Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

Crappy communicators. I'm helping out on a project. A young designer has been on this one from the start. He sends me communications that I inevitably have to send follow up questions on. Every. Goddam. Time. I'm writing the specs and yesterday he sent me a checklist item where all he had to do was include the word "Add" at the start of the phrase. So I wasted time trying to figure out if he was asking a question, or what. Took two more emails to get it out of him.

He's located in Duluth now, which makes it even harder. On the other hand, it keeps me from strangling him.

Have you explained these things to him? Politely?

If you just ask questions, that's a pretty passive aggressive way of correcting him. Without feedback, it's pretty difficult to grow.

[goldy_331]

Have you explained these things to him? Politely?

If you just ask questions, that's a pretty passive aggressive way of correcting him. Without feedback, it's pretty difficult to grow.

I have. He's not that young, been in the industry for 5+ years. I ask questions so I can keep going.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

I have. He's not that young, been in the industry for 5+ years. I ask questions so I can keep going.

To be fair, five years isn't that long. Five years in most engineers, depending on what the topic is, even some of the better ones, barely know a star valve from a 90degree elbow.

YMMV.

ETA: Though I will admit, five years is about when they should be getting their act in gear.

[Slap Shot]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

dx it sucks what you've experienced there especially given the time (heart and soul?) you've given them to now feel like you're stuck. It's happened to me and I've seen it happen to others.

One word of advice that I'm pretty sure you're astute enough to not need - whatever happens burn no bridges. You never know if it will kill an opportunity there or elsewhere in the future. Go out like a champion and in your small circle of talent word like that gets around.

[Kepler]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

The frustrating part is that I hear about people who get 4s and 5s every single year and their performance is no different than mine. When I try to ask what I can do to get there, I'm given wishy washy answers. I've gotten my fair share of good reviews and don't expect them every year, but if I have a good year I do expect it. And like I said, this was my best year I've had professionally.

Oh well. I do think it's time for me to move on though. I've been in that position for five years with a promotion back in 2014. I don't want to leave the company but I'm not seeing the development opportunities with this division right now.

I echo the poster who said go out as a pro and burn no bridges. Also, collect all the POC info you can from your co-workers right now while you're still there and in their face. It is remarkably how quickly memory fades and how easy it is to lose touch with even close colleagues. I speak from experience.

If your industry is anything like mine, it's oceans wide but bath tubs deep, and that community will serve you again and again for everything from knowing about positions to knowing the right (and wrong) people to charm / stalk / fellate. You have to be in the slot to do your best work, so job hunting is very much like a political campaign: your dignity can always be retrieved at a later date.

I mean Christ, how else would I have wound up working for Evil Corp.? And, oddly, flourishing, after being miserable and maltreated in far more healthy surroundings.

Also, if you're worried that you got "exceeds" early in your career and have plateaued at "meets," that's likely not really a reflection on your work quality. Your employer is telling you she's not overly concerned that you'll leave. A boss has only so many gold stars, so she uses them strategically on people she's afraid will bolt. In my experience, that is a Sign From Above that it is time to consider leaving.

For example, I have a woman coworker who basically got 55533. She jumped to a competitor then jumped right back to us a few years later, several rungs higher, and guess what? Straights 5s again. Fancy that.

Sometimes the only way up is out.

[The Sicatoka]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

To be fair, five years isn't that long. Five years in most engineers, depending on what the topic is, even some of the better ones, barely know a star valve from a 90degree elbow.

YMMV.

ETA: Though I will admit, five years is about when they should be getting their act in gear.

About the review comments: Having had direct reports while running an engineering department in a Fortune 500, the review is just a paper trail. The numbers are set long before you even think about them. You have to hit the "daily double" to really strike a good salary action: amazing year; budget plan year for bigger increases. Otherwise, they fill in the blanks and nudge you along the "mid-point" slider.

At the five year point an engineer had better be able to show enough development to lane shift from the "entry bands" to the "senior bands". Otherwise, they're in trouble.

[The Sicatoka]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

Also, if you're worried that you got "exceeds" early in your career and have plateaued at "meets," that's likely not really a reflection on your work quality.

They run everyone up the "y(t) = 1 - exp(-bt)" varying b slightly person to person (remember where I said "mid-point" slider).

If that doesn't work, find the next curve to rise up.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

Crappy communicators. I'm helping out on a project. A young designer has been on this one from the start. He sends me communications that I inevitably have to send follow up questions on. Every. Goddam. Time. I'm writing the specs and yesterday he sent me a checklist item where all he had to do was include the word "Add" at the start of the phrase. So I wasted time trying to figure out if he was asking a question, or what. Took two more emails to get it out of him.

He's located in Duluth now, which makes it even harder. On the other hand, it keeps me from strangling him.

Could be worse. You could have an analyst that constantly re-words what you ask for and thereby losing context, but I'm not allowed to ask myself because I'm some lowly code monkey...

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

Someone in this elevator had McDonald's and coffee. Now I'm hungry.

[The Sicatoka]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

Someone in this elevator had McDonald's and coffee. Now I'm hungry.

Smelling McD's and becoming hungry are not two things I normally associate.

[Twitch Boy]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

Smelling McD's and becoming hungry are not two things I normally associate.

If it's McDonald's breakfast I'll give them a pass. They do that (mostly) right.

[St. Clown]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

If it's McDonald's breakfast I'll give them a pass. They do that (mostly) right.

When McD's started their all-day breakfast menu, same-store sales went up something like 5% from the prior year. This is significant because McD's has been hurting somewhat for the past 10 years or so.

My bet is that if they expanded their all-day breakfast menu to include more items, and consolidated much of their lunch/dinner menu to a core set of goods, they'd see their profits start to go back up. Add to that, which will never happen, if they made an effort to increase the quality of their food, it could only work to the better for them.

[Twitch Boy]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

When McD's started their all-day breakfast menu, same-store sales went up something like 5% from the prior year. This is significant because McD's has been hurting somewhat for the past 10 years or so.

My bet is that if they expanded their all-day breakfast menu to include more items, and consolidated much of their lunch/dinner menu to a core set of goods, they'd see their profits start to go back up. Add to that, which will never happen, if they made an effort to increase the quality of their food, it could only work to the better for them.

And for the love of God drop the blatant pandering to Millennials in the marketing. That makes us all #smh. Poop emoji.

[FreshFish]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

I purposely left out Utah, because that is just a whole 'nother level right there.

I don't know if this is still the situation in Kansas, but when I visited there years ago, you could not go to a tavern or a bar to buy a drink. They had package stores where you purchased it for "home consumption" but you could not just buy a drink or a beer on its own. Consequently, people would establish "social clubs," where it was legal to purchase alcohol as long as you were a member. Those social clubs sold a lot of one-day memberships!

[St. Clown]

Re: Gear Grinding 7: Really? This crap again?

I don't know if this is still the situation in Kansas, but when I visited there years ago, you could not go to a tavern or a bar to buy a drink. They had package stores where you purchased it for "home consumption" but you could not just buy a drink or a beer on its own. Consequently, people would establish "social clubs," where it was legal to purchase alcohol as long as you were a member. Those social clubs sold a lot of one-day memberships!

My buddy who used to live in UT said it was much the same there. The locals serving in restaurants would look at first-time tourists asking for a beer or glass of wine with their meals in horror, running to get a manager.