Job switch advice
April 22, 2011 5:28 AM Subscribe
Old job over, new job good! But help me ease a few anxieties over the switch.
I recently left the company I'd worked for over 10 years (where the atmosphere had distinctly soured) for a great opportunity! I am excited and looking forward to it, and have reviewed all the posts listed here.
What I still would like to ask for are tips related to my situation, slanted toward 1) being a woman in a male-dominated department (IT); 2) going to a 1000+ employee company vs. a 200-employee company; 3) Curtailing my natural desire to "fix" when I perceive ineffciency or poor practice.
I general I am confident in my ability to handle myself; it's just that I was at the old place so long I'm doubting myself a little. Thanks!
I recently left the company I'd worked for over 10 years (where the atmosphere had distinctly soured) for a great opportunity! I am excited and looking forward to it, and have reviewed all the posts listed here.
What I still would like to ask for are tips related to my situation, slanted toward 1) being a woman in a male-dominated department (IT); 2) going to a 1000+ employee company vs. a 200-employee company; 3) Curtailing my natural desire to "fix" when I perceive ineffciency or poor practice.
I general I am confident in my ability to handle myself; it's just that I was at the old place so long I'm doubting myself a little. Thanks!
Best answer: 1) Being a woman in a male-dominated department sometimes means you have to prove yourself by being very task oriented and picking things up quickly. But overall it often means you stand out in a good way, whether just that folks think of you when they need something, or that some perceive you as provided services without the stereo-typical suppressed sneer. Find other women in the company and do what you can to learn from them. Being excited and looking forward to it will also get you started off with the right attitude.
2) A big company has its advantages, in that you don't get stuck with the same sour people every day. It'll have HR and other resources that small companies don't have. Your group will still probably be a small group, you'll often be working with the same people and build ties just like at a smaller company.
3) Note the fixes you'd like to make in an email or note to yourself. Don't say anything for the first three months or more. Then you can look at that note later and if time there hasn't convinced you of the reasons for the inefficiency, start asking questions. If they're not well-received, then just keep noting them to yourself, maybe sometimes kvetch to like-minded folks who are likely to be annoyed by the same things. And then get back to enjoying how much better this job is than the last one.
posted by ldthomps at 8:22 AM on April 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
2) A big company has its advantages, in that you don't get stuck with the same sour people every day. It'll have HR and other resources that small companies don't have. Your group will still probably be a small group, you'll often be working with the same people and build ties just like at a smaller company.
3) Note the fixes you'd like to make in an email or note to yourself. Don't say anything for the first three months or more. Then you can look at that note later and if time there hasn't convinced you of the reasons for the inefficiency, start asking questions. If they're not well-received, then just keep noting them to yourself, maybe sometimes kvetch to like-minded folks who are likely to be annoyed by the same things. And then get back to enjoying how much better this job is than the last one.
posted by ldthomps at 8:22 AM on April 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
Note the fixes you'd like to make in an email or note to yourself. Don't say anything for the first three months or more. Then you can look at that note later and if time there hasn't convinced you of the reasons for the inefficiency, start asking questions.
This. (And yeah, I switched jobs in August under some similar circumstances.)
After months of guuuhhhh WTF(!!), I'm finally to the point where I've got enough information to know when to fix the little stuff at a lower level, and when I should offer more comprehensive solutions at the highest levels.
posted by desuetude at 9:00 AM on April 22, 2011
This. (And yeah, I switched jobs in August under some similar circumstances.)
After months of guuuhhhh WTF(!!), I'm finally to the point where I've got enough information to know when to fix the little stuff at a lower level, and when I should offer more comprehensive solutions at the highest levels.
posted by desuetude at 9:00 AM on April 22, 2011
When you do make suggestions on how to fix things, please, for the Love of God, don't start with "When I was at company X, I did...."
Today is my last day at my old job, and I've just had four months of an object lesson on how it feels to be on the other side of that conversation from the guy who replaced me.
Monday, I start my new job and hopefully that phrase is erased from my lips!
As far as being a woman in a male dominated field, that's been my working life since graduating from college with a BSEE. There's other good advice up thread, but one thing I would recommend is that you don't become the social director, fetcher and gatherer, cookie-bringer-in'er or anything like that in your new organization -- at least not for the first year or so until you've established your credibility.
posted by elmay at 11:30 AM on April 22, 2011
Today is my last day at my old job, and I've just had four months of an object lesson on how it feels to be on the other side of that conversation from the guy who replaced me.
Monday, I start my new job and hopefully that phrase is erased from my lips!
As far as being a woman in a male dominated field, that's been my working life since graduating from college with a BSEE. There's other good advice up thread, but one thing I would recommend is that you don't become the social director, fetcher and gatherer, cookie-bringer-in'er or anything like that in your new organization -- at least not for the first year or so until you've established your credibility.
posted by elmay at 11:30 AM on April 22, 2011
Do not under any circumstances become the office wife. Do not initate gift exchanges, do not organise birthday cards for people to sign, and when they are looking for volunteers to organise the office Christmas party, sit on your hand.
Eliminate the word "feel" and replace it with the word "think." Eliminate the phrase "it's just my opinion, but..." from your vocabulary.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:58 PM on April 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
Eliminate the word "feel" and replace it with the word "think." Eliminate the phrase "it's just my opinion, but..." from your vocabulary.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:58 PM on April 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
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Going to a 1000+ employee company: recap all important conversations in writing.
Curtailing your desire to fix: you don't know jack about anything in this new place - set yourself at least a ninety day period to just learn the hell outta the place - who's who and what they do and who listens to whom - before you even think you know what is "poor practice."
posted by sestaaak at 7:44 AM on April 22, 2011 [1 favorite]