My Company Sucks

[pirate]

Update: Well I have recieved an offer to work for P&G in Boston for the next 2-3 years with a promotion.

My current managers are now scrambling to try and put something together too.

Just curious, what do you mean by 'for the next 2-3 years'? Is this a contract position with an end-date? Will you be working for P&G or another firm? Do you have to move? Sorry if this is clear from earlier posts...went back a while and didn't see anything.

What I'm getting at is the possibility that your current firm will counter-offer and what your basis for comparison will be, between the two jobs.

Having recently gone through a huge merger, there was no shortage of calls coming in from headhunters. Some sound better than others at first blush. Comparing the +/- of each scenario is vital...if you have to move will they pick up the expense etc. - make sure you don't just say 'Salary B is higher than Salary A'. The certainty, or lack thereof, of bonuses, options, COL raises and future promotions should be in the equation. Also, benefits should be considered, if you are contract then you might have to pay your own way on benefits (and get no service time for a pension) which would eat up most raises. Ask for info on benefits and costs, 401k programs, vacation etc. I know of a few colleagues that left our place for a higher salary but have since learned that the net value is less after considering all the facets of compensation.

Don't want to throw a wet towel on your offer...Congrats!...just want to offer some advice on comparison that you most likely already knew..just making sure you end up in the best place for you.:)

[KevinNU7]

They are both P&G roles, I am a P&G employee not a contractor. I wrote 2-3 years because Finance jobs at P&G run 2-3 years and then you get a new job in a new group broaden your experiences.

P&G pays for relocation, in fact they overpay pretty considerably.

[pirate]

They are both P&G roles, I am a P&G employee not a contractor. I wrote 2-3 years because Finance jobs at P&G run 2-3 years and then you get a new job in a new group broaden your experiences.

P&G pays for relocation, in fact they overpay pretty considerably.

Great - that is why I wanted to ask about the duration. Again, congrats on the new role!

So the title of the thread is no longer applicable?

[KevinNU7]

So the title of the thread is no longer applicable?Ofcourse it is, they are still laying off 5,000 people. Just because I survived doesn't mean they rock :)

[KevinNU7]

Just an update. I took the job in Cincinnati as the Boston job seemed like one of those 60 hour per week deals and I decided I wanted to make a name for myself at P&G and the best way to do that is to get to Cincinnati ASAP.

We are moving out there end of March. Got a fat raise too.

Maybe I should change the thread title afterall...

[Scarlet]

Just an update. I took the job in Cincinnati as the Boston job seemed like one of those 60 hour per week deals and I decided I wanted to make a name for myself at P&G and the best way to do that is to get to Cincinnati ASAP.

We are moving out there end of March. Got a fat raise too.

Maybe I should change the thread title afterall...

Congrats! Except for the Cincinnati part. ;)

[KevinNU7]

I was wondering how many posts that would take ;)

I'll enjoy my cheap rent and $200,000 mansion in a year from now :)

[dropthatpuck]

Good strategy. Make money and move around while you're young....and in a big company, the best place you can be is at HQ until they ask you to move again to run a regional office.

Rinse, lather, repeat.....then retire early. :)

[dropthatpuck]

Just got this today....

LOVE MY JOB . . . . . .. If you don't laugh out loud after you
read this you are in a coma! This is even funnier when you realize it's
real! Next time you have a bad day at work , think of this guy. Rob is a
commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana. He performs
underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs. Below is an E-mail he sent
to his sister. She then sent it to radio station 103.2 on FM dial in Ft.
Wayne, Indiana, who was sponsoring a worst job experience contest.
Needless to say, she won.

"Hi Sue, just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother.
Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you've been feeling down
lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make
you realize it's not so bad after all. Before I can tell you what
happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my
job. As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit
to the office. It's a wet suit. This time of year the water is quite
cool, so what we do to keep warm is this: we have a diesel-powered
industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water
out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps
it down to the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air
hose. Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I've used it several
times with no complaints. What I do, when I get to the bottom and start
working, is take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wet suit.
This floods my whole suit with warm water. It's like working in a
Jacuzzi.

Everything was going well, until all of a sudden, my butt
started to itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things
worse. Within a few seconds, my butt started to burn. I pulled the hose
out from my back, but the damage was done. In agony, I realized what had
happened. The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it
into my suit. Now, since I don't have any hair on my back, the jellyfish
couldn't stick to it. However, the crack of my butt was not as
fortunate. When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually
grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my butt.

