Going to competitor...Need some advice! 2

[Vluminator]

Hello All,

I am new to this great forum, have read it for some time but this is my first posting.

Anyone here that has had the experience of changing jobs between competing companies? What was your experiences?

V.

 

[zdas04]

I can give you some advice, it is the same advice as is on the Start New Thread box--the title of your thread should help people understand the category of question you are asking. "Need some advice" is not helpful and many people will not open a thread with a name like that.

David

 

[jmw]

Interesting question.
The recruitment policies of many of the companies I have worked for have been rather unimaginative and consisted of recruiting almost exclusively from their competitors.

Not, to my mind, the soundest of policies, it usually means that the recruits bring little with them except perhaps an intimacy with those customers who were clients of the competitors and brought nothing new to the company. Some guys, mostly sales, swapped back and forth a few times and each time gained in salary and position on the deal.

But how did this impact on treatment of employees changing to or from competitors? Incidentally, this is probably the most usual escape route since competitors represent the best match to your current skills set.

Leaving one job to go to a competitor I expected the management to immediately let me go,witness me clear my desk and escort me off the premises.
Instead, they made me work my full notice period and use it to work on a new project which had no real value (as I knew they would not implement it anyway).
There was no attempt to get me to hand over anything to any successor.
Incidentally, they believed I should be working a three month notice period since they had had me working at a management level but since they weren't offering to pay me any more (one reason for leaving), I didn't sign the contract and they had failed to notice this.
The company I went to were only mildly surprised that I had to work my notice but patient.

The company I worked for next was a subsidiary of a major company and managed products from other manufacturers in the group and when one of the manufacturers bought themselves out they wanted me to transfer to them. The company I was working for assumed that this would be the case and had advertised my job even before I had interviewed with the prospective new company. I was not upset by by this and there was no malice in it, just a recognition of the natural order of things and I did indeed transfer. This time, the original employers were happy for me to transfer immediately but for a number of reasons (to do with the 1977 patents act) it was important to me that I worked out my notice.

I have no real dramas to report. I suspect that in most cases the fact that going to the competition is one of the most natural routes for outgoing and incoming employees to take si such that it is only in the most unusual situations that there should be blood letting.....
Except, not me, but a colleague who was summarily yanked back to the Uk from the US (due to politics by others) and promptly got a job back in the US with a competitor. The MD was so badly upset by this he wrote an appalling letter to the guys new employees which, if anyone had believed it should have meant he would "never work again". Fortunately, the new employers laughed it off.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[Vluminator]

zdas04 - you're right, my thread title is too vague, if I could edit it, I would.

Thanks for pointing this out.


V

 

[GregLamberson]

In my industry, as a consultant, it's difficult not to work for competing companies. And since I work for contractor or client, there have been times when I was working for a contractor and on the next project went to work for a client company who contracted that contractor to execute their project. So I was overseeing guys I had just worked with. I've had it go the other way also.

All I can say is be professional, do not talk bad about a company to it's competitors. Do not divulge classified information. Take the experience gained wherever you work to your next assignment, but do not take proprietary information or use information that is private and confidential (i.e. cost data, rate build ups, etc.) to get a leg up at the new company. Maintain your integrity.

This has served me well, you never know one day you are being reported to and the next day you are reporting to the same company. The old be nice to others on your way up applys 10 fold in the consulting business.

Greg Lamberson, BS, MBA
Consultant - Upstream Energy
Website:

http://www.oil-gas-consulting.com

 

[zdas04]

Vluminator,
If you hit the "Inappropriate Post? If so, Red Flag it" link on your post then you can pick a better name and ask management to edit your title to the new one.

They are pretty responsive to this sort of request.

David

 

[zdas04]

Vluminator,
GregLamberson's post has some real value in it. I had a colleague once at a major Oil company that was just FED UP with his position, management, and his office. He had a long list of legitimate complaints and decided to look for alternative employment. He found a job and turned in his resignation letter. I expected that letter to need to be written on asbestos. He let me read it and it said "After careful consideration I've decided to seek other employment and my last day will be _____. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the management of _________ for providing a fruitful place for me to develop and grow." That was the most mature and effective letter of resignation I've ever seen.

