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Changing jobs after a long time

sean99

sean99

pfm Member
I resigned from my job on Friday and accepted an offer from a new employer. In 2003 I was employee #1 at a new startup founded in San Jose CA by two guys I'd worked with previously - funny to think I was worried it might not last. (They promised me a year's pay no matter what happened). In 2016 it was acquired by a multinational and for various reasons I made some money, but not a life changing amount of money - I will still need to remain gainfully employed for at least another decade. It's expensive living in America.

The multinational has wrecked it. Last Spring they laid off 90% of my former company, without regard to the value of the people they let go, and without regard to the fact that we are still comfortably profitable. They told us they have better engineers / processes / manufacturing in house. Ha! New products that we used to be able to get to market in 3-6 months will now take 18-24 months because of the bureaucracy, multiple layers of signoff (by people who have little idea what they're signing off on). Our customers see the writing on the wall and are starting to bail to our competitors.

Even worse the parent company is now in financial trouble and is either facing eventual closure or takeover / asset stripping. They also didn't carry any of my years of service over, so I only have a 1 month layoff notice period despite working for the original company for nearly 17 years. The five of us who remain from the acquired company have all been planning our exits for at least 12-18 months, but we have non-compete agreements.

I got a call from a head hunter last October and interviewed for a new startup. I wasn't quite the right fit for the position they had open, but I interviewed and we parted on good terms. They got in touch just after the New Year and last week made me an offer. 15% pay cut, but more importantly a company in growth phase, locally based (I'm now in Boston MA) and with a chance to build a local network. I think the work will be difficult and stressful, but probably not dull.

It's been a real emotional rollercoaster over the past week, coming to terms with walking away from a product line that I've lived and breathed (and wrote 80% of the embedded firmware that wasn't open source) for 16+ years. Walking away from customer relationships (being a startup I'd be on site at customers quite often) of 10+ years. Walking into who knows what. Still I feel that I have to make a move, because sooner or later I'll be laid off by my current employer, and with no local network and 16+ years in one position my CV is getting stale.

Not looking for any sympathy - I've been well paid and I'm extremely fortunate to have had such a long period of stable employment. Just wanted to share - it's cathartic, and I'm sure some of you can relate to having a big corporation come in and ruin a small but successful business that is the basis of your livelihood (and I must admit part of my identity).
 
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You need to get on with, and trust, the owner. Have you met ?
If you are expected to work all hours and are sufficiently important to the start-up's success can you negotiate a success bonus/shares ?
Good luck.
 
You never know what is around the corner. I am retired but the longest spell I had with a single employer was 12 Years as a teacher before I moved into IT.

One of the best things to happen to me was to be made redundant in my early 40s during a recession. I felt awful at the time but it was a turning point for me and life, work and money got better than ever before!

Maybe this is your opportunity?

Cheers,

DV
 
I have met the founder / owner. He seems to be everything I'd want in a founder. Intelligent, versatile, extremely well connected and respected in the industry, track record of multiple startups that became very large, but also very personable and approachable. I voiced my concerns over burning out and his comment was - hiring is very difficult and expensive, and we want to build a team that lasts at least 5 years. That won't happen if we burn our engineers out. The offer includes stock options that could be worth I estimate 2-3 years' salary if the company were to become successful and be acquired or go public. On the face of it it seems a very good opportunity, but it is a startup - it may not last more than a year, and the local cost of living here in Boston is huge - I think my family needs $50+k a year even if we cut out all discretionary spending. ($20k = healthcare, $9k = property tax). My wife hasn't worked for nearly 20 years (I'm working on that also).
 
Sean,

I feel your pain, man. Getting out of a shit employment situation and into one where you're valued and respected is worth a lot.

I hope this is a step in a very good new direction for you.

Joe
 
No sympathy from here ;), but big congratulations on making the leap into the dark (though it sounds like it may not be so dark..?)!!

Closely echoes my own experience from a couple of months ago. I had been with a small (~40 people) successful growing company though only for 5 years or so. Loved the work and the company, a great team and certainly one of the better work experiences of my life.
They were acquired by a large global firm just over a year ago (also made a little cash as a result). Very quickly things changed for the worse (IMHO), I got dispirited, and after a very long 6 month notice period I started afresh in October. Felt sad to leave, and bad for leaving....but it was the right decision.
Set up my own company and now working as a consultant for a small company again, where big changes needed, great team of people, a risk they won't survive, and a challenge around every corner.

I'm sure that unless there was really no alternative, I'd never work for a large company again. I just find it frustrating and soul destroying.

Sounds like you have all the boxes ticked - good owner, good potential rewards, challenging work. Just a bit more risk, but worst case...there's other jobs out there too!
 
Sounds like a great opportunity to start a new decade with. Reskill, reenergize and remotivate.

Spent a fair amount of time In Boston when I was with EMC. Plenty of business around.

Guess you asked the founder what his exit plan was - organic growth, get bought by another etc - and in what time frame.

We all know what happens within 1-3years of being acquired - cost cuts, consolidation with inevitable job losses, so it looks like you timing is good.


Best of luck in new role.
 
All the best with your future role.


It is times like this I am so glad we are no longer subject to the totally inappropriate trite, supercilious crowing responses one could expect from the Swindon/Costa del-expat member.
 