I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the
communicator. His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he,
along with five other divers, were all laughing hysterically. Needless
to say, I aborted the dive. I was instructed to make three agonizing
in-water decompression stops totaling thirty-five minutes before I could
reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression.

When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my
brass helmet. As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of
laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to
rub it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber The cream put the fire
out, but I couldn't poop for two days because my butt was swollen shut.

So, next time you're having a bad day at work, think about how much
worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your butt. Now repeat
to yourself, "I love my job, I love my job, I love my job." Now whenever
you have a bad day, ask yourself: Is this a jellyfish bad day?

May you NEVER have a jellyfish bad day!!!!!"

[goBU18]

Just an update. I took the job in Cincinnati as the Boston job seemed like one of those 60 hour per week deals and I decided I wanted to make a name for myself at P&G and the best way to do that is to get to Cincinnati ASAP.

We are moving out there end of March. Got a fat raise too.

Maybe I should change the thread title afterall...

Congratulations. Great move. I wish you the best.

dropthatpuck, that is one *awesome* signature image. :cool:

[Rhett]

Just an update. I took the job in Cincinnati as the Boston job seemed like one of those 60 hour per week deals and I decided I wanted to make a name for myself at P&G and the best way to do that is to get to Cincinnati ASAP.

We are moving out there end of March. Got a fat raise too.

Maybe I should change the thread title afterall...

As a Boston guy living in Ohio... I'm truly, truly sorry for your loss.

[nubobcat]

Just an update. I took the job in Cincinnati as the Boston job seemed like one of those 60 hour per week deals and I decided I wanted to make a name for myself at P&G and the best way to do that is to get to Cincinnati ASAP.

We are moving out there end of March. Got a fat raise too.

Maybe I should change the thread title afterall...

Step 1: Get DirecTV. Its the only way you'll be able to watch, 1:) Red Sox, 2.) Pats, 3.) NU Hockey.

Step 2: Drink.

Having the Sox on TV and being buzzed will make you think you're still in Boston.

Congrats on the new job! I'll start making some plans to come out and go to the Derby!

[Brenthoven]

My company itself doesn't suck, but the management is getting there.

We're going through a "re-imaging" in the workplace. We're now a "Championship Team." This means:

1. We don't question why a manager tells us to do something. We just have to trust them and do it.

2. We don't mention any complaing or gripe to any fellow employee on company grounds. If it warrants a complaint/gripe, we talk to a manager (even if it's trivial). Yes, they are serious. I've been called out on it once already.

3. IF we question something, I've found that it is pertained to be questioning authority, rather than asking for a reason, to better understand the decision.


It's corporate hell right now. And it's a friggin' WAREHOUSE. My beefs:

1. If we don't ask for reasoning, how the heck are we supposed to learn why we do certain things the way we do?! No knowledge, no way to get experience/etc to move up the ladder. I, for one, will still ask a ton of questions. I'll just have to word them better. ;)

2. I'm not bugging a manager with every complaint I may have. Let's say I vent a little to a fellow employee, and he sees it a different way; a way that I can understand and then agree with. Guess what? We just saved a few minutes of management's time, no harm no foul.

I've worked in a true "corporation" twice in my life. Once was with Target, which lasted about 6 months, so I disregard that, since it was too short of an experience to make any judgements. And this one, where I've been for 5+ years. They pay well, I like the job and the people. But it does remind me now and again why I shunned corporations for so long in the first place. :rolleyes:

[Kepler]

and in a big company, the best place you can be is at HQ until they ask you to move again to run a regional office.


If you want to make the most money and play the best (or worst) politics, it's essential to be at HQ. Most large corporations are like third world countries; they are "Capitol-ist" -- if you aren't in the Capitol, you're invisible. The downside is you get stuck doing niche work (even in business development -- you become the guy who only woos certain types of clients), and 90% of your work day revolves around court etiquette and kissing the appropriate rings.

If you want to broaden your skills and make a lot of contacts with people who will eventually move to other companies, giving you more options when you yourself move on, work in the provinces. You'll get much better at your job much quicker because you have to, nobody will help you. You'll learn all the vertical skills which at HQ you'd just pick up the phone and call support for because, again, you have to -- sink or swim. Best thing is they leave you alone and you actually get work done. All the arseclown stuff like reorgs and "work smarter not harder" and "mission assurance and quality" and the MBA cliche-of-the-week filter down to a branch office last, so you spend your workday serving a client, not just doing busy work.

Depends upon your personality. I'm a provincial, myself. "May the Lord bless and keep HQ ...far away from us!"

