One of the things school and university do a really bad job of explaining to young people is the expectations of work, how to negotiate with work, and a realistic timescale for your career. These are certainly things which I had to mostly learn on my own.
The truth is that when you first start working, you probably are going to have to put up with being subject to certain 'unfair' requirements, because you are unskilled and can be easily replaced. That doesn't mean that you personally are not a hard worker, or couldn't be trusted with more autonomy, but your employer has to tailor his lower level management to the lowest common denominator. Thankfully, I never experienced anything like the OP's screenshot, but the point still stands.
Your goal in any company should be to make yourself indispensable as quickly as possible. The more integrated you are with the day to day operations, back-end systems, customers interactions etc. the stronger your negotiating position for raises and benefits. My current employer would go bankrupt within a month or two if I quit tomorrow, and that means I am able to command my own working conditions from a position of power. Of course, I usually don't take advantage of that power because I have a good work ethic and I'm reasonable, but it's an unspoken barrier between me and my boss that he can't push me around or easily replace me.
It seems like a simple concept, but I certainly didn't understand it when I was a teen. Lots of young people seem to believe the employer/employee relationship is always a top down exercise of power where you are completely at your boss's mercy. The truth is that yes, it usually starts that way, but it doesn't have to stay that way if you act shrewdly within a company. (This is also why I think the modern culture of job hopping is a bad idea, but that's another subject).
Your goal in any company should be to make yourself indispensable as quickly as possible.
Pfft. Think again, Boomer. Your goal is to gather enough experience and then sell yourself to the next company willing to pay you more to do the same job or for a higher position; all so you can gather enough experience to sell yourself to the next company willing to pay you more to do the same job or for a higher position.
It's a documented fact that people who move companies frequently earn more than their peers who stay at the same company. Having worked in finance, I can confirm this also. I've seen dozens and dozens of acct. managers come and go within a matter of weeks because they're all chasing the better pay plans. You have to have the mind of a mercenary, not a conscript. That means when you land a job, you keep looking for the next job.
I mean, if that's the way you want to live, I guess. Or you could do what I have done and go to the interview, get the job offer, go back to your own company and say 'This company is going to scalp me for $x, so unless you pay me $y, I am going to leave'. That way you keep your seniority, your benefits, your colleagues, get a raise, and you don't have to fit into a new workplace.
'This company is going to scalp me for $x, so unless you pay me $y, I am going to leave'.
I've seen people try that. It's taken as "extortion" by idiots who had no business making such decisions in the first place, and because they have to maintain the illusion that everyone is expendable. If they wanted to give you a raise, they would have.
"Seniority" won't save you from layoffs. "Benefits" are non-existent. "Colleagues" are little more than LinkedIn contacts.
Well, the way I see it, such a negotiating tactic is no-lose. If your existing company isn't willing to dig deep to retain you, then you take the job. If they are, you get everything you had previously negotiated with the business, plus a raise.
It has worked for me on two different occasions, but you are correct in that it relies on a management structure that understands the value of its people.
The reason why I don't job hop isn't because I feel like a slave to the company I work for, it's because I have squeezed them to keep me. I have a personal relationship with the people above me, so it's a lot easier to negotiate because they have seen the quality of my work. At a new company, you are an unknown, so the employer/employee relationship is a lot more hostile.
One of the things school and university do a really bad job of explaining to young people is the expectations of work, how to negotiate with work, and a realistic timescale for your career. These are certainly things which I had to mostly learn on my own.
The truth is that when you first start working, you probably are going to have to put up with being subject to certain 'unfair' requirements, because you are unskilled and can be easily replaced. That doesn't mean that you personally are not a hard worker, or couldn't be trusted with more autonomy, but your employer has to tailor his lower level management to the lowest common denominator. Thankfully, I never experienced anything like the OP's screenshot, but the point still stands.
Your goal in any company should be to make yourself indispensable as quickly as possible. The more integrated you are with the day to day operations, back-end systems, customers interactions etc. the stronger your negotiating position for raises and benefits. My current employer would go bankrupt within a month or two if I quit tomorrow, and that means I am able to command my own working conditions from a position of power. Of course, I usually don't take advantage of that power because I have a good work ethic and I'm reasonable, but it's an unspoken barrier between me and my boss that he can't push me around or easily replace me.
It seems like a simple concept, but I certainly didn't understand it when I was a teen. Lots of young people seem to believe the employer/employee relationship is always a top down exercise of power where you are completely at your boss's mercy. The truth is that yes, it usually starts that way, but it doesn't have to stay that way if you act shrewdly within a company. (This is also why I think the modern culture of job hopping is a bad idea, but that's another subject).
Pfft. Think again, Boomer. Your goal is to gather enough experience and then sell yourself to the next company willing to pay you more to do the same job or for a higher position; all so you can gather enough experience to sell yourself to the next company willing to pay you more to do the same job or for a higher position.
It's a documented fact that people who move companies frequently earn more than their peers who stay at the same company. Having worked in finance, I can confirm this also. I've seen dozens and dozens of acct. managers come and go within a matter of weeks because they're all chasing the better pay plans. You have to have the mind of a mercenary, not a conscript. That means when you land a job, you keep looking for the next job.
I mean, if that's the way you want to live, I guess. Or you could do what I have done and go to the interview, get the job offer, go back to your own company and say 'This company is going to scalp me for $x, so unless you pay me $y, I am going to leave'. That way you keep your seniority, your benefits, your colleagues, get a raise, and you don't have to fit into a new workplace.
I've seen people try that. It's taken as "extortion" by idiots who had no business making such decisions in the first place, and because they have to maintain the illusion that everyone is expendable. If they wanted to give you a raise, they would have.
"Seniority" won't save you from layoffs. "Benefits" are non-existent. "Colleagues" are little more than LinkedIn contacts.
Well, the way I see it, such a negotiating tactic is no-lose. If your existing company isn't willing to dig deep to retain you, then you take the job. If they are, you get everything you had previously negotiated with the business, plus a raise.
It has worked for me on two different occasions, but you are correct in that it relies on a management structure that understands the value of its people.
The reason why I don't job hop isn't because I feel like a slave to the company I work for, it's because I have squeezed them to keep me. I have a personal relationship with the people above me, so it's a lot easier to negotiate because they have seen the quality of my work. At a new company, you are an unknown, so the employer/employee relationship is a lot more hostile.