Re: Re: FWD: Contracting where you used to work

[Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

> I've been working for my current employers for nearly six months on a
> temporary contract that was presented to me as a probationary period -
at
> the end of the six months, if they were satisfied with what I was doing
> (and I was happy to stay) they were to make me permanent.

A lot of things have changed in this country and the world in six months. 


> Now contract renewal time is coming up. There's a dearth of technical
> writing jobs in my area. And - on a somewhat flimsy reasoning - they
have
> refused to make me permanent, instead extending my temporary contract
for
> another three months. (I get paid holidays pro-rata, but no sick pay or
> other benefits.) It seems to me that they get all the benefits of having
a
> permanent employee with few of the expenses, and I get all the
> inconveniences of being a contractor with none of the benefits.

Some people, like myself, prefer to contract. It allows you way more
freedom to control your career without getting tied down to one employer
and their unique (or screwed up) way of working. 

> True, I can leave
> on one week's notice and put them in a terrible fix - but that would
> be unprofessional and would lose any chance they'd give me a good
> reference. It would also be dumb, unless I had another job to go to.
> Effectively, I'm stuck.

No you're not. If the situation isn't to your liking than leave. All
actions have consequences, if you don't like the consequences, it doesn't
mean you are stuck. It simply means you have decided the consequences of
one action are less favorable than another. 

Times have changed.  A lot of people were made promises six months ago and
they didn't get it.  I know there are thousands of people in New York who
were promised safe lives and they didn't get it. 

The point is - its a harsh and sometimes cruel world.  Rather than
complaining that you don't have Blue Cross, maybe you should look at this
as being thankful you have work at all. There are a lot of people in
considerably worse situations. 

> One lesson I have gotten from this: never trust that a company will hold
> to its promises if it's inconvenient to them to do so. (I should not
have
> accepted the six month temporary contract in the first place: six weeks
to
> three months would have been much more appropriate.) Hindsight is a
> wonderful thing.

I realize it sucks that things didn't work out.  But, you have choices
here. You can leave, you can move along.  Your employer is not working you
at gunpoint.  They obviously are undergoing the same economic problems
that nearly every company in the world is facing. 

Contracting is a volatile and unpredictable way of working.  If you do not
like that - then don't accept contract work. You cannot expect companies
to change the way they contract people just for you. 

Companies contract people to get interim help without long term
entanglements.  Contractors can be fired at a moments notice, with little
to no recourse for the contractor.  And unless it is on paper, there is no
such thing as a promise.  That's why companies use contractors.  It allows
them greater flexibility in staffing. 

I am sorry Anon that things are rough. And yes, your employer should not
have made any promises to you.  But, keep in mind that times are  rough
all over.  If you focus on doing great work and help your employer to sell
more products - maybe you can help them make enough money so they can hire
you on permanently.  However if you take the "I didn't get what I wanted
so I will be a butthead about it" attitude, your employer won't have
anything for you in 3 months. 

Its your choice. Good luck. 
Andrew Plato 



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