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Submitted by suedavis on
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For folks who missed the discussion of this in a different thread, my recently previous company brought in a new CEO recently, who brought in his own slate of managers, and I was laid off very suddenly on the 16th of November. The following Monday morning, I got in touch with the SVP of R&D for the other company that had made me an offer in my previous job search, closed him, and was offered a management job (with twice the budget :-) ) on the spot.

Happy ending? Well, not quite....

I was scheduled to go in to the office and meet the team and my new boss (he's the level between me and the SVP) that Wednesday. When I got there, my day of getting to know the team turned out to be an extended job interview, rather than the first day of work. Thankfully, I learned this [i]before[/i] introducing myself as the new manager. We had a great day of discussions, and I had lots of accomplishments and ideas to talk about (on my feet), and the day ended with my new boss telling me that he was pleased to offer me the job, and with me replying that I was pleased to accept.

Happy ending? Well, not quite....

While I was off for Thanksgiving (which happens in October here in Canada, so the team was at work on Thursday and Friday), the team and my boss had a discussion in which the idea was floated that perhaps they didn't need a manager after all, since Scrum doesn't actually include such a role. My boss wasn't completely convinced, but was sensitive enough to the team's opinions that we spent all of last week going back and forth about how to organize the department and what my role would be and so forth. At one point, a trial balloon was floated to bring me in as an individual contributor and increase my responsibilities over time, which I shot down quite promptly. In the end, an organization structure was arrived at, and I wound up with exactly the role that I had been expecting.

Happy ending? Well, not quite....

The offer letter was supposed to arrive on Friday. It took HR a couple of extra days. It showed up in my mailbox this morning. To my pleasant surprise, it looks like I'm eligible for a bonus plan that I hadn't been aware of, which could increase my compensation by 10%, and the stock options that they're giving me should actually be work something since the company is going to be listed on the TSX next year.

Happy ending? Well, [i]almost[/i]....

My fax machine isn't transmitting properly. So here I am with a signed offer letter in hand, and I'm on my way out the door to find a Kinko's or a convenience store with a working fax. [i]Then[/i] I think it's happy ending time... or at least time for a couple of pints. :-)

juliahhavener's picture
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Susan - good work on staying flexible and thinking on your feet. The advanced preparation really is key to being able to do this!

Here's hoping you found a Kinko's and your signed offer is now an Acceptance Land.

I'll mix the pomegranate martinis when you're ready!

suedavis's picture
Training Badge

Happy ending? Yes.

Martini time? Well, the sun is over the yardarm in five out of six major North American time zones.... :-)

jhack's picture

OK, now you got something, and congratulations. You've proven not only that things rarely go smoothly, but that preparation and the right mindset are key even when (especially when) everything seems to be going just fine.

Good show!

John

WillDuke's picture
Training Badge

Congrats on a job well done. It would have been easy to become discouraged and/or disgusted and give up on the company. Instead you made it work, and got a lot more buy-in up front. You probably would have had to do a lot of this work with the team anyway, just with a paycheck and nameplate. :)

BTW, "happy ending" has another connotation you might want to be careful with. :wink:

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

It's 5 o'clock somewhere.

There's nothing so exhilarating as being shot at and missed.

Mark