The upshot was that the Oil company hired his new firm to be able to get him. He was doing about the same work for more money and was a bunch happier as a consultant than as an employee. If you keep everything positive and professional, never burn bridges, and keep your (even legitimate) complaints to yourself you'll find that moving on can be a growing experience.

David

 

[Ashereng]

V,

Yes I do. All the time. Every 2-3 years on average.

I work as an independent contractor. When the project/my contract is finnished, I look for the next one. I have gone to the "competitor", then the "other competitor" and also come back. This is the norm for my industry here.

My experience is that it is good, and accepted. Of course, this may vary for you.

What specifically are you curious about?


"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[Vluminator]

"What specifically are you curious about?"

Well I guess I concerned about being seen as "traitor" for taking my skills and experience to a competing firm. I know, I should not be, but nevertheless I am. Call me a chicken huh ;-)

V.

 

[IRstuff]

Unless you have a non-compete clause in your contract, I don't see that there should be much beyond good-natured grousing about being a "rat jumping a sinking ship," etc.

Where else would you go with your current skill-set, after all?

Beyond that, the most important thing is to leave on good terms; there's no knowing that you won't wind up back at the same company later on.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[Vluminator]

I do have a non-compete (12 months) but it was been proven not enforceable / non-valid as it is too broad ranging.

 

[Twoballcane]

I don't know if anybody has said it yet, especialy going to the other side is "don't piss off your current employer". Make sure you leave on very good terms. You never know if you might come back or even your current compnay may buy out the company your moving too. Also, make sure you keep in touch with co-workers for networking purposes.

In some industries, they share the same gene pool. Especialy if you are in a small field. I have already went to the other side and a few years later came back and during that time I have met guys/als that transistion between the two or three companies.

Good luck!

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

 

[DaveVikingPE]

Take stuff from your old job, especially things with the corporate logo. display them at your new desk.

...You didn't say you wanted good advice.

 

[TheTick]

Some fields see a lot of interchange between competitors. The turf equipment field was good for this.

Don't worry about any non-compete clauses in your employment agreement. They are only applicable if you are starting a business. Most non-compete clauses are not enforceable as they result in "restraint of trade". By law, you have to be allowed to seek employment in your field.

 

[FACS]

I do have a non-compete (12 months) but it was been proven not enforceable / non-valid as it is too broad ranging.

Still be careful. That won't stop a company from tying up your new employer with a lawsuit.


Charlie

http://www.facsco.com

 

[Pressed]

I probably comes down to the company but they can sue the company and the ex-employee. Suing doesn't mean they are going to win, intimidation was the immediate & longterm outcome I witnessed. Some companies play hard when it comes to competitors and even customers.

Moving to a competitor might garner alot of questions your way about how your ex-employer did things. As you might not be the only person recruited this way, it would be smart to handle those like as if you signed an air-tight legal non-disclosure agreement with your ex. Managers, who don't normally disclose their backgrounds and associations, might still be in communicating with the ex, ya never know.

There are many ways to deflect those type of questions. I am not saying to tell everybody that you are bound by a contract, the tact is up to you. These things aren't the rule, but they do happen.


==========================================
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http://mech.e.tripod.com

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Cycle Utopia.......

http://www.tailofthedragon.com

 

[plasgears]

Going to a competitor is common in many industries.

In my case I went to a customer and helped design a product that the first company refused to supply. It was a plastic version of a high priced metal design. Needless to say, this precipitated a legal battle, and I lost my job in a matter of weeks. Fortunately I was able to recover in a short time in another company out of town.

 

[gpace]

I have gone to a competitor a couple of times in the heavy construction/power industry and both times my employers told me if i ever needed a job to give them a call. The key is how you handle the situation. Don't use a flamethrower on the way out the door, be courteous, kind etc as you never know who is going to show up as either your boss or your employee. Most industries are very closed groups and you never know what is going to happen 5 years down the road. Be polite, be positive and keep in touch with old comrades in arms.