What has pushed you to change companies?

[AriaIncognito]

Hi. I've been employed at my current company for 3.5 years now and have been doing relatively well there. It's a decent company, but sometimes I feel like my boss makes promises he won't ever keep when it comes to advancement. He has put me on a track in order to achieve my next promotion, and so far, he's very pleased with the work I've done towards that, but I don't know. Morale has been getting low where I am. People have been leaving. Jobs are being outsourced, etc.

 

However, I'm finally getting to a point where i feel I really know what I'm doing (i work in quality assurance for software) and would like to keep growing in that feeling and knowledge. So I feel like that fact alone keeps me there when I probably should be interviewing to see what else is out there for me.

 

So I'm curious, what has pushed you to change companies in order to pursue the same career. Was it a bad employer, bad hours, needed more challenge, etc? How did you get yourself to go to somewhere new instead of "sticking with the evil you know".

 

How do you know when you're ready to start looking for a new start somewhere?

[norajane]

I've changed jobs for more money, more opportunity, feeling burned out, and moving to a new city.

 

If you're just starting to feel like you're getting good at what you do, give it a little more time until you know you're an expert and then start looking if you haven't been promoted yet.

[AriaIncognito]

I guess I should give a little more background. The last time I left a company was due to a layoff. Then within a few months I found the current company, which hired me at a better salary than the one i got laid off from, so it was definitely a blessing in disguise to be laid off in the first place. I was promoted at the current place about 18 months in. It's now been 24 months since that promotion, and my boss is saying december is the earliest he could see one occurring. December was basically the benchmark I'd placed on myself, that if I hadn't gotten it by then, I'd consider leaving.

 

I dont know what would happen should I try to leave. They've been counteroffering people left and right because people have started leaving for other opportunities, but obviously, you can't count on that. The company is a stable company, per se, but they have lower than cost of living yearly raises and many of us could probably do better elsewhere.

 

I guess it's the kind of company you would retire from, but not necessarily the kind you get ahead at. Does that make sense?

[Curmudgeon]

How do you know when you're ready to start looking for a new start somewhere?

 

I know when there's no longer any challenge, I'm becoming bored or I start dreading going into work every morning.

 

I'm currently in my third career.

[Blackfrost]

These are all the reasons I can think of, and have changed companies for in the past.

 

1) Lack of promotions

2) More money

3) Company is stagnating (stockwise) and moral has been low for longer then 6 months

4) New opportunites

5) Better place to live and raise the family

6) Mid-life career crisis

7) I don't mind long hours if we are working smart - but I do mind long hours, if it's just for the sake of perception and bad management.

8) An opportunity arises that you would be stupid to say NO too

9) Better job security

10) Motivated and Skilled management

[Trialbyfire]

What has caused me to change firms of employ has usually been boredom and/or frustration. I've been lucky that up to my current status of self-employment, that I've been head-hunted from firm to firm. The easiest way for this to happen is to drop to your network how unhappy you are and the phone will ring.

 

Make a good reputation for yourself and job opportunities will happen for you, whether they create a position or there's a convenient opening.

 

Most importantly, start building your network as soon as possible. Even if you don't get head-hunted, you will know about openings before they are posted, through a discreet phone call from your contacts. Favour for favour.

[jerbear]

For me it was the casual chat and opportunity. Amazing what happens when you talk to friends and friends of friends about jobs and opportunity.

 

Mostly

 

• lack of promotion
  
• being passed for a promotion
  
• the vibe
  
• being bored at work
  
• not learning anything new
  
• another opportunity
  
• out grew the company
  
• management got to me
  

 

Currently I'm stuck in the wacky world of non-compete clauses!

[AriaIncognito]

Well today I was slapped in the face. My boss has been saying I needed to gain more visibility within my group among upper management so that when he puts me in, they will see it and go "yeah she deserves that, i've seen her doing X and Y". Ok, I understand that to a point.

 

So then tell me why a person who has been in my group less than a year (i've been in it for 3.5 years, 2 years since promo) was just promoted to the same level I'm trying to get? She hasn't proven herself in my group yet. She was dissed in her former group, and i understand they were trying to right a wrong, but well, they really should think about how it will affect the morale of those people in the group that have been here a while and waiting for it and working our tails off. (not that this has gone unnoticed he tells me all the time that i'm doing a great job and he's impressed with what he's seen so far of me performing the job at the next level so i know it's not that i'm doing something wrong)

 

I'm so frustrated with it.

[Teacher's Pet]

My job situation isn't that different, even though we work in completely different fields...

