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TraderStav posted:In reverse, do this for your leader. Bring FYI and opportunities to provide input and make decisions. I LOVE sending notes like, "Here is the information.... I'll be sending this over at 4p today. Please let me know if you have any input ahead of that."
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Jun 27, 2022 20:21
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Yeah I usually brief the facts and offer two options. As a manager you’re successful when you basically don’t have to do dick day to day except dealing with the higher ups. Your day to day work outside of management should be minimal.
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Jun 27, 2022 20:25
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Dik Hz posted:This only works if your boss isn't a sociopath. And given that they're at least a director in a corporation, the odds aren't good. Everything still applies. You provide opportunity for input and you don't ask them for a decision. If they demand to make one, that's your input.
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Jun 27, 2022 20:34
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FrozenVent posted:Yeah I usually brief the facts and offer two options. I just transitioned to a new role in my company and eventually got my prior team running to a point where I really did absolutely nothing all day except talk over problems my people were trying to solve. It felt like cheating. But then I realized that it's exactly what my company wants me to do. Build processes, accountability, systems, and technology to have the organization work without brute force from a leader. Now I'm back at the start trying to not drown, completely opposite experience.
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Jun 27, 2022 20:35
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TraderStav posted:Everything still applies. You provide opportunity for input and you don't ask them for a decision. If they demand to make one, that's your input. What I'm getting at is that there is no way to interact safely with a sociopath above you. There isn't one weird trick to get the outcomes you want.
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Jun 27, 2022 20:39
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poo poo... I need some direct reports to develop ASAP. I work at a start up and my roll is shifting from an IC to a manager as the company grows. I hope to hire my first direct report within 3 months. I'll check out some books on the topic. My philosophy has always been to help people get new skills, so that's in line with everyone's advice. My best experience was training 5 people on a new/complex piece of equipment and in less than 2 yrs, all got better jobs elsewhere! I've said it before, start-up pharmaceutical companies are weird.
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Jun 27, 2022 21:00
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Sundae posted:Yeah, they never talk about that part of it. Gee, we're sending 2,000+ people to Monterey all at once for four days and there's not enough room. Maybe... oh I dunno, anywhere else??? It's not like we don't host several thousand people at a time in Vegas on an annual basis.
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Jun 27, 2022 22:14
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lifg posted:I’ve sent that “makers schedule managers schedule” essay to many, many non-technical people. If someone’s basically smart but doesn’t understand programmers, it really helps. I just had time to read this, think 'wow! that really fits!', then I was called into an unscheduled meeting to go over a bunch of methodology (it didn't change) 
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Jun 27, 2022 22:17
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TheSpartacus posted:I've said it before, start-up pharmaceutical companies are weird. Is there a reason you don’t work for one of the non startup pharmas? Is the money/stress worth it? I’m at bigpharma now and with the benefits I currently get, I don’t see any reason why I’d want to work for one of the startups instead.
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Jun 28, 2022 00:02
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Most folk I know only leave for startups if somebody they know is there on the ground floor. Big Pharma is generous enough to make leaving hard. But it could always be more.
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Jun 28, 2022 02:04
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Just did an interview for a IT manager role at a SME (about 110 employees) and when asked about their WFH policy, the CEO spent about two minutes talking about how he doesn't like it, it's not really needed, everybody is so happy coming in every day, yadda yadda while also saying he's not saying 'no' explicitly. Yeah, don't worry, boss man, WFH is off the table; I get it.
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Jun 28, 2022 06:50
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Cacafuego posted:Is there a reason you don’t work for one of the non startup pharmas? Is the money/stress worth it? I’m at bigpharma now and with the benefits I currently get, I don’t see any reason why I’d want to work for one of the startups instead. I have not had the pleasure of working for one of the large pharma companies, I've worked in generics and CMOs so far in my career. Working at a start-up got me out of the CMO side and on the sponsor side, I work fully remote, I get generous stocks (if we even make it to revenue of course), and the pay/benefits is vastly greater than CMO life. Some benefits are great: 25 PTO, winter breaks, we do half days on Friday in the summer, etc. When it comes to stress, I'd say there isn't any compared to working at CMOs, the constant overpromising and underdelivering was rampant, but now I control my own timelines. Of course the one difference is that the company might close up shop over night with a bad clinical trial.
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Jun 28, 2022 07:16
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Someone just emailed me to complain about one of my team getting frustrated with someone on her team. My report is great and super chilled, hers seems to be a highly strung turd. Pretty sure I know what the problem is, study managers misunderstanding their role and thinking they manage the whole thing rather than just the outsourcing. My first real test of diplomacy in this job.
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Jun 28, 2022 16:21
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The job I have now is pretty trash and has caused me grief for the past year due to an unreasonable workload and the constant demands of the positions, and this is all for mediocre pay. I'm a CPA / accountant for a well known org. My manager has never had a 1 on 1 with me because they don't have time as there is constant turnover and they have to pick up the work from the people who leave. I have a review soon where he called me to tell me they were rating me a 5/5 despite appearing upset that I can't complete 14 hours of work in 8 hours daily. I actually work alot of overtime and struggle with the negativity of the work environment. Anyways, how do I communicate tactfully that they're complete scumbags for not listening to me talk about bandwidth daily and not doing anything to alleviate it? And that I'm struggling with the workload and this will probably continue forever if they keep operating this way. For the record, I leave half of the work undone, and this is after working 10 hour days nonstop throughout the year. They then get confrontational, but with many employees walking out in the past year, they've reeled it in and still rated me 5/5 despite their nonstop hostility. 5/5 means a 4% raise instead of the standard 3%, I'd rather have light work and the 3%. This place has caused me such strong PTSD, that i've been applying but every job I interview with I ask them thoroughly about the work culture and it seems like every place wants someone who can come in and work non-stop. It doesn't help that I'm located in NYC, and the market is nowhere near as hot as the news makes it out to be. Yes, there's alot of open jobs, but they are all complete garbage. All I want is a normal role, with normal hours & normal pay. Nothing spectacular, just 40 hours a week and overtime here and there for projects or month/quarter end, etc. I had roles like that before, but after Covid, it appears as if every company now wants supermen that never stop working and undertake a workload that you can only complete if you had a device to freeze time. I don't know if its just life or if its NYC. I can't leave NYC because I have a spouse that makes 250k here.
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Jun 28, 2022 23:21
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Do you work for an accountancy company or in house for a megacorp? I don't know about your field but e.g. lawyers seem a gently caress load happier as general counsel than being worked to death at a law firm.
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Jun 28, 2022 23:27
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It's 40% your industry and 60% NYC. Also if your spouse is making 250K in NYC they can almost certainly make 170K in a low COL area where it nets out better than 250K in NYCbucks. I assume the real problem is they don't want to leave NYC.
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Jun 28, 2022 23:29
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knox_harrington posted:My first real test of diplomacy in this job. My boss has to stop me from biting the throat out of one of my VPs because they went after me for a judgement call that I made. Said VP knew about my judgement call yesterday (wait for a maintenance window to make a risky production change vs. doing it during right away) but failed to say anything until today, with the gift of hindsight that the change didn't have the intended outcome but also had no impact. I'm glad there's other people who's job is diplomacy because it's sure as hell not my strong suit.
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Jun 28, 2022 23:32
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TheSpartacus posted:I have not had the pleasure of working for one of the large pharma companies, I've worked in generics and CMOs so far in my career. Working at a start-up got me out of the CMO side and on the sponsor side, I work fully remote, I get generous stocks (if we even make it to revenue of course), and the pay/benefits is vastly greater than CMO life. Some benefits are great: 25 PTO, winter breaks, we do half days on Friday in the summer, etc. When it comes to stress, I'd say there isn't any compared to working at CMOs, the constant overpromising and underdelivering was rampant, but now I control my own timelines. Ahh, got it. For some reason, I thought you’d left big pharma for a pharma startup and wondered why.
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Jun 28, 2022 23:40
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knox_harrington posted:Do you work for an accountancy company or in house for a megacorp? I don't know about your field but e.g. lawyers seem a gently caress load happier as general counsel than being worked to death at a law firm. Megacorp. I'll never go back to a firm, it was one of the worst experiences I've ever had in my life. I come from lesser means. I grew up poor, and I'd rather be poor again and have my free time than to ever put in nonstop 80 hour weeks with a firm where it feels like I'm in a time warp. Eric the Mauve posted:It's 40% your industry and 60% NYC. Extreme Type A personality. Works 12 hours a day intensely, then works out, and then cooks and cleans before bed. Then wakes up and does it again. Tells me how much they really enjoy it and the challenges that NYC offers them, and that they love the pressure and workload. I'm not joking, it'd make me sick if it didn't benefit me. They work completely at home and I see them just sitting there everyday just happily clacking away on their keyboard. Been with them over a decade and still don't understand it.
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Jun 28, 2022 23:55
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You're in a tough spot, no doubt. Based on your post above your current job situation isn't sustainable for much longer and I assume simply not working isn't a realistic option for very long. I honestly don't know what to tell you besides that you only have so much mental energy and you should do everything you can to Office Space it--invest as little mental energy in your job as you can possibly get away with, to leave the bulk of it available for self car and searching for another job. It will very likely take them quite a long time to fire you even if your performance goes totally in the tank--but they will probably verbally/emotionally abuse you every step and you have to be willing to just not give a poo poo. Most people can't do that. Unfortunately--acknowledging that my personal knowledge of this is very limited--but I think what you describe is pretty much the norm in NYC in your industry. NYC in general, really. I'm sorry I don't have any super awesome advice. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me in this area will.
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Jun 29, 2022 00:03
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Eric the Mauve posted:You're in a tough spot, no doubt. Based on your post above your current job situation isn't sustainable for much longer and I assume simply not working isn't a realistic option for very long. I honestly don't know what to tell you besides that you only have so much mental energy and you should do everything you can to Office Space it--invest as little mental energy in your job as you can possibly get away with, to leave the bulk of it available for self car and searching for another job. It will very likely take them quite a long time to fire you even if your performance goes totally in the tank--but they will probably verbally/emotionally abuse you every step and you have to be willing to just not give a poo poo. Most people can't do that. My last job in NYC was a flat 40 hours a week and management was great. Then covid destroyed it and the C suite was afraid of Trump's random decisions and rules during covid, so they just pulled out of the US and shut down operations for good by selling their US business to another company who then promptly laid everyone off and backfilled it with their own staff. But regardless, I know the solution. It's grinding and pushing to find a better situation, but it doesn't take away from the fact that with a job and searching, it'll take 9-14 hours out of everyday and will take lots and lots and lots of effort. Smif-N-Wessun fucked around with this message at 00:20 on Jun 29, 2022 |
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Jun 29, 2022 00:15
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In a senior leadership meeting last week, the head of IT said one of the projects I oversee is running his department $1 million per month in expense. No one questions it in the meeting. Since I am not a senior leader I’m not there to deal with this. I am blissfully unaware of this bomb. This week the rumor mill starts running in full force (thank you gossipy marketing sr director) and at 3 pm today I find out that people are talking about my project’s spending being out of control and the reason we will not hit profit targets. I have now spent 3 hours trying to track down this cash leak. Finally managed to get a hold of the IT head. Find out he misspoke and meant annually, not monthly. Managed to strong arm him to send out an email to the senior leadership team that he hosed up and get people off my back.
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Jun 29, 2022 00:39
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Smif-N-Wessun posted:For the record, I leave half of the work undone, and this is after working 10 hour days nonstop throughout the year. They then get confrontational, but with many employees walking out in the past year, they've reeled it in and still rated me 5/5 despite their nonstop hostility. 5/5 means a 4% raise instead of the standard 3%, I'd rather have light work and the 3%. What would happen if you just started putting in 8 hour days and got 40% of your work done instead of 50%? Honestly it's probably doubtful you're going to be able to force any fundamental change in how they're treating you. Put in the level of effort required not to get fired and focus on applying on new jobs until you interview with someone you vibe with.
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Jun 29, 2022 01:04
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I also wouldn't worry too much about what potential new jobs say about your future workload. Office workers are ashamed to admit they work any less hard than a landscaper in the middle of spring to potential new hires. It's kinda strange to be honest. I interviewed one place that gave me the whole, we're understaffed and overworked, we need you to hit the ground running spiel. Then as I'm leaving I pass by the entire team having a miniature rocket league tournament in the back. My current job gives that same spiel but the "backlog" we advertise really just means that sometimes less critical things need to wait a few hours before one of us gets to it, and I only have time to slack off for 3 hours when it used to be 7. Lately I *gasp* have to work so hard that I get tired by the end of the day And anyway, even if a future gig runs risk of being lovely, it also runs a significant chance of being better
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Jun 29, 2022 01:46
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Smif-N-Wessun posted:The job I have now is pretty trash and has caused me grief for the past year due to an unreasonable workload and the constant demands of the positions, and this is all for mediocre pay. I'm a CPA / accountant for a well known org. I expect they're bluffing, and are worried you will leave. They will keep you even if you halve your current productivity because the alternative is to get zero productivity out of you. I don't know your exact situation but it sounds like they found the right proportion of abuse / praise to get the most work out of you. You can say that you need to accomplish quality, error free work and that you can only do that by working at a reasonable pace. That way, you're helping them by slowing down! Everybody wins! It's important to say it in a way that is not confrontational or insulting, but clear and firm. When they assign you too much work, immediately ask them through email or another written medium to prioritize the new work vs. the old work you're currently working on (nicely). If they keep pushing / insulting you, keep it nice but don't agree to anything, maybe "I'm happy to talk through how we can better prioritize the current work load on my place. Feel free to come by to discuss." Especially if your spouse is pulling in $250k and you don't need your income, then call their bluff and take it easy. Worst case scenario you can always get another lovely job. Because they might fire you just because they're pissed that you cut your productivity in half. But that's what the next job is for.
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Jun 29, 2022 01:58
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You guys are right, how do you feel about external recruiters? I'm starting to get a bit desperate and feel like I'm trapped in this role. I can't find any jobs that I remotely even want to work for on Linkedin / Indeed, etc. And all the recruiters I've talked to have told me to lower my expectations and tried to scam me into bad roles. They tell me to take 20k paycuts and try to get me into obvious bad spots, I've told several to gently caress off cause I felt like I was at a used car dealership in the 80s. I hear all this talk of a hot job market, but all I see is non-desirable jobs on job boards and recruiters hocking jobs that no one wants. Also, a bunch of companies decided to do a hiring freeze for whatever reason from the contacts that I have around town.
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Jun 29, 2022 02:43
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Do you have the space for both of you to work at home? Could you broaden your search to include remote work?
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Jun 29, 2022 02:53
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Smif-N-Wessun posted:Megacorp. I'll never go back to a firm, it was one of the worst experiences I've ever had in my life. I come from lesser means. I grew up poor, and I'd rather be poor again and have my free time than to ever put in nonstop 80 hour weeks with a firm where it feels like I'm in a time warp. wait what challenges is NYC offering them if they work 60s from home all the time? so confusing
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Jun 29, 2022 02:54
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AreWeDrunkYet posted:Do you have the space for both of you to work at home? Could you broaden your search to include remote work? I have. They either don't like NYC candidates because we cost more, or they'll pay but then there's almost 0 hope of a normal role and more so one where you're going to be working 12 hours a day. I used to feel guilty for seeking an 8 hour a day average with the usual OT for month end, quarter end, etc. But not anymore, I'll work hard if I have to, but I'm not trying to put in 20 hours extra a week, every week. Thats exploitation. KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:wait what challenges is NYC offering them if they work 60s from home all the time? so confusing NYC firms are known for harder clients, stiffer culture, and extreme hours. More so than any other firms in the country. Mainly because the clients are based in NYC, which is known for stiffer culture and extreme hours. You get where I'm going. Everyone that works here has a lovely job for some reason after Covid. Things used to be better pre-covid in my opinion.
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Jun 29, 2022 03:05
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Smif, how would your spouse feel about you leaving this job without something solid lined up? You just seem like you’re so burned out that you can only see the bad parts of anything out there and need some downtime to even be able to really sort through your options. Just because you are a CPA doesn’t mean that you have to only look at those jobs for the future. What about something that doesn’t necessarily require the cert but having it gives you a unique perspective?
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Jun 29, 2022 03:41
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Hutla posted:Smif, how would your spouse feel about you leaving this job without something solid lined up? You just seem like you’re so burned out that you can only see the bad parts of anything out there and need some downtime to even be able to really sort through your options. Just because you are a CPA doesn’t mean that you have to only look at those jobs for the future. What about something that doesn’t necessarily require the cert but having it gives you a unique perspective? The job takes up so much of my time and energy that I'm a bit of a shell of my former self. Its a minimum of 8-9 hours on an easy day, then hours of trying to contact network, cold applying, and prepping for interviews. Rinse and repeat. My spouse wouldn't mind because they see how worn out and tired I'm becoming. Been in the game a while and corporate life can be draining if you go for a while in the wrong role. The only issue is I have a gap in my resume from when I moved to NYC without a job and searched. Then another gap when my old job went under cause of covid. If I quit this job and then start looking, its another gap that I'll have to explain. Another issue is that I'll then have to deal with companies avoiding unemployed people and trying to lowball. I'm not worried about the lowball, but its not a selling point to convey that "Yeah, you're not lowballing me cause my spouse makes enough to cover me indefinitely. I'm not going to beg you for this toxic job."
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Jun 29, 2022 05:22
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Go do volunteer work for whatever charity you feel like. Put your time spent with them on your resume? If someone asks, you can truthfully say that you felt like you needed some different challenges in your daily life to maximize the potential of your skill set and doing volunteer work full time gave you access to both that and an expanded network for future business connectivity.
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Jun 29, 2022 06:01
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If your job is as desperate as you say then I would cut to 7-8 hours a day max. You won't get fired and you're already getting complaints about finishing only 50%. They aren't going to notice a drop to 40 or 45%.
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Jun 29, 2022 06:05
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Smif-N-Wessun posted:I have. They either don't like NYC candidates because we cost more, or they'll pay but then there's almost 0 hope of a normal role and more so one where you're going to be working 12 hours a day. I used to feel guilty for seeking an 8 hour a day average with the usual OT for month end, quarter end, etc. But not anymore, I'll work hard if I have to, but I'm not trying to put in 20 hours extra a week, every week. Thats exploitation. If you're a CPA why not look at one of the Big 4 firms? They're all in NYC. Dunno what it's like working for one as a CPA though, partner or not
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Jun 29, 2022 06:21
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With your spouse's income, does a 20k pay cut for you actually matter at the end of the day, if you can land in a much better spot from a mental health perspective (and likely a post-tax hourly wage perspective)?
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Jun 29, 2022 06:55
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A string of jobs with gaps for a white collar person is p bad tbh. Suggest lining something up before moving.
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Jun 29, 2022 07:41
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Coffee machine's broken... I...I don't know if I can go on without a constant stream of lovely coffee to inject directly into my veins
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Jun 29, 2022 12:34
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Maybe I'll go visit some other offices in the building and make some friends. Please...I'll bring my own pods...I'll refill the water for you...just let me get 30 seconds on your machine....I just need a quick hit...just one little taste of that bottom shelf swill
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Jun 29, 2022 12:53
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HiroProtagonist posted:If you're a CPA why not look at one of the Big 4 firms? They're all in NYC. Dunno what it's like working for one as a CPA though, partner or not That would not be a downgrade in hours. You might work 40 hour weeks during the summer, but the hours would be reallocated to 80 hour weeks in “busy season.”
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Jun 29, 2022 13:01
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CarForumPoster posted:A string of jobs with gaps for a white collar person is p bad tbh. Suggest lining something up before moving. Yeah agreed. "Moved with spouse, found job in NYC ASAP" and "2020" are both very solid explanations for resume gaps. But the problem is that with three such gaps in the last five years, your resume will get shitcanned unconsidered by most employers and you'll never get a chance to give any explanations. Tough spot all around.
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Jun 29, 2022 13:05
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