Dangerous thoughts

[Kilroy08]

To give a quick back story, about a year ago I was unjustly sacked. Five minutes before the end of the day on my last day of union probation I get called in the back by management and was told to hit the bricks.

I was doing precision machine work and studying under a fellow who was retiring in a couple years. I was going to take over his duties upon his retirement.

Fast forward to last weekend. I gave him a call and talked to him. Union contract renewed with very generous pay increases annually. He's retiring in 15 months and the last suitable replacement for him that was hired is me.

One of the people responsible for torpedoing me is gone, another is on the corporate *displeasure* list, the third suspect I think is getting fired. There's a posting for his job on the company career page.

Mercenary Me: Hmmm, interesting. Play my cards right, I'm back up to $46k per year. Take over for Rich as team leader, that's another $10k. Guaranteed $ .50 increase annually plus whatever comes my way when the union contract gets renewed.

Logical Me: But wait, we have stability and security. Sure, it's only $38k, but we have it.

MM: Yeah, but an extra 8 grand a year eases up financial stresses and strains considerably.

LM: We'll be at current place a year soon.

MM: Yeah, considering this for after buying a house. Don't want to set that back again.

LM: But......

Curly Me: Hey Moe, how 'bout we play one chump off against another? Get more pay and stay put.

MM: Shaddup,you'll get us all fired! (Three Stooges slaps Curly Me and Logical Me)

I liked what I did and the people I worked with. The management types that played games and resulted in my dismissal are either gone or will be. The only real question is would the company consider such a thing? I've heard of people getting hired back, but it's pretty rare.

My other hitch is would it require me having to go through all the union probation nonsense again? Probation is 150 days. I did 149 days, 7 hours, and 55 minutes. I'm not keen on having my bare backside swinging in the breeze for 6 months.

This is all idle speculation on my part. I've been burned once. Fool me, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

But the extra money is hard to not think about. Right now, I'm paycheck to paycheck doing all I can do to hang on.

 

[FrankD]

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

 

[Jim]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained-

 

[h2oyeah]

If your current position is not going to be lost by just looking into this opportunity I would say go for it. If it does not look good you have lost nothing.

 

[Vespasian]

Once burned, twice burned.

 

[BSAGuy]

I agree. If you can look into the former job without blowing up your current job, give it a shot. If not, maybe stay put. Did you like the other company, but just not the guys who sacked you?

If your current position is not going to be lost by just looking into this opportunity I would say go for it. If it does not look good you have lost nothing.

 

[Commander Quan]

What happens to a dream deferred?

 

[Kit Walker]

I was once let go 15 minutes after I turned in the final part of my first project at a startup. I told them that having been part owner of a company before, I completely understood their predicament (they were struggling for survival) and that if their fortunes ever improved to give me a call.

Fast forward two weeks, and I get a call that boiled down to "Help!". One of their contract employees had a dispute with them about 3/4 of the way through his project and departed -- along with the source code, which was still his property.

I went back to work for them on my terms, dug them out of that hole, and began a business relationship with my supervisor that lasted for eight very profitable years and four different startups, during which time I was off work less than 4 weeks total -- most of it "vacation" time because I already had the new position before my old one died.

Like a previous poster said, nothing ventured, nothing gained. From what you've said, it sounds as though this path has considerably more room for advancement than your current job. If that is so and you don't try, you'll look back later and asked yourself, "What if....?"

 

[Doc4]

What's the chances of you having a friendly chat with whoever does the hiring and firing, and saying "I did all but the last 5 minutes of my probation under Bob ... Bob obviously wanted me gone for probation issues, but whatever. If you have problems with me apart from Bob's personal agenda, then there's no point in hiring me to begin with, but if ... now that Bob's gone ... you guys are okay with me, can we skip the whole probation thing again? I don't want to put myself in a position to get burned again."

 

[Donnchadh_Sempill]

Frankly, I don't think that I would go back to a job that let me go like that, even if they begged me! And there's nothing to say that that isn't the company culture-- and that it will just happen again. I'd stay with my current job and perhaps look for greener pastures elsewhere--ones that I hadn't already tried.

 

[Doraemon]

I was a precision machinist when I was younger, I started the work out of high school, and enjoyed it quite a bit. But our shop was acquired by a larger union shop, and being a young non-union member, I was told to "hit the bricks". I went on to university, and a few other things, but found I could never really work well for others, so I started a small business of my own. It was a good choice, and my work allowed me to meet my future wife, who was, and still is, a very successful person. When I was younger, I would have killed for $46k per year, funny that nowadays the rent on our apartment is more than that.

When it comes to opportunities and money, the only limit to either is yourself. Don't limit yourself, or sell yourself short, and if no one else will pay you what you are worth, find a way to pay yourself.

 

[Kilroy08]

On tonight's episode of As the Lathe Turns......

After careful consideration, I need to got back to the other place like I need a hole in my head.

Sure, the money is tempting. I talked to Rich, the fellow I was working with, this evening and he agreed. Yes, they're in a bind and would probably hire me back; however, they do have a track record of considering people as a consumer commodity to be used and discarded when convenient.

Where I'm at, everything they said they had planned for me was pretty darn close to the way it has been. With the time I have invested and indications that they want me there for long term, staying put is the only logical move.

The little mercenary in miniature has been corralled and tucked back somewhere in to the depths of my subconscious.

I'm hoping end of this year or early next year to have the beginnings of my own little machine shop. Nothing fancy, just some extra beer money to set aside and forget I have until I need it.

 

[Orville]

A machine shop with a lathe? A lathe for turning brush handles, perhaps?

 

[againstthegrain]

He's retiring in 15 months and the last suitable replacement for him that was hired is me.

If the hiring manager sees it that way too, I'd say you have a shot.

One of the people responsible for torpedoing me is gone, another is on the corporate *displeasure* list, the third suspect I think is getting fired. There's a posting for his job on the company career page.

I liked what I did and the people I worked with.

This is a Good Thing, IMO.

The management types that played games and resulted in my dismissal are either gone or will be.

One question I'd ask here is this: Were these management types aberrations, or were they the product of their corporate culture? If it's the latter...then I'd think twice if I were you. If it's the former...then that takes us to your next question:

The only real question is would the company consider such a thing? I've heard of people getting hired back, but it's pretty rare.

That would depend on your status with H.R. Where I work, every departing employee's record has a notation as to whether or not they're eligible for re-hire. This will depend a lot on the company and its policies...but many companies will stamp someone "eligible" unless they were terminated for disciplinary reasons.