To stay or not to stay...

tpatt100

Hyper-Me wrote: »

I wish all IT pros would rise up and refuse contratual "temp" jobs.

I know thats not possible nor feasible, but it would help out so much if employers didnt know they had this magical fire/layoff ticket known as the TEMP job.

Majority of IT jobs are like this though, I have never had a "temp" job but have been a contractor and even that you are open to an expiration date.

Kaminsky

They may not necesarily be trying to replace you although I can see why you might feel that way. The only way you are going to stop yourself from worrying for the next six months, is to ask him if you need to be worried about them bringing in someone else. If he says yes, it's true, they are going to train someone up to replace you, at least you know. However, there may be some other agenda you are not aware of. Worse case scenario, you are still getting job offers.

This is why I had enough of contracting after 4 years of constant worry if you had to go looking for another job ever 6 months to a year.

BradleyHU

you should have gave them this...

BradleyHU wrote: »

hit ur current employer with the:

and took the offer....and like someone said...if they can keep extending your contract, they could have hired you from jump....and even worse, if they're goin to keep you as a temp, and hire another one also, they DEFINITELY could have made you a perm employee.....

i've always said this, dont ever fall in love with a company, cuz all you are to them is a paycheck adding on to their overhead....

Firemarshalbill.com

We just had a hotel in Boston bring in a bunch of houskeeping staff from an agency. Had the existing staff train them to "cover for vacations" and once the hotel felt the agency people were trained enough they fired all 100+ housekeepers and switch to the agency staff.

HUGE BACKLASH hitting the hotel

Is that low or what. May sound bad but remember we are all just numbers to the companies we work for, you have to look out for yourself above all else.

skrpune

Turgon wrote: »

Nobody has a crystal ball. At the end of the day there are pros and cons for staying or going.

Agreed. And who's to say that they don't just need another body, instead of a replacement?

Of course, I recommend that everyone always keep their options open and their ass covered, but you also have to try to not be the paranoid guy at work. If you start acting all wiggy when they inquire about hiring on someone else, then you might put yourself on the chopping block that way.

My advice: keep an eye out for new positions...if a permanent or better one comes along, then you can take that opportunity to again speak with your boss to see if there's permanency on the horizon for you. But continue to shine and do great at your current job, and show them why you deserve to be brought on permanently. There are hiring freezes at many companies, and it may be out of your boss's power to get you hired on non-contract status, so you'll have to balance out being understanding and doing what's best for you. If you balance it well, you can get a good recommendation out of your boss even if you end up leaving.

zen master

What's the latest? No news is good news I hope.

zen master

I guess we can finally put this topic to bed now.

loss4words

Yea.

I actually used both my supervisor and his boss as references for the job that I have just been offered. I don't know what they said to the HR person who called them but whatever it was, he was really satisfied with their comments about me. I'm just so over the top happy right now and my parents are thrilled for me. I'm a little worried about my new job - no one will be there to help me if I run into a problem I can't solve as I'll be working an evening shift - but I think I should be ok. Next step, survive the 3 month probation period

Turgon

Firemarshalbill.com wrote: »

We just had a hotel in Boston bring in a bunch of houskeeping staff from an agency. Had the existing staff train them to "cover for vacations" and once the hotel felt the agency people were trained enough they fired all 100+ housekeepers and switch to the agency staff.

HUGE BACKLASH hitting the hotel

Is that low or what. May sound bad but remember we are all just numbers to the companies we work for, you have to look out for yourself above all else.

Long live the free market! Expect to see a lot more of that in the years ahead Im afraid.

Turgon

loss4words wrote: »

Yea.

I actually used both my supervisor and his boss as references for the job that I have just been offered. I don't know what they said to the HR person who called them but whatever it was, he was really satisfied with their comments about me. I'm just so over the top happy right now and my parents are thrilled for me. I'm a little worried about my new job - no one will be there to help me if I run into a problem I can't solve as I'll be working an evening shift - but I think I should be ok. Next step, survive the 3 month probation period

Which job is that then? Are you in a new job?

filkenjitsu

Tin_Man wrote: »

Sounds like their stringing you along knowing you won't jump ship, the meeting you had today just cements the fact that their dangling the preverbal carrot of a "full time" job in front of you. If their as happy as they say they are with you and your work, then there is no reason for them not to make a full term employee. Surely they could've moved things around $$$ wise to accommodate this transition, The fact they haven't goes to show that they won't.. You can almost bet that @ the end of those 6 months nothing will have changed.

