How to deal with Competing Firm 3

[DLauEng]

Hi,

I just recently graduated and will be starting a new job in a week (let's call this company A). During my last semester at school, I interned for company B (company A's competitor).

Company A knows that I interned for Company B and company B knows that I interviewed with Company A (they don't know that I got the job yet). Both companies are okay with it.

My problems/questions here are:

1. What kinds of things can I not talk about? the projects Company B were working on, who their clients were, etc.

2. I have friends at Company B. Would it be okay to sometimes go to lunch with them?

I am trying to prepare myself. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Clients, suppliers, finances, and anything related to business should be off limits. Even discussing technical problems that you might all face is risky. Your friends should know that already.

There is some danger that third parties will see you at lunch and misinterpret your relationship with your friends. It _will_ get back to your boss. Some bosses, some HR covens and some companies will interpret such news in the worst possible way. You may not even get a hearing; there is no due process in corporate machinations.

Better to schedule an evening at someone's home, have a potluck barbecue, rent some bad movies and disparage the actors.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[RDK]

First answer it is simply best NOT to talk about anything that company B does that you learned at the company. Best simply to stay silent on company B’s activities unless these activities are public knowledge. (Meaning that Company B is openly talking about it.)

As far ac continuing friendship with company B employees goes it will depend on the nature of the relationship between the two companies. Do they hate each other or is it more of a friendly rivalry? If they actively hate each other then best to cool the public aspects of the friendship. If they are friendly rivals then public friendships are most likely OK.

Anyone else at company A publicly friendly with employees of company B?

Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

 

[LHA]

I use the "don't burn bridges" approach to life and work. A person you thought was a good coworker is still one, regardless of where you or they currently work. A friend is always a friend until they - not their boss or your - gives you reason why they are not. Both are valueable assets.

I eat lunch, email, drink beer and go out to dinner with whomever I wish, my bosses and HR folks have absolutely no say in that. Yours shouldn't either. Besides that (maybe its different in Mechanical, but I can't see how), my acquaintences in other companies are an asset to both of us and to our profession. One is very limited in effectiveness in site/civil engineering if one can't walk up to employees from other firms; be it at a Planning Commission meeting or a cocktail hour, and talk shop.

As far as what not to talk about, there is one fail-safe litmus test: Don't mention anything which you hope they let slip that will help you get the edge over them. You WILL let things slip, and so will they, but all try not to. I often talk about job offerings, general types of projects, workload, which subcontractors are good, which ones I avoid, etc. with competing professionals. I have had numerous projects where I have partnered with most of the firms in question; eventually, I will have projects the rest. It is just part of the professional world.

Remember: The Chinese ideogram for “crisis” is comprised of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.”
-Steve

 

[CarolinaPE]

First of all, any general technical knowledge you gained while working is due to your efforts and nobody can lay claim to that. Did you sign a non-compete? Apparently not if the old company is ok with you going to work for their competitor. Being that you interned I am not sure how much information of "value" you really have besides the general technical knowledge you would have gained anywhere. Do you know anything about their finances??? I tend to doubt it. I would not worry about going out to lunch with the former co-workers. If someone from the new company saw you eating lunch with a group of people how in the heck do they even know who they are??? What if you are working at your current job a few years and get fired? It would help to have the contacts at the very least and ending a friendship for the sole reason being because they work for the competitor seems foolish to me. That is not to say I would share much info with your competitors employees regarding work. Look out for number one (your employer is), just make sure you do not step in #2.

 

[ctmtwilliams]

The answer is simple, it's called professionalism. Don't discuss anything about company B with company A, and don't discuss anything about company A with company B.

Lunch with whom ever you wish, just maintain your professionalism. Your peers/friends from company A will respect you more for maintaining a professional attitude towards work by not talking about company B business.

There is no reason to burn bridges; I have many friends who work for former employers. Working as an independent consultant, most of my work comes from three former employers! Additionally, I commonly recommend former employers as sub-contractors when appropriate. When you leave a company, do not automatically put everyone on an avoid list.

 

[Ashereng]

1) Now that you are at Company A, the stuff that you would not talk to other companies about, do not talk about (do not talk to your friends about - regardless of where they work, do not talk to vendors/suppliers, etc.) is usually a good rule to follow. This also serves to reduce unwitting beer induces revelations.

2) Have lunch, dinner, etc. with your buddies. Have lunch dinner, etc. with your old company. Follow #1 above, and you should be good to go.

This is a small world. Chances are good that you will work with lots of people in varying relationships. Today, he is your friend, tomorrow, your boss, and next week, your vendor.

 

[MrMojito]

I have had a boss who did expect you not to associate with anyone that he didn't care for, regardless of reason. Needless to say, that particular employer wasn't worth working for.

 

[SomptingGuy]

To the OP:

Don't worry. Co-ops/interns/sponsored students/other aren't normally privvy to anything commercially sensitive. You may know what one or two research depts are currently working on and may have been involved with a bit of it. You may also know the views of some of the junior engineers and may have heard gossip from those less junior. But that's it. Your business is probably a whole lot bigger than the bit you've seen in your year out.

 

[AndrewTX]

I wouldn't worry about this too much. I would be surprised if your employer tries to control your social contacts, even if they are with competitors.

Associate with whomever you want. Its called networking. Distancing yourself from friends because they work for a competitor is not a good idea.

Here in Houston most of the engineers have worked for several of the competing engineering companies or operating companies. Its almost impossible to find anyone who hasn't been around some. I still go out to lunch on a regular basis with people I know at several different companies. And we do talk about work. Nothing confidential like commercial arrangements, but general talk about how the projects are going, etc. I would never be concerned that my boss would see me sitting at a table with people from competing companies. The day my boss makes it his business with whom I have lunch is the day I would start looking for a new job.

 

[zdas04]

Ever hear of ASME? SPE? IEEE? Eng-Tips.com? The topics discussed at every one of those venues on a daily basis far exceeds anything you could have learned as an intern in any intern program I've ever heard of.

People ask veiled questions about extremely confidential projects all the time. Other people answer questions with information that some would consider proprietary all the time (I have a design for a drip on my web page that most people would treat as very proprietary, I don't have a patent on it and at best I could build them for a vanishingly small percentage of the folks that need them).

I've found that access to sensitive information is held very close to the vest and anything you learned last summer as an intern probably: (1) was not sensitive; (2) is no longer sensitive; and (3) lacked the context required to make it something that would damage a company.

Get over it and get on with your life. Your friends are your friends and not the business of your employeer. It's unlikely that you'll have enough time to have a life for the first few years in the profession anyway.

David

 

[DLauEng]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I started my new job today and are keeping those thoughts in mind.

Thanks again.

DLauEng

 

[Ashereng]

DlauEng,

Congrats. Make sure you eat lunch!!! Hee Hee ;-)