I'm of a strange mood tonight. It could be about a number of things. It could be because of this tenacious case of the colds that punctuates my every motion with a disease-ridden sniff. Possibly, it might be because of a debilitatingly embarrassing pimple inconveniently/strategically/comically spawned right beneath my leaky nostrils. It could also be because of the sound beating I got while playing Dissidia a while ago. But I know the real culprit here is a great deal more damning. It's by his merit that my resume sits on-screen on the desktop across the room, and on this document's stark blacks and unforgiving whites is the issue brought forward.Today, I planned on ditching work. The aforementioned colds wasn't as lonely last night when it was merrily joined by fits of racking coughs. Over warm lomi and burgers at the only local branch of Mushroom Burger, Joms advised me a day to recuperate. I said I'd be alright, in spite of a headache and a spreading blush across my complexion, and sipped my warm lomi gingerly.
"You don't have anything to do tomorrow so you might as well take the time to rest," insisted Joms. I slurped, tissued, and looked at him straight, "That's true, but that's even more reason for me to be at work tomorrow. If there's going to be new work assigned, a new project to join, I'd like to be there to hear it."
I went home early that night, 9pm, which is early by our standards. And I slept at 10, unprecedented, by my standards. I looked forward to whatever this week will bring, seeing as it started off splendidly on a holiday and had only 4 more rewarding work days to go.
And it was a going to be a great start to a week. I finally decided on a name for my pet project and successfully grabbed the appropriate domain and completed a sort-of proof of concept. A great milestone for me and my future and today was pretty much set to be a great day for me. But my premonition held true for that day and it came in the form of our Japanese manager looking to have a short talk with us.
He was a bit hasty, though polite. In a word, he seemed edgy like most Japanese are when beset by a deadline or a major decision. This was the latter, a decision that isn't his to make but ours. We were offered to be sent back to Cebu, which from the previous experience wasn't a bad notion at all. But according to him, if I understood his understandable, though disjointed, english correctly, meant we'd be staying for a much longer period and for a much less tempting incentive.
Extremely minuscule, at about 10% of the previous arrangement, the new salary augmentation was next to spare change compared to our previous compensation. Plus, it's 4 times longer at the projected minimum of 2 years. And, no more free flights back. As the Japanese boss said it before, "Cebu is your final home."
We were a group, the five of us, who came back recently from Cebu and were now asked whether the returning was at the least, worth a second thought. There were more and they shared the consensus, and the consensus wasn't agreeable. Personally, I think it's a workable deal, but because of the time factor, I really can't join this time around.
The thing that broke me down was the casual mentioning, and horrible realization, of a fear of mine that has lurked ever since we booked the flight heading back to Manila: there are no new projects in Manila. Even if we chose to stay, we didn't have anything to do here either. In a business viewpoint, this is the company's way of validating our employment. And if we don't bite, we are, in the extremest and most cynical case I can imagine, expendable.
So tonight, I open my aging resume and tweak, stylize and subtly exaggerate the accomplishments of 2 years. I wonder half-consciously what I should wear to the interviews, if I should shoot for that formal-attired work I lust for, and if I'd settle for a plain-clothes company if that was the only one available. I wondered how much of a salary bump I should say yes to, how much my salary has grown and I project will grow in the next year if I stay, and if I deserve more.
I feel kinda derailed and, though I'm not scared, I am disconcerted. Stability is a fickle commodity in these trying times.
Over the phone, Joms asked me how I can leave the company I purportedly love. "When the office fails to find something for you to work on, that's not a good sign," I said. If they can't justify your employment, you have to make sure you have options. "I know a red flag when I see one," I concluded.
on a more serious note.. there is an opening in our company.. wanna try? they're looking for java programmers :)
ReplyDeletenuneeoww said: oh.. kala ko monthly period ^_^
ReplyDeleteI wish T_T
oh.. kala ko monthly period ^_^
ReplyDeletei know, but what i'm comparing is the work ethic.. does a job becoming inconvenient really enough to be grounds for quitting? lets not forget a sizable number of filipinos willingly leave their partners/families to work in a land far more distant than an hour of flight. didn't want to bring that up but its true. maybe its uncalled for, most likely.all i'm asking is if he has considered his decision enough, if he has taken into account his past relationship with the company, and has he considered what he would do if the same situation happened again in another company- namely if another inconvenient project gets put on his plate.
