Re: FWD: formerly naive now burned tw needs advice

[Eric Ray <ejray -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM>]

At 04:56 AM 3/26/99 -0700, Anonymous User wrote:
>I accepted a TW job to work for a contract company at large IT firm. Before I
>accepted, asked my recruiter for a certain amount of money more than they
>offered. The recruiter said that he would ask the customer (the large
>company). When he called me back he said that the customer wanted to wait
>until the first project was completed and see first if they liked my work.
>Being confident of my ability, I accepted that and took the job.

*Particularly when negotiating contracts*, if it's not in writing then it
doesn't exist.

>He responded that my experience and education puts me at a level X. I am at
>the top of the pay scale for level Xs. To make more money I need to be a level
>Y, which requires 2 more years of education and a master's degree. Though the
>customer liked my work I am not eligable for a raise. However, if I wait
>another 6 months I will get a standard cost of living raise. And if I'm a good
>boy (my words) and prove that I have "leadership skills" he will see if I can
>become a level Y inspite of my experience and education.

Well, isn't that special. To quote my grandfather, "Fool me once,
shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." If you're willing to
buy the "despite your experience and education" bit, get a commitment
in writing--while you're at it, get the COLA documented too.

If they're going to play games with you like this, get your
resume into circulation. Any company that values skilled
employees (which I assume you are) will be willing to place
and pay them accordingly. Sure, the HR policies might say
something like you mention above, but they've undoubtedly
got loopholes in them so that a determined manager can
skirt the rules and hire particularly skilled people, while
simultaneously rebuffing people like you who want more
money. It's not nice, but it happens. If your manager isn't
motivated enough to find a way around the policy,
get your resume into circulation.

Eric


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Eric J. Ray    RayComm, Inc.
http://www.raycomm.com/      ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com

*Award-winning author of several popular computer books
*Syndicated columnist: Rays on Computing
*Technology Department Editor, _Technical Communication_


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