Thats manageable but I also get a low salary for programming work. (30k). My previous job was not programming related but I stayed for 2 years, and before that was college.

Ive become more confident with my programming skills, and Id like to have a job with a better quality of life, and a better pay. I would like to go back to school at one point for a different STEM degree, but id like to be able more financially stable before going.

My dad says I should wait until at least 1.5 years.

I think you'll get mixed responses, as you've already experienced. There's no singular "right" answer and it will depend on your circumstances.

In general, 1 year is a pretty short stint. BUT, early in your career your skills are likely developing quicker than your pay raises account for. And 30k for programming is very very low, even for a newbie. What part of the country are you in? In major tech cities (granted with higher COL) even junior devs can be making 80-100k.

What sort of programming work are you doing, and how in depth has your experience been? Do you have a degree (any degree) already? You can do well in the tech world without a CS degree as long as your self-education and work experience can show that you know what you're doing.

I think you should scout around for new possibilities, but don't quit your current job yet. Start feeling out what's out there, maybe get some interviews and see how you fare and feel. If you find somewhere new that seems good and pays a lot better I wouldn't sweat leaving after only a year. Especially this early in your career.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Xguard86
Nov 22, 2004

"You don't understand his pain. Everywhere he goes he sees women working, wearing pants, speaking in gatherings, voting. Surely they will burn in the white hot flames of Hell"
Generally what I've heard: 1 year isn't bad as long as it doesn't start to look like a "you thing" by jumping after a year overly much. If you did 2 years at the last place then you've at least got a little buffer.

If you start looking now it might be 1.5 years by the time you switch anyway, so might as well see whats out there.


...30k is very low for anything with tech, like above said entry level dev is 50-80 and even stuff like technical analyst or similarly "tech but not software dev" roles should be higher than 30.

before job hunting try looking at glassdoor or similar sites and try to figure out what the market rate for your location/skills is.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply