After 11 years with one company, basically the only company I have ever worked for I put in my resignation today. I took a job at the competition who offered me a more lucrative pay package, they also have a better product paired with a superior method of distribution. It was one of the most difficult decisions I have made in my entire life.
I feel bad for the people I left behind, basically they had no idea, and were totally blindsided by my decision. Now I have to go to battle against them every day instead of beside them.
11 years with one company, are you freaking kidding me? The longest I have ever stayed with a company is my present one and that is almost 6 years. If the market was better I’d have been long gone two - three years ago. I think that if you don’t change jobs/companies ever 2 - 3 years you grow stale in what you do. Pete Drucker wrote that a person with 10 years experience just had one years experience for 10 years… Hopefully a change will do you good.
As the day goes on I am feeling more and more confident about my decision. I was sucessful at my other job, and the new job just gives me more of the weapons I need to win.
“Well, we’ll just see about that. Ta-ta, Tut-tle.”
“Gee George, I’m sorry I gave you the wrong impression. What is was going to say was, now you are aware that our Board of Directors has been indicted, myself included, and we’re prohibited from doing business until the investigation is completed. So obviously, we would have no use for you.”
As a member of the military, this thread is pretty interesting. I’ve been a member of the U.S. Navy since '93, and have only considered changing employers in passing. Some other things that come from an obviously different perspective from the one i’m used to:
The previous employer was caught completely by surprise that Erik was leaving. Apparently, he didn’t feel, after 11 years, that he could negotiate with them, or influence them to change business practices enough to help influence him to stay, and somehow he didn’t think he could tell them ahead of time that he was considering other offers and getting ready to go to the competition.
A couple people have applauded Erik for his plan, saying his quick transition would really set him up to be a competitor in his new job because he would have the inside skinny on his former employers.
I’m not judging, just noting the perspective. It’s interesting because, obviously, I couldn’t leave on such short notice, or legally use my inside knowledge to aid the competition if I did leave. If I were in a civilian job, it would never occur to me to follow a similar course of action.
I’ve been a member of the U.S. Navy since '93, and have only considered changing employers in passing.
Yes, but you’ll admit that getting a new set of orders every 2-3 years keeps things fairly dynamic. Consider every time the person signing your FITREP as a new job, and I’d say you change jobs more often than most of us!
As a member of the military, this thread is pretty interesting. I’ve been a member of the U.S. Navy since '93, and have only considered changing employers in passing. Some other things that come from an obviously different perspective from the one i’m used to:
The previous employer was caught completely by surprise that Erik was leaving. Apparently, he didn’t feel, after 11 years, that he could negotiate with them, or influence them to change business practices enough to help influence him to stay, and somehow he didn’t think he could tell them ahead of time that he was considering other offers and getting ready to go to the competition.
They were caught by surprise because they don’t feel employees are they most valuable asset they have, they feel their brand name is. They (my former employer) believes that the product will continue to sell itself dispite who is selling it. I did seek resolution to some of my concerns, both in writing and in person. None of those concerns were addressed. The competitor came to me, recruited me and offered me more money and a larger % of what I sell coming directly to me.
A couple people have applauded Erik for his plan, saying his quick transition would really set him up to be a competitor in his new job because he would have the inside skinny on his former employers.
In my industry we are not saving lives or defending the country. We are simply selling a product to people who need it. Loyalty doesn’t get you as far in the buisness world as it does in the Navy.
I’m not judging, just noting the perspective. It’s interesting because, obviously, I couldn’t leave on such short notice, or legally use my inside knowledge to aid the competition if I did leave. If I were in a civilian job, it would never occur to me to follow a similar course of action. If I didn’t resign they would have forced me to leave. My new company has asked me to sign a non-compete agreement. This would resrtict me from doing this to them for 1 year after I stopped working for them. (with exceptions)
Like i said, I’m not sitting in judgement. It’s obviously very possible that your previous employer brought this on themselves. It’s just a different way of doing things than I’m used to.
Getting screwed over by a few employers after being very loyal to them changes your perspective very quickly. In the business world it is dog eat dog - make no mistake about it. Loyalty is a fascade.
Good for you! some “employers” are incapable of changing anything. You get to a point when you realize that negotiating for anything, more just gives them the upper hand for your replacement. Better to leave on your terms than theirs. Again, Congratulations and good luck.