 

I am, for the most part, a career bartender. I work in a fairly upscale/trendy tavern with 4 other bartenders.

 

I primarily handle the lunch/happy hour shifts. We don't get a large bar crowd at lunch time, so I also wait tables during the lunch hours. Once the lunch shift is over, the dining room closes, so the bar area is the only place to get service until we re-open for dinner.

 

During my shift, I have a lot of "down time", during which I am expected to do the prep work for the night bartender. This includes prepping batches of fresh sangria, various drink mixers (we make everything from scratch), and even tending to the mint plants in our garden (we are well known for our mojitos).

 

I make decent money, considering the number of people I actually wait on (we are fairly expensive, and our clientele tip accordingly), but I know with my experience, I should be making a lot more. Not so much an issue of money, I'm a BARTENDER, and if I'm not BUSY making drinks and such for customers, I really get bored.

 

When the night shift rolls around, the incoming bartender walks into a pristine, well stocked, and ready-to-go bar. As soon as the night 'tender comes on, I take off.

 

This is where I get pissed off. I work a 7.5 - 8 hour shift, the night bartender works about 5 - 5.5 hours, yet makes considerable more than me (as you'd assume, although my base pay is a lot higher).

 

At the time I was hired, I told my boss I was looking to work primarily nights, and was very dissapointed when they decided to "start me off" on day shifts. My boss explained "Don't worry, nothing is set in stone yet." At the time, they were in the process of hiring 3 new bartenders because of a huge staff shakeup they had.

 

Within 3 weeks, one of the new bartenders, and one of the old ones were fired. One for lack of personality (yes, that's a job requirement in my business!), and the other for just plain sucking as a bartender. The thing that gets me is that the "crappy" bartender was given 3 really good night shifts right off the bat, a lot more than someone with less than 2 years bartending experience deserves. This girl was FOUR years old when I first got my bartending certification. The other one that got fired was a part-timer who worked 2 nights a week.

 

I was fully expecting to "inherit" at least 1-2 of their night shifts, but instead, the GM gave them to the other new bartender, who now gets 4 of the best shifts available (she started a WEEK before I did), and even shares one other prime shift with another person.

 

Not long after that, they hired yet another bartender to takeover the other 2 night shifts (which were temporarily filled by someone). Once again, I was not given ANY consideration for these shifts.

 

Last week was (almost) the last straw for me.

 

The regular Wednesday night bartender had a scheduled day off, and once again, her shift was not even OFFERED to me. The next day when I came in, the owner was commenting on how busy the bar was the night before, and how the bartender made over $300 that night (again, we're talking about a 5 hour shift here!)

 

I just bit my tongue and said nothing.

 

I have the MOST bartending/restaurant experience on our bar staff, a successful track record wherever I've worked, and the constant praise of our regular guests, yet I'm constantly overlooked when it comes to opportunities to make more money. After all, I work mostly day shifts, staying on for another 5 hours is no problem at all for me, but apparently, it is for management.

 

My boss schedules me for one dinner shift a week in the dining room, which I like. Waiters at my job literally do NOTHING, yet make good money. My boss has constantly commented on how the customers like having me as a waiter (I'm damned good, you don't wait or want for anything!), so I've mentioned to him that since there are no night bar shifts available, I'd like to start serving on Friday nights, which are a HUGE night in our dining room. Now, the Friday night staff is mostly long-time employees, some of whom have been there since day 1, so I understand why they get preference, but I also know that being some of them are still in college, they won't be around come next month. I've told my boss I'd like to start serving Friday nights when a shift opens up, and even then, I get the brush-off.

 

I'm NEVER late to work, I've NEVER had a complaint, or even had to send back a single item of food to our kitchen (through my own fault), and have had at most TWO drinks sent back to my bar from a customer.

 

I never gripe about being given extra duties, and I'm always smiling (yes, AW, I do smile at times!) and making conversation with customers.

 

I like to think I'm a "dream employee", but WHY am I being constantly overlooked? I'm not looking for a raise (like that ever happens in this business!), just more opportunities to WORK and make money!

 

I guess being overlooked at work sucks, no matter WHAT you do for a living...

 

-tp

best mother-fu**ing bartender in Somerset County, NJ.

[jerbear]

Well today I was slapped in the face. My boss has been saying I needed to gain more visibility within my group among upper management so that when he puts me in, they will see it and go "yeah she deserves that, i've seen her doing X and Y". Ok, I understand that to a point.

 

Welcome to the world of corporations, HR, politics, meritocracy, technocracy, dictatorship, etc...

 

I've done something today as in looked for another job. One person I've talked to was surprised that it took me months versus years to figure it out.