ReplyDeleteyo! If you need a place to crack up your brain with daily problem solving let me know :)
ReplyDeletefapri said: so let me get this straight, you are quitting because the project will be longer, the compensation lower, and the situation more inconvenient?the question you should be asking is, is it unwarranted?since this is a group, I hardly think there's animosity between you and the company, if there was, you'd have just been fired, not punish your group.since you just finished a project, I wouldn't think its a punishment for the group who just finished a project, that means no managerial sense unless you did a crappy job, which if that is the case, the group would have been disposed off.so perhaps have you considered that the company, though all companies stance is all employees are expendable, except if a nepotistic management is in charge and you are related, perhaps in these times that is all that they can give your group? a cohesive group who just turned over a project and thus just gave their billing department a reason to be happy?now of course if that truly is all the company can offer, then yes, you have no growth there. but, looking back in your relationship with them, do you believe that that really is all they can offer if we are not going through extraordinary times?but then i live halfway around the world in a place where i've seen offices being forced to scale back to 25% of their workforce, and of the remaining, asking them to work reduced hours at reduced pay. and *shocker*(sarcastic) the 25% who weren't given the pink slip understood the company's decision, didn't complain and didn't leave. they must be crazy, no?
ReplyDeletehmm.. mike.. parang nde mo pde icompare un situation dito at un situation jan.. pero feeling ko kaya lng ayaw ni dani sa cebu is dhl wla c jomel.. if he lived there.. kht 5yrs pa papayag c dani.
so let me get this straight, you are quitting because the project will be longer, the compensation lower, and the situation more inconvenient?the question you should be asking is, is it unwarranted?since this is a group, I hardly think there's animosity between you and the company, if there was, you'd have just been fired, not punish your group.since you just finished a project, I wouldn't think its a punishment for the group who just finished a project, that means no managerial sense unless you did a crappy job, which if that is the case, the group would have been disposed off.so perhaps have you considered that the company, though all companies stance is all employees are expendable, except if a nepotistic management is in charge and you are related, perhaps in these times that is all that they can give your group? a cohesive group who just turned over a project and thus just gave their billing department a reason to be happy?now of course if that truly is all the company can offer, then yes, you have no growth there. but, looking back in your relationship with them, do you believe that that really is all they can offer if we are not going through extraordinary times?but then i live halfway around the world in a place where i've seen offices being forced to scale back to 25% of their workforce, and of the remaining, asking them to work reduced hours at reduced pay. and *shocker*(sarcastic) the 25% who weren't given the pink slip understood the company's decision, didn't complain and didn't leave. they must be crazy, no?
ReplyDeletefapri said: i know, but what i'm comparing is the work ethic.. does a job becoming inconvenient really enough to be grounds for quitting? lets not forget a sizable number of filipinos willingly leave their partners/families to work in a land far more distant than an hour of flight. didn't want to bring that up but its true. maybe its uncalled for, most likely.all i'm asking is if he has considered his decision enough, if he has taken into account his past relationship with the company, and has he considered what he would do if the same situation happened again in another company- namely if another inconvenient project gets put on his plate.
ReplyDeletehard to say this.. but you have a point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! toink
hahaha, woo ansaya irevisit un mga resumeshehe just remember to listen to your better half
ReplyDeletefapri said: what he would do if the same situation happened again in another company- namely if another inconvenient project gets put on his plate.
ReplyDeleteI see your point, and bearing the company's impositions is implicitly included when I first signed their contract. My issue is, when I did sign, I made plans too. And those plans did not included relocating to Cebu. But I agree completely that I should think this over and re-assess my priorities. Staying in manila is a priority for me right now though, for my family and friends(of whom I have yet to decently spend time with) and joms. But if I had no other choice, no other possible job offers, no master's degrees to earn, no bohemian life to frolic in, then I stay.I'm just saying that I wanted to see what's on the other side of the fence, and make an informed decision. I just have a feeling, call it delusions!, that there might be a nice job out there. And if there is, I think I have it in me to leave, however much I do love and feel indebted to this company.
roovin said: If you need a place to crack up your brain with daily problem solving let me know :)
ReplyDeleteLol, am I flattering myself by reading that as a job offer? ^_^
nuneeoww said: pero feeling ko kaya lng ayaw ni dani sa cebu is dhl wla c jomel.. if he lived there.. kht 5yrs pa papayag c dani.
ReplyDeletehuli mo ko ^_^ I did say that the arrangement was "workable". It was much better before, but still, not a bad offer all in all. Catch is, I've seen what happens when you're gone for long periods of time. I just want a choice in the matter. And from the undertones and the suggested sword of Democles hanging around, even if its just paranoia, I really want to have options.And besides! I wanna find out how much my noggin's worth in the market ^_^
dani did they give you time to think about signin up for cebu? maybe you can use that time to look for better work and send out ur resumes. see if u get a reply from some good companies (u might need several replies so u can be sure before you say no to cebu hehe) kasi 2 years is a long time to be tied up to a company that you feel you won't have any growth in anymore. just a thought.. don't settle with ur work now if ur not gonna be happy where it'll take you. you gotta at least try to live life to the fullest!! and staying with a crappy job for 2 more years is not how you do it (joms or no joms hehehe)..screw the recession!! it's not like u have a family to feed anyway. hahahaha im just blabberin...don't listen to me dani... :))))
ReplyDeletegelangenie said: I wish T_T
ReplyDeletehahahahahaha natawa ko, sorry hehe.