Freelance Switch |
When It’s Time To Go – Leaving Your Current Workplace Posted: 26 Apr 2011 04:00 AM PDT "I wouldn't want to know a man who hasn't been fired!" I forget who said that but I laughed whenever I heard it because I had never been fired. But in the corporate world “the boot” can come unexpectedly, thrust us into having to jump into running our own freelancing business, and place us in the unsteady position of needing to learn the small business ropes quickly. Being prepared before getting fired can help you negotiate a severance package that will help you land solidly on your feet, even if the worst happens. There was one time I gave two weeks notice and they fired me the next day. They actually told me to go and not to train my replacement, which is a sound business decision because who knew if I would steal client information, or poison my replacement. It's a good business principle to just pay someone the two weeks of salary and get the lame duck out and away from the company. In this case, however, since they technically fired me, I was eligible for unemployment. Six long months of it, baby! I didn't care. I was happy. Since then there were two more similar incidents. One involved a payoff for leaving quietly with a resignation to keep my mouth shut about…something. The other was what they call an "at-will-firing" (you sign a document when you are hired, agreeing you can be fired without notice or reason and will not take legal recourse – standard in America these days). Unfortunately, my former employer gave a reason. They didn't have to. They shouldn't have. It would have been better for all involved if they had just said, "we're sorry but business is bad and we need to cut our overhead. We'll consider bringing you back if business gets better." Sounds better — friendly and professional. I would have been happy. Instead, after several rounds of layoffs and the strain of buyouts, retirements and severance, someone must have had the brilliant idea to change the rules on year-end-reviews.
You don’t achieve, then get out!The company does poorly, then you do poorly and many people got "did not achieve" on their reviews. This opened the door to another new rule; "you don't achieve, you go." It was an interesting process because there had been a lot of discourse when the new rules were announced. How do designers fall into responsibility for the decisions of upper management? The answer to those who asked was, "get out!"
I believe I had also brought it up but my work had been stellar. Every review was positive and glowing. Sales records of my products were "above excellent." I won the department Employee of the Month more than anyone else and my self-initiated projects became multi-million dollar products. So why was I let go? I was male, over forty and was paid too much. That seemed to be the case with the other four men in my department who met the same fate. The mistake management made, in a bid to humiliate those who were about to fall under the corporate axe, was to trump up charges without thinking of the arguments against those charges. As I knew the basic corporate rule of saving every e-mail, memo, card, note or scribble. I was able to argue against every point brought up by the employee relations person. She had a blank look on her face. Every tangent she started, I would bring her right back. It ended with her giving me a speech about not going to work with the competition, which I explained I would do immediately (never fire someone you don't want working for the competition – who has now made or will make millions on my initiatives). Then she explained I could not sue the company. That wasn't true. The long, legal talking between lawyers goes on. Everyone gets fired, eventuallyI've seen people fired on their first day. Come to think of it, I fired people on their first day. The sadist fires someone who has been a loyal part of the company for twenty or thirty years, letting them go with no notice or even idea it was coming. Clearing twenty years of accumulation out of an office isn't like the movies where the worker sniffles as they pack a solitary box to carry to their car. It took me all day to pack an office of mine and a panel truck to move it. These were all personal items; kept at the place I made my home, in which I spent ten to twelve hours each day for two decades. There are times, more often than not in the creative field, where your work is so stellar you make enemies of those around you. As a friend said to me, "your light of creativity illuminates the mediocrity around you." It was the mediocre, however, who held the positions of power and they couldn't have anyone telling them what a great job a subordinate had done. In any business book or manual, it is common knowledge that one should be an "empowering leader" and reap the kudos of upper management for having a department that exceeds expectations. Some leaders bask in that glow and other resent not having done it themselves. It harkens back to the often-mentioned "Peter Principle." Someone who does a fine job at one level is eventually promoted to a level they can't handle with competency. There is also the practice of hiring and promoting only those who are less competent than yourself so they are no threat to your position. Within the Peter Principle, those people who have reached the level of incompetence cannot or are frightened to seek the next level. A smarter person will only try to take their power, which is the common fear among incompetents. There isn't much you can do. Playing dumb and incompetent is hard for those who are not in that natural state. When it's time to go
So, the time comes when you are informed you are being fired. You are no doubt in shock as you have done great work and your coworkers heap praise on you every day. Well, that's yet another factor as your superior(s) were jealous THEY didn't receive that praise (indirectly they did, as your manager, but keep in mind they can't fire their brain synapses fast enough to get the overall point). You sit in front of a human resources person or the company owner and they are giving you the exit speech. Stay calm and collected. The rule to remember: You negotiated your way in and you can negotiate your way out! Negotiating your way outThere you sit, facing an HR representative or the owner of your small firm. You know what's coming. Stay calm. I have known people who go into hysterics. They cry, they curse, they threaten. Sometimes that works for an extra weeks salary but more often than not, it just makes fellow coworkers have doubts about your sanity and affects your network down the road. They will see you as unstable and future connections to other jobs won't be offered so easily. The fact is, just as you negotiated salary and other perks at your hiring, you can negotiate pay and other settlements on the way out. Putting the question to some experts, they imparted some sage advice. A Career Coach and Consultant from Canada, advises:
A Performance Consultant somewhat agreed:
A Writer and Editor from Colorado gave this advice:
An Author from California adds:
A System Designer for small business based in North Carolina imparted:
A sound thought comes from a Principle at a firm specializing in "employment branding and employee engagement" based in Arizona:
Many opinions – choose what is right for youThere are many opinions out there. As with my experience, it never hurts to ask in a professional manner. One might negotiate several good options, which will allow a comfortable cushion or a positive resume "tick" that won't be seen as negative to the interview process for the next abusive employer:
Catch me if you canWhen layoffs started in my last company, I joked that I would run out of the HR office and lead security on a chase through the company, ending in the cafeteria, where I would throw pies and run across tables until caught and with a security guard holding each limb, I would scream, "THE CHICKEN STRIPS ARE PEOPLE! THEY'RE PEEEEOPLLLE!" They got rid of me after the cafeteria was closed. I did run around the corner while we waited for the elevator, yelling, "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!" I strolled back and we had a great laugh as the HR person walked me to the door. Did I negotiate my exit? Yes. Three years later, my attorney is still taking his sweet time but mediation has replaced court action. As days go on, more witnesses are released from the company and my case gets stronger. Had HR just taken my first offer, so much corporate time and legal fees wouldn't have been spent on this. Foolishness while I count the company's closest competitor as a good client. A coworker, who was a great friend and supporter, and still suffers working in the "factory of death and despair" told me he wasn't sure he could talk to me. I replied that to date there had been no threats or accusations. I was in the same negotiations as I was on my way into the company but this was just on my way out. He understood and calmed down. It will be nice if the company and I end up in calm understanding. First we have to do the dance before the music ends and we bow politely. We all have our unique path into freelancing, and a sure fire way to sour your desire to stay in the corporate world is to get fired. If you’re still slugging it away at a 9-5′er that you aren’t excited about, then it may be time to prepare for running your own freelance business, before the axe comes down unexpectedly. Photo credit: Some rights reserved by smartview27. |
Top Freelance Jobs from Job Board – Week 4, April Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:00 AM PDT Looking for a new client? The FreelanceSwitch job board is a great resource of freelance gigs and opportunities. These opportunities are in various fields, from development to writing to design, and come from a wide range of potential clients. The job board is hand-moderated by dedicated staff and volunteers from the freelance community. Each week, we’ll feature a selection of the best job opportunities posted for the week. This week, we’re featuring jobs in blog design, marketing copy writing, development and more! To apply for any of these jobs, simply pick up a FreelanceSwitch membership for an affordable $7 a month. See something you like? Join now!
Marketing Content Writer for Agency WorkBudget: $2,500 to $5,000 Our agency would like to hire a marketing guru, with experience in creating marketing content to drive consumers, and businesses, to websites, social media, promotions, and business resources. Required is the ability to understand a company's profile and rewrite condense the message into a marketing message. This would also be required in formatting and generating information for sales and advertising websites like media, sales, and press kits. You would also need the ability to creating content for websites, i.e. corporate, promotional, microsites etc. This is a high stakes high pace challenging position so we need a top performer that should meet the standards:
We would need you to start asap, provide samples of your writing work, per hour rate is required for this position, and resume if possible. Freelance WordPress Developer PositionBudget: $1,000 to $2,500 Need a good web developer with good experience in word press content management platform and the extensive plug in's provided. Need someone one with good backend and implementation skills also, a well-rounded programmer with the ability in timely launches and turnarounds. I can go any reasonable rate so just let me know your hourly rate. An info you can give pertaining to your word press and programming skills please do provide. Freelance Magento Ninja for Several Magento SitesBudget: $5,000 to $10,000 We have several clients looking to build e-commerce sites on the Magento platform. Several clients have existing e-commerce sites on old, outdated platforms, so they want to migrate to magento. The projects and work will be ongoing over the next few months, so we’ll be flexible about paying you for hours worked on a retainer, etc. as long as you want to continue the work with us part-time. We’re open to a fixed fee per project, but would prefer someone who would like to commit to part-time for us. We basically need a resident Magento ninja who is willing to take on some small e-commerce website development and support for us. We are looking for someone:
Freelance Website Designer in Blogging StylingBudget: $1,000 to $2,500 Looking for a good blog designer with nice design skills, nice eye for detail, and creative thinker. One should have experience in word press since it's our main content management solution we use to power websites. Normally this type of work I usually would have a designer make 3-5 pages for template for the site foundation home, features section, article, video and gallery, and blog and column authors. I'm looking for an exclusive designer. Could really use someone now, good worker good attitude is a plus. Let me know your rate either hourly or per page. If you have some links to your work I love to see them. Front End Programmer, Designer, UI/UX ConsultantBudget: $2,500 to $5,000 I need someone to come in to do clean up design and do front end programming. SOW: Timeline: 2-4 weeks depending on availability. Commitment: ~80 hours. I will need someone who is responsive and communicates well. There will likely be daily Skype calls and two to three e-mail communications throughout the day. |
You are subscribed to email updates from FreelanceSwitch To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar