What would you do? 4

[preludemd]

Well, since my last post I have received a call from my previous employeer. The previous employeer was my first engineering job as an associate tool design engineer. I worked there for a year then in 2001 I was laid off because of slow business. From my last posts you can tell that I'm rather disenchanted with my current position. It is not giving me the experience that I'm looking for nor is it paying a fair salary. I was laid off for 10 months before I started here so back then I was just happy to have a job that had "engineer" in the title. Well this friday I'm supposed to be meeting with my previous employeer about a new position that opened up. Through a conversation with my old boss, I will be getting more involved with manufacturing, process improvement (six sigma was mentioned)and some FEA analysis. This will help get me heading in a better career direction. I have never left a professional job under my own decision and I'm not sure of the best way to go about it. Is it better to leave a letter of "2 weeks notice" (if there is such a thing) or should I go in and personally speak with my director about the situation. I'm leary of speaking with him because in that case, there will be no hard documentation of my resignation. I've heard from many people here that my company has a habbit of "letting people go" the day that they put their 2 weeks in. So who knows what they are documenting in the employement records. Of course I do not have the job yet, but I do know that I am their leading candidate and I would like some advise on how to handle the situation if it comes.

Thank you in advance,

Sean L.

 

[ajack1]

I have gone back to work for previous employers twice and no one seems to have a problem with it. Both times have been on considerably better terms, but I always leave on good terms, I can see no benefit in doing otherwise.

I would always insist on have a written contract in my hand before handing in my notice at my current job. You may be treading on thin ice playing one off against the other as well, beware. One thing worth consideration is that a company may offer you very good terms to get you through the door, but may not be so generous when pay review time comes around if you have negotiated to the top end or above of the pay window.

It is very interesting to see the differences between the US and the UK; I am guessing most of the posters are from the US judging by the terminology used. In the UK it is illegal to give a bad reference to anyone, basically you can say nothing bad about him or her, so it is very much what you don’t say rather than what you do. The very worst is “I would confirm that A worked for B between the dates X and Y.”

Notice is also very different, you have to work it out and the company has to employ you or give you paid leave. Under my current contract I am on three months and I am not in a very senior position, although in a somewhat specialised field but this is fairly normal. It does have two sides, whilst if I leave or am made redundant it works in the employees favour not all companies want to wait that long for you to start.

Anyway good luck and I hope things work out well for you.

 

[funnelguy]

ajack1,
I suspect the US is not far behind. That's got to be the ultimate irony when people are afraid to tell the truth (or it is outright unlawfull) because of lawyers.

Now a postal supervisor can only say, "Oh, Mr. Widget was an exemplary employee. Certainly kept his AK-47 clean and oiled when he brought it to work."

 

[buzzp]

The ex-employer can say what they want but may face legal issues as a result. So they generally only give the bare minimum and depending on the size of the company will simply refer you to the HR department (not your old boss). Thats the smart way to do it.

 

[EngineerDave]

Interesting, i never bothered to think of my manager as a source of references since i am going into another completely different field upon finishing this grad degree.

My thread "Resigning gracefully" touches on this a bit.

Just as an update, my letter was ready to go and my manager and the other higher up were both gone by 4 pm Friday, so thus I will give notice tomorrow.

 

[preludemd]

Well, I wanted to give an update of what has gone on so far. I went to talk with my old boss last friday and everything went well. It wasn't an interview like I was expecting. It was basically to show me what the company has been doing, what has changed and what has stayed the same. I was definately glad to see some of the people who left or was laid off that came back. It gives you that "just like old times" feeling. They made an offer of a better salary, not as much as I was hoping, but money isn't my only reason for wanting to leave my current job. They also would be reinstating my seniority so my benefits would start from day one and I would still have the time that I already put into the company. I came into work yesterday and didn't get the chance to talk to my current boss untill lunch, but he did wish me the best and told me to sit tight and see what he can come up with. I believe he wants to make a counter offer and did say that he didn't want to lose me. But quite frankly, I'm not getting the experience here that I'm looking for and that's what is driving my decision to go back to my old company. The other reason is that the work environment at my old comany is definately better, and there are people there that I can learn from.

Thanks again for everyone who has posted their advise. If you still have some thoughts, please feel free to keep this thread going and I hope this thread has helped some of you that are in the same situation.

Sean