Considering a Lateral Move

bugzy3188

So I am about 2.5 years deep in to this IT career trek and have made good strides thus far, I have reached the point where I am itching to move out of the help desk, while I do get an occasional ticket that puzzles me I am offered very little challenge anymore (at my current orginization anyway) and am simply ready to move forward. I have submitted several resumes at this point all of which have me facing the same catch 22 of when I started...we want experience experience experience. I have one last poker in the fire which a user from this site actually gave me a recommendation, still holding out optimistically for that but all I can do there is wait and hope.

The biggest problem that I have with my current position is that I dont feel like management is as involved as they should be with the employees, this is not to suggest that I need hand holding but I feel like there should be communication, I have weekly meetings that are scheduled with my manager and literally have not attended one. It started with him just cancelling them and then I realized that they were just there for show. Review time came up and the whole thing just felt utterly generic, "I think you bring value to the orginization" and "your numbers seem to be on par for someone who has been here for as long as you have", every section of the review was marked with a 3 out of 5, I was told that this was because reviews are based on yearly goals which I have not yet set so an overall average score was given. Reviewing the different sections though there is a lot more to it than just goals and I just felt ripped off by the whole process, if I am doing poorly in certain areas I want to know, same goes if I am doing well. To my managers defense he did submit a request for a bump in pay (which was denied on account of my scores) and has given me some small networking projects here and there such as make a network map of X or get me xyz mac addresses connected to this WAP. I did some research and found that in terms of pay I am right in the middle of the mean average of pay, I am in the low 40s' but i am really struggling financially, its just enough to pay the bills and leave me with nothing left over.

With that said, I did get contacted by one of the companies who offered me a role similar to the one that I am in now. The company brings in about the same revenue as the one that I am with now and has a few hundred more employees. I decided to entertain them with a phone interview today just to see what they are all about and afterward I am giving thought to going forward with it. After talking to the gentleman (who I believe was just a general recruiter for the company) I got the feeling that they were genuinely interested in having me on board. We briefly discussed pay and I mentioned that I would need an increase from what I have now to justify leaving, I put something from upper 40s' to low 50s' on the table and was told that it was doable. The next step is going to be having a phone conversation with the IT director, followed by a technical interview, followed by a second interview with other big wigs in the company.

I must say that I am a little torn here, I just started the job that I am at now in July of last year, I dont want to end up looking like a jumper on my resume. But at the same time, I could use the bump in pay and really would like to be in an environment where managers are more interactive with employees. Obviously this is a bit of a gamble as I know nothing other than what I was told about management there but it does seem like she does interact with her employees and frequently meets with them and addresses any issues at hand. I can say that this company's stock has been steadily rising, it has been voted by our local news paper as one of the top 10 small businesses to work for in the state and I was told that they have consistently paid out %100 bonuses in the last decade aside from one year in which they paid out %98.

What would you guys do in a similar position, is it more important to prove my ability to be loyal? Or should I be more concerned with my personal short term needs?

Kragster

One note, I do not even count bonus when looking at salary when deciding on a job. Been burned twice in my career when bonuses were great then within a year or two of starting new job bonus goes away.

If you really think this would be a job that would help you get to your next goal in IT I'd say at least do the phone interview where you can ask some questions regarding the environment and see if you want to pursue it further. Remember the interview process is a two way street, you need to decide if it's a place you want to be as much as you need to sell them on the idea that you're the right candidate.

Hopefully they'll be flexible so you can do a phone interview while you're on a lunch break or something. That way you can decide if you want to pursue it further with face to face if they offer. That can be a bit more difficult to schedule if you currently have a job.

IIIMaster

Well you can stay at your old job and get screw by metrics and struggle financially. Or try this new job that want to pay you and most likely have a nice work atmosphere with the possibility of growth.

snunez889

I would take the new job if you feel it would better you living situation and future career goals.

MeanDrunkR2D2

If I were in your shoes I'd jump. The fact that your manager "fought" to get you a raise, and was told no due to your "scores" is one of the first signs that they really aren't out for your best interests. Had your manager wanted you to get a raise, he'd have given you scores good enough for the company to warrant that raise. He's got a budget and has to stay within it, and if he thinks that he can fool you to stick around for another 6 months, 3 years by those types of promises it shows me that he's not really in it for you.

Some will say they have company loyalty, but there are far fewer companies that actually have employee loyalty and want to keep them around by paying them fairly and giving them raises when deserved. Look out for what is best for you and your family, not any company and what they see as important. And as far as being considered a job hopper, I wouldn't say that unless you have spent 6 months or less at several companies over a 3-5 year period. Doing it once isn't something I would consider that. Some strongly suggest always sticking around for at least a year no matter what, but that can hurt you in the long run. Prior to my current job, I was doing a contract and left after 6 months and wasn't concerned one bit about being a "job hopper" as the job I had before that I was with for 4 years. In the end, do what is best for you and your family.

alias454

It sounds to me like you have a manager who isn't setting you up for success. He knows the rules of the game better than you and if he hasn't shown you the way to excel, he is a roadblock. There are a lot of different reasons why that happens but it really doesn't matter. Only the outcome matters and that is you didn't get your raise because of some scoring system that he knew about prior to "putting in a good word." The other side of that coin is why are you more valuable to them than you were when you started? You have to sell yourself and constantly reinforce your added value, whatever that may be. I firmly believe we as IT professionals (or anyone for that matter) have to go above and beyond to get more. You have to be someone who is an asset that is worth keeping. Even then, sometimes you can do everything right and companies will just crap on you so that is when you have to do what is best for you.

I will add one more thing. HR types will tell blatent lies about how great things are and how they respect new ideas and philosophies. Maybe it is on purpose but it's more likely that they don't actually have a clue about what goes on in the company so buyer beware. Like Kragster said, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.

Regards

lsud00d

In regards to pay, don't say your number first...make them say what the range is. The conversation is as simple as:

Recruiter: So what kind of pay are you looking for?
You: Pay that is commensurate with my experience--what is the budgeted range for this position?

There are various deflection/redirection techniques to achieve this goal but you want to be in the drivers seat for this so you don't leave money on the table. This also very quickly frames the conversation on both sides to see if everyone is on the same page.

Kinet1c

I had the same in my last job, move now and stop wasting your time.

jaymo

I honestly think you could do with some fresh start. I'd say move on.

bugzy3188

Thanks for the great advice guys, I think I will pursue this opportunity should they offer me the salary range that I am looking for. Regarding the range, I normally don't start with a number but I wanted it to be known that I am looking for pay that is above average for the position in order to jump ship, I guess there is a chance that I could have shot myself in the foot but I doubt that they would have offered more than what I started with, with that said I am but a rookie in the salary negotiation business and will take heed for next time. I will let you guys/girls know what happens.

blargoe

Kragster wrote: »

One note, I do not even count bonus when looking at salary when deciding on a job. Been burned twice in my career when bonuses were great then within a year or two of starting new job bonus goes away.

This. I was lured in on the history of nice quarterly bonuses very early in my career. Six months after I was hired, the company was bankrupt.

blargoe

Regarding the lateral move, there is nothing wrong with a lateral move in and of itself. If you like where you are career wise but need a change of scenery, or if you feel it will provide a better upward path down the road, sometimes a lateral move is just what the doctor ordered.