All the best, ol' bean. I've had the experience of my Swiss employer being taken over by a larger German firm, full of bureaucrats. The young German Patentanwalt who came to replace me had been with me for only half a day when he said, slightly amazed "But it is so unbürokratisch here!" I didn't have to leave, but I had the feeling in my bones that the job would eventually end up in Germany - and The Boss (you know, the one at home) made it quite clear that she wasn't moving to Germany. An opportunity arose, courtesy of the patent attorney old boys' network, and I jumped, and sure enough, the job moved to Germany immediately. I ended my official working days as Head of Patents at my new employer, and I continue to consult for them.
 
Sounds equal parts scary and thrilling Sean! Congrats on getting this new gig. Hope it turns out great!
 
Joe P said:
This is likely to ruffle some feathers, but it's my contention that MBAs have ruined the world. Most graduates from MBA programs are less entrepreneurial than a squeegee kid.
Click to expand...

FWIW, it's also my contention.
 
sean99 said:
I resigned from my job on Friday and accepted an offer from a new employer. In 2003 I was employee #1 at a new startup founded in San Jose CA by two guys I'd worked with previously - funny to think I was worried it might not last. (They promised me a year's pay no matter what happened). In 2015 it was acquired by a multinational and for various reasons I made some money, but not a life changing amount of money - I will still need to remain gainfully employed for at least another decade. It's expensive living in America.

The multinational has wrecked it. Last Spring they laid off 90% of my former company, without regard to the value of the people they let go, and without regard to the fact that we are still comfortably profitable. They told us they have better engineers / processes / manufacturing in house. Ha! New products that we used to be able to get to market in 3-6 months will now take 18-24 months because of the bureaucracy, multiple layers of signoff (by people who have little idea what they're signing off on). Our customers see the writing on the wall and are starting to bail to our competitors.

Even worse the parent company is now in financial trouble and is either facing eventual closure or takeover / asset stripping. They also didn't carry any of my years of service over, so I only have a 1 month layoff notice period despite working for the original company for nearly 17 years. The five of us who remain from the acquired company have all been planning our exits for at least 12-18 months, but we have non-compete agreements.

I got a call from a head hunter last October and interviewed for a new startup. I wasn't quite the right fit for the position they had open, but I interviewed and we parted on good terms. They got in touch just after the New Year and last week made me an offer. 15% pay cut, but more importantly a company in growth phase, locally based (I'm now in Boston MA) and with a chance to build a local network. I think the work will be difficult and stressful, but probably not dull.

It's been a real emotional rollercoaster over the past week, coming to terms with walking away from a product line that I've lived and breathed (and wrote 80% of the embedded firmware that wasn't open source) for 16+ years. Walking away from customer relationships (being a startup I'd be on site at customers quite often) of 10+ years. Walking into who knows what. Still I feel that I have to make a move, because sooner or later I'll be laid off by my current employer, and with no local network and 16+ years in one position my CV is getting stale.

Not looking for any sympathy - I've been well paid and I'm extremely fortunate to have had such a long period of stable employment. Just wanted to share - it's cathartic, and I'm sure some of you can relate to having a big corporation come in and ruin a small but successful business that is the basis of your livelihood (and I must admit part of my identity).
Click to expand...
Sometimes adversity can be opportunity in disguise. I was approached by another company five years before I retired. I was bored and understimulated in my job, though successful and thought, “well maybe this’ll just roll on till I retire”. I moved and for the first six months thought “what the hell have I done?” But I was stretched pulled and challenged in ways I didn’t expect and went on to have the five most enjoyable and financially rewarding years of my working life. They (foolishly for them) gave you all your $USD denominated unvested stock options if you had been there five years and wanted to retire- so I went a year earlier. I exercised the second major chunk of them when Boris Johnson threatened no deal Brexit and the pound went down to $1.22
 
Good luck, sounds like a very good path forward for you!

On MBA's - I'm one myself :) - the issue is the courses do little on what I think are the 21st century management skills - e.g. how to grow a business (vs. cost cut), inspire people, be empathetic, leading vs. managing etc - all sadly lacking from my course - I've learnt a lot more by doing stuff in the real world.

There's an opportunity for a rebuild of the program in many schools......
 
Joe P said:
This is likely to ruffle some feathers, but it's my contention that MBAs have ruined the world. Most graduates from MBA programs are less entrepreneurial than a squeegee kid.

Joe
Click to expand...

An MBA will basically tell you how to administer a large company. It won't tell you how to start and grow a company
 
Joe P said:
Oh, and they've also destroyed English with their leveraging synergies and implementing action plans jargon-infested crapola.
Click to expand...

yes. i would also add to the pile of crapola their pseudo-psychological self-help books, lectures and motivational posters. just recently, i had this presented to me by firefox:

07Av9sI.png



...which, ironically enough, mad me think of this:

67vXInz.jpg
 
OP, Well done!

I am still with the company I helped to start back in 1985. After several ownership changes we are now part of quite a big Japan based Corp. Yes - multiple layers of new bureaucracy and I can see that the whole 'entrepreneurial' thing we used to have has gone. Projects all run with GIANT spreadsheets now and I am trying very hard to not be the Luddite old bloke in the corner. Still - only about 4 years to go and the corp have to find a way of extracting, or doing without, my 'knowledge'.
 
Thank you everyone, and my very best wishes to those of you facing similar challenges, and especially to those trying to make it through to some sort of retirement (or at least not having to work all hours to pay the bills) while avoiding the indiscriminate corporate axe .
 
Best to you, Sean! It will all pan out I am sure, and hopefully, for the much better too. If I wasn't within a few years of snipping the work cord-or at least what it is now, I would probably quit and go rescue sea turtles down in the Florida Keys, at least that would be more meaningful. So tired of the corporate BS, and I am not even in that world really!
 
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