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Ah, the magic of "at will" employment. It's an excellent tool for those who rely on fear based management, and a horrible deal for employees. Based on my exper

Ah, the magic of "at will" employment. It's an excellent tool for those who rely on fear based management, and a horrible deal for employees. Based on my experience in the tech industry, I assume I am being lied to. Things have only gotten worse recently with all of the fast money sloshing around and the bad actors it has drawn in.

vinceguidry 13y ago
Yeah, it's to where if I get a whiff of dishonesty, I start submitting resumes. This is my third job since April and I've already started looking for the fourth. I used to think job-hopping would raise a red flag and keep me from getting hired, but it hasn't yet. I think if anything it signals value that you can find work at will.
- mratzloff 13y ago
  It hasn't yet that you are aware of. I would immediately pass on your resume without a second glance. Four jobs in less than six months very strongly signals a number of negative things to prospective employers. Perhaps the only companies willing to hire you now are those with high developer turnover who just need a warm body to fill the last vacated seat? And perhaps you are perpetuating that?
  - vinceguidry 13y ago
    Hmm. The 3 jobs I've gone through were all very different. One was a very small software development company, they decided after three weeks that they wanted someone with a lot more experience. I went from there to a huge corporation, where I was unhappy so I found another job. This one I'm at now is a largish "small business", like 300 employees. I'd be confident in my ability to find another should these guys suddenly not want me. But they told me when they hired me that it wasn't even a competition, I was that much better than their other candidates. It was like that at BigCorp too. Another thing is that all three were contract-to-hire, except for BigCorp, which omitted the hire part. I had significant accomplishments at each of them, making and delivering entire apps. This is reflected in the resume. It's a different world out there. You really have to try people out before you can commit to them. Many times it just doesn't make sense to continue.
    - mratzloff 13y ago
      Where are you in your career? Just based on what you've written, it sounds like you're early on in your career and don't have a good idea what the right questions to ask during an interview are. Interviews are as much about you vetting the company as the company vetting you.
      - vinceguidry 13y ago
        Yes, I'm still learning. But it's hard to really know what a company's like from any amount of questioning of your interviewer. I feel like my jobs have given me a good picture of what the industry is like at the various levels. Right now I'm just trying to get a decent salary. This contract-to-hire nonsense has to go. I'm sick of $20 an hour. If I jump again, they're going to have to offer $70K+ right from the start. No more recruiters, my last two jobs went through recruiters, I need to be my own advocate. I would love to be able to stick around, but in many cases that's just not smart. I just so happened to have strung three such situations together.
    - perlgeek 13y ago
      Fwiw I wouldn't even list an employment of three weeks on my CV.

vinceguidry 13y ago

Yeah, it's to where if I get a whiff of dishonesty, I start submitting resumes. This is my third job since April and I've already started looking for the fourth. I used to think job-hopping would raise a red flag and keep me from getting hired, but it hasn't yet. I think if anything it signals value that you can find work at will.

mratzloff 13y ago
It hasn't yet that you are aware of. I would immediately pass on your resume without a second glance. Four jobs in less than six months very strongly signals a number of negative things to prospective employers. Perhaps the only companies willing to hire you now are those with high developer turnover who just need a warm body to fill the last vacated seat? And perhaps you are perpetuating that?
- vinceguidry 13y ago
  Hmm. The 3 jobs I've gone through were all very different. One was a very small software development company, they decided after three weeks that they wanted someone with a lot more experience. I went from there to a huge corporation, where I was unhappy so I found another job. This one I'm at now is a largish "small business", like 300 employees. I'd be confident in my ability to find another should these guys suddenly not want me. But they told me when they hired me that it wasn't even a competition, I was that much better than their other candidates. It was like that at BigCorp too. Another thing is that all three were contract-to-hire, except for BigCorp, which omitted the hire part. I had significant accomplishments at each of them, making and delivering entire apps. This is reflected in the resume. It's a different world out there. You really have to try people out before you can commit to them. Many times it just doesn't make sense to continue.
  - mratzloff 13y ago
    Where are you in your career? Just based on what you've written, it sounds like you're early on in your career and don't have a good idea what the right questions to ask during an interview are. Interviews are as much about you vetting the company as the company vetting you.
    - vinceguidry 13y ago
      Yes, I'm still learning. But it's hard to really know what a company's like from any amount of questioning of your interviewer. I feel like my jobs have given me a good picture of what the industry is like at the various levels. Right now I'm just trying to get a decent salary. This contract-to-hire nonsense has to go. I'm sick of $20 an hour. If I jump again, they're going to have to offer $70K+ right from the start. No more recruiters, my last two jobs went through recruiters, I need to be my own advocate. I would love to be able to stick around, but in many cases that's just not smart. I just so happened to have strung three such situations together.
  - perlgeek 13y ago
    Fwiw I wouldn't even list an employment of three weeks on my CV.