For the record, I love my company, which came a complete surprise becuse they have a reputation of being Evil Incarnate. However, they have more resources than a typical European economy, they have a ton of great work, and I work in a "productive" office rather than a "political" office, so my job satsifaction is slightly unlimited. I've worked at three awful large companies: PGE (public utilities suck), Nike (hipster self-absorbed empires suck worse), and Harris Corporation (crumbling, failing formerly great companies that can't adapt to the new economy suck the very, very worst).

[dropthatpuck]

If you want to make the most money and play the best (or worst) politics, it's essential to be at HQ. Most large corporations are like third world countries; they are "Capitol-ist" -- if you aren't in the Capitol, you're invisible. The downside is you get stuck doing niche work (even in business development -- you become the guy who only woos certain types of clients), and 90% of your work day revolves around court etiquette and kissing the appropriate rings.

If you want to broaden your skills and make a lot of contacts with people who will eventually move to other companies, giving you more options when you yourself move on, work in the provinces. You'll get much better at your job much quicker because you have to, nobody will help you. You'll learn all the vertical skills which at HQ you'd just pick up the phone and call support for because, again, you have to -- sink or swim. Best thing is they leave you alone and you actually get work done. All the arseclown stuff like reorgs and "work smarter not harder" and "mission assurance and quality" and the MBA cliche-of-the-week filter down to a branch office last, so you spend your workday serving a client, not just doing busy work.

Depends upon your personality. I'm a provincial, myself. "May the Lord bless and keep HQ ...far away from us!"

For the record, I love my company, which came a complete surprise becuse they have a reputation of being Evil Incarnate. However, they have more resources than a typical European economy, they have a ton of great work, and I work in a "productive" office rather than a "political" office, so my job satsifaction is slightly unlimited. I've worked at three awful large companies: PGE (public utilities suck), Nike (hipster self-absorbed empires suck worse), and Harris Corporation (crumbling, failing formerly great companies that can't adapt to the new economy suck the very, very worst).

Lots of truth to this.

Harris is a lot like IBM.....simply can't do a turnaround and get with the program. If IBM hadn't focused on indoctrinating their entire work force by telling their clients that "this is your only option" along with making sure they wore the proper attire each day (blue suit, white shirt, black shoes, etc.) and instead focused on the PC market in the early '80's, we would have never heard of a Dell or Gateway.

Companies that can reinvent themselves regularly are the ones that you want to work for....and this doesn't mean having to change out your entire work force; it does mean that you need to have visionaries and entrepreneurial types leading the charge.

[KevinNU7]

Step 1: Get DirecTV. Its the only way you'll be able to watch, 1:) Red Sox, 2.) Pats, 3.) NU Hockey.

Step 2: Drink.

Having the Sox on TV and being buzzed will make you think you're still in Boston.

Congrats on the new job! I'll start making some plans to come out and go to the Derby!
Louisville is only 70 miles away so it is very feasible.

Kepler while your information rings true in most case it doesn't really fit Gillette/P&G Finance world. The fact of the matter is that in the satellite locations there are about 10-20 jobs each and then in Cincinnati there are hundreds of jobs, it is just very centralized. Right now Boston still has a large chunk of jobs because of the merger but over time they will move to 10-20 too.

[Terrierbyassociation]

Louisville is only 70 miles away so it is very feasible.

Kepler while your information rings true in most case it doesn't really fit Gillette/P&G Finance world. The fact of the matter is that in the satellite locations there are about 10-20 jobs each and then in Cincinnati there are hundreds of jobs, it is just very centralized. Right now Boston still has a large chunk of jobs because of the merger but over time they will move to 10-20 too.

My cousin works at P+G in Cinci and just bought a nice house in Kentucky. That raise is going to sound really really nice when you look at the difference in the cost of living.

So is your wife going to apply for the OH bar instead?

[KevinNU7]

Yes she is flying to Columbus at the end of February for the bar. We are getting a really nice aparment for about 60% of the cost of living in Boston. It is great.

[Terrierbyassociation]

Yes she is flying to Columbus at the end of February for the bar. We are getting a really nice aparment for about 60% of the cost of living in Boston. It is great.

Look at buying a house in KY instead of renting an apartment in OH. Apparently the housing market is in a great position for buying.

[KevinNU7]

Look at buying a house in KY instead of renting an apartment in OH. Apparently the housing market is in a great position for buying.
I'm renting since my wife is unemployed and we won't get nearly the mortage we will get once she starts working. Plus I couldn't imagine buying a house on a 5 day trip to a city.