If a company is having a company wide hiring freeze, there is no way to move any money around to hire anyone because they are now allowed to per the policy. If this is the case at his company, like it is everywhere else, then things could change for him 6 months down the line.

loss4words

Turgon wrote: »

Which job is that then? Are you in a new job?

Hey Turgon. I was offered a permanent job somewhere else doing things similar to what I'm doing now (Desktop Support) but I feel with more responsibility. I will start to work there after the holidays. In my first job I was limited to just answering the phones and solving basic problems on site, in my second it was much more advanced on-site support. This one that I will start after the holidays is a mix of both but I will be the only IT person on site and from I understand with no one there to help me if I run into something I can't solve. I'm really excited about it!

loss4words

Just wanted to give a quick update.

My new job is good and I've just about done with the probation period. I have a probation review meeting with my supervisor this Wednesday. although the actual last day should be next friday. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that everything's ok and they just decided that this week would be a good time to speak with me, and not give me a week and half notice. That would really suck

My job is good though, and I'm very happy. I get to try things I haven't done before and there's a lot of room for innovation and new ideas which is really cool. Wish me luck

b1tbuck3t

loss4words wrote: »

Just wanted to give a quick update.

My new job is good and I've just about done with the probation period. I have a probation review meeting with my supervisor this Wednesday. although the actual last day should be next friday. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that everything's ok and they just decided that this week would be a good time to speak with me, and not give me a week and half notice. That would really suck

My job is good though, and I'm very happy. I get to try things I haven't done before and there's a lot of room for innovation and new ideas which is really cool. Wish me luck

Glad to hear you are happy in your new position and made the right descision for yourself.

Here are a few points to consider for down the road:

- Companies generally have seperate budgets for contract and permanent employees.

-If the company has a hiring freeze they may still be able to hire contractors. (As an example 2008-2009 was not fun for me as a manager. We lost several people but still couldn't hire because of the hiring freeze. Here we are in 2010 and we still haven't been able to fill those positions because of the national business climate.) I could bring on contractors if I could demonstrate a need for 3 months.

-The total cost of your salary is typically twice your hourly rate. If you make $50,000 a year the cost to the company is probably $50/hr even though you are paid $25/hour as a permanent employee. Going through a contract company can be cheaper.

-Time - Companies sometime want to focus on their core business (such as a University) instead of on recruiting and hiring. The benefit to have a placement firm/temp agency provide a given role is sometimes worth the cost to them.

- Risk/Versus reward - Ideally you have enough experience that you can be compensated for the extra risk as a contractor. If not then I would do the same thing as you and move to a permanent position. Just remember permanent may not be any more permanent if there is a layoff.

- The manager was likely to be telling you the truth when they said they liked you and that they wanted to bring you on full time if a position opened up. However, they may not have had any control though over a position being approved.

- Good follow-up questions should you find yourself in this position in the future are "What controls whether/when a permanent position is approved?", "What is the benefit to the company of using a contractor versus hiring a permanent employee?"

I hope you have continued success in your career.

loss4words

loss4words wrote: »

Just wanted to give a quick update.

My new job is good and I've just about done with the probation period. I have a probation review meeting with my supervisor this Wednesday. although the actual last day should be next friday. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that everything's ok and they just decided that this week would be a good time to speak with me, and not give me a week and half notice. That would really suck

My job is good though, and I'm very happy. I get to try things I haven't done before and there's a lot of room for innovation and new ideas which is really cool. Wish me luck

Everything went well and my new supervisor said that she was very happy with me and just gave me few pointers on how I can do some stuff differently. Overall, everything seems to be great and I'm really happy where I'm at for now .

I decided I will be going back to school since my job allows it and will pay for me. Here's hoping to climb the ladder of success full force I can't begin to thank you guys for everything! You're all really great.

veritas_libertas

That is great!