4 ms·

Years ago I read an article with a headline something like "So you think you're indispensable?" - it argued that if you don't have written affirmation of your v

Years ago I read an article with a headline something like "So you think you're indispensable?" - it argued that if you don't have written affirmation of your value, that value probably exists in places where those making firing decisions won't see it. Since then I've made a point of making sure I get the occasional kudo in writing, be that from my boss or a co-worker, and tack them into any periodic evaluations. When someone thanks me for some extra effort I can say "Happy to help, feel free to sing my praises to manager@example.com :) ". It's annoying and shouldn't be necessary - but it's also fairly low effort (lower effort than concocting fake annual "goals" to be striving towards when our work changes more rapidly than that) and has given me comfort in more than one "tight budget" situation at various companies. Anything low-effort that keeps anxiety in check is worth it, and if it actually proves useful, then bonus. Also, my managers tend to LIKE getting this written feedback from others, because they can cut-and-paste it or refer to it in their evaluations, which makes THEIR lives easier (no one likes evaluations). It's one of the few clickbait-ey headlines that actually delivered, and I recommend the same advice to anyone else.

DenisM 8y ago
True hacker! Simple and elegant.
cm2187 8y ago
I like to remind myself of that quote attributed to Stalin, that the gulag is full of people who thought they were indispensible...
- gaius 8y ago
  I believe that was Napoleon and the graveyard, but it’s still as pertinent
cortesoft 8y ago
I have been at my current job for a while, but I worked for a number of failed startups before that. The lesson I learned there is that sometimes it doesn't matter how good you are at what you do, or even how good everyone around you thinks you are. I had all sorts of written evaluations saying I was doing great work, but that doesn't matter when the entire business goes belly up. The way I built security for myself was to maintain a network of people who know me and my work, and make sure that network is distributed across many companies. When I am in need of work, I reach out to them. Anything you do to increase your survival odds at the company you are in is still putting all your eggs in one basket.
jorblumesea 8y ago
This is a good strategy, but businesses care about one thing: the bottom line. There's no way to attach dollar values to good feedback. There's no good way to quantify technical leadership or experience. They'll fire a senior over a junior simply because they're cheaper. They'll make some vague promises about grooming the junior or providing "growth opportunities". But really, it's about the $$$.
kamaal 8y ago
>>if you don't have written affirmation of your value, that value probably exists in places where those making firing decisions won't see it. >>When someone thanks me for some extra effort I can say "Happy to help, feel free to sing my praises to manager@example.com :) ". Many times people making lay off decisions have no idea who you are, or what you have been doing. This is true in the case of mass lay offs. And they don't exactly run a search on the company's email database to see who received the accolades. Its mostly political equations that come to play in these situations, not merit.
- ergothus 8y ago
  I think you misunderstood - I'm not getting entries in an "email database", I'm getting evaluations so whatever scoring metric they use, I'll be listed as above average. (And this doesn't necessarily contradict your cynicism regarding political equations - unless EVERY position is decided politically, a lot of positions will be evaluated by the metric that might have been determined to aid those that are being politically protected - so if I have the company "Ace awards" and evaluation scores that those people have, I too get to keep my job, particularly in workplaces where you can challenge a firing/demotion or are asked to provide support for getting a promotion/raise. But safety is only part of the concept, it's more like "accuracy". More than once I've been "the only one that knows XXX system" (and yes, that's bad, but there are very few companies where that doesn't happen) - but that's a statement that people on the ground know and people above don't. This sort of approach reduces that disconnect. Still though, nothing is 100%, this was just a low-effort option. If one wishes to assume that nothing matters except the schmooze, go for it - I prefer this option.

DenisM 8y ago

True hacker! Simple and elegant.

cm2187 8y ago

I like to remind myself of that quote attributed to Stalin, that the gulag is full of people who thought they were indispensible...

gaius 8y ago
I believe that was Napoleon and the graveyard, but it’s still as pertinent

cortesoft 8y ago

I have been at my current job for a while, but I worked for a number of failed startups before that. The lesson I learned there is that sometimes it doesn't matter how good you are at what you do, or even how good everyone around you thinks you are. I had all sorts of written evaluations saying I was doing great work, but that doesn't matter when the entire business goes belly up. The way I built security for myself was to maintain a network of people who know me and my work, and make sure that network is distributed across many companies. When I am in need of work, I reach out to them. Anything you do to increase your survival odds at the company you are in is still putting all your eggs in one basket.

jorblumesea 8y ago

This is a good strategy, but businesses care about one thing: the bottom line. There's no way to attach dollar values to good feedback. There's no good way to quantify technical leadership or experience. They'll fire a senior over a junior simply because they're cheaper. They'll make some vague promises about grooming the junior or providing "growth opportunities". But really, it's about the $$$.

kamaal 8y ago

>>if you don't have written affirmation of your value, that value probably exists in places where those making firing decisions won't see it. >>When someone thanks me for some extra effort I can say "Happy to help, feel free to sing my praises to manager@example.com :) ". Many times people making lay off decisions have no idea who you are, or what you have been doing. This is true in the case of mass lay offs. And they don't exactly run a search on the company's email database to see who received the accolades. Its mostly political equations that come to play in these situations, not merit.

ergothus 8y ago
I think you misunderstood - I'm not getting entries in an "email database", I'm getting evaluations so whatever scoring metric they use, I'll be listed as above average. (And this doesn't necessarily contradict your cynicism regarding political equations - unless EVERY position is decided politically, a lot of positions will be evaluated by the metric that might have been determined to aid those that are being politically protected - so if I have the company "Ace awards" and evaluation scores that those people have, I too get to keep my job, particularly in workplaces where you can challenge a firing/demotion or are asked to provide support for getting a promotion/raise. But safety is only part of the concept, it's more like "accuracy". More than once I've been "the only one that knows XXX system" (and yes, that's bad, but there are very few companies where that doesn't happen) - but that's a statement that people on the ground know and people above don't. This sort of approach reduces that disconnect. Still though, nothing is 100%, this was just a low-effort option. If one wishes to assume that nothing matters except the schmooze, go for it - I prefer this option.