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Ask HN: Should I checkmate my employer?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I checkmate my employer?

#61
Not trying to say you have approached this the wrong way, but one thing strikes me and that is that you have done an impressive job of scaling up ops and development all by yourself.

If you have that much code and that many servers in an SMB, your work is likely critical to the company. Assuming your managers are rational and want what's best for the company, it seems like they might taking you for granted and that they are overlooking a fairly big risk (you leaving).

It's possible that you have done a "too good" job and left them with the impression that your job isn't that hard, and that you could easily be replaced. Things are rarely broken, new features are added on time, and nobody feels the urgency of scaling your one-person team.

I'd use your qualities to communicate these things. Be the employee you wish you had. If that's not appreciated, take the first chance you get to leave.

You're loyal, so perhaps you could proactively list what it is that you do in your job - "in case I get hit by a bus". Show that you care about the company, and that you're trying to help them prevent a bad situation. List everything you do and have done that provides value for the company and what skillset is required for those things. Writing your job description like that will give a better picture of the scope and importance of your work. I assume your managers aren't very technical, so it also gives them an opportunity to check with their advisors and network, in case they think you're exaggerating (don't be too humble, and be specific).

You're also hard-working, so one approach is to tell your closest manager that you think your market value is X, and that your current compensation is too far from that to justify you staying with the company in the long run. "I want to stay at Company, but I can't afford not to switch jobs eventually since working here effectively costs me Y per year."

If that's not getting across, I think that the company needs to feel the pain a bit. See if you can find a way to leave while being as professional as you can. Set the date and give them time to figure out what to do. They will most likely have trouble finding a replacement, and if they do they will not have a lot of time to on-board. You've warned them, been firm but professional the whole time, so now it's your closest managers responsibility. The higher ups, if you have any, will not be pleased that they weren't warned in time.

You don't owe them anything, you're valuable and you have knowledge that will be expensive to replace. If they're rational, they have somehow missed this information. If they're just playing mind games, they need to be called out (not your job).

Just my suggestion. Assuming people are rational and just lacking information often gets surprising results, and builds trust over time.

Re: Ask HN: Should I checkmate my employer?

#62
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ive put "tech lead" because I developed + orchestrated everything (code, severs, "internal services" (AutoDesk (AutoCAD, Revit), MS Office, ETC). You think that's to much? Technically my job title is "Director of IT" but I dont go to enough board meetings to justify that title.

if you want to be an IC, then you are a "technical operations expert with operating and deploying services" if you want to lead, embrace the "Director of IT" title and play up the fact it was an SMB if you're going for a relatively low level leadership role (team lead, etc). whatever you do, get rid of the phrase "tech lead". i've yet to meet someone who described themselves with that term that didn't make me go "thi…

Don't use 'Director' in the UK unless you have a formal directorship with the business - it's a title with legal standing and repercussions here.

What is the job title on your contract? That is really what you need to cite.

Follow the advice given by others about the structure and grammar on your CV and, yes, talk to recruiters who will give you a realistic opinion on your options and salary expectations for your skills set.

Good luck.

Edit: Wanna roasting?! £60K for what you are doing is quite reasonable unless you are in a location such as London, in fintech or have a unique skills set - which doesn't come across in your description or writing style.

Happy to discuss elsewhere if you wish. FWIW I am in West Sussex.

Re: Ask HN: Should I checkmate my employer?

#63
post #32

A) Sit your employer down and say "I am applying for Jobs in the 80-100K range because . When I get an offer I will take it, you are welcome to make me an offer to stick around now" B) Get on LinkedIn and scope out some recruiters, reach out to the ones you like the look of with a brief of the sort of role your looking for. Get on the phone with them and get their advice - they will get you interviews. Don't stop B i…

> Sit your employer down and say "I am applying for Jobs in the 80-100K range because . When I get an offer I will take it, you are welcome to make me an offer to stick around now" I don't know if I would recommend that. No upside to the employee. A large "egoless value maximizer" business will simply do nothing until employee shows them an actual offer, and only then counter-offer if they want to retain. A small bus…

Unless the candidate is disproportionately valuable to the org.

Then, people start jumping. Usually implying they should have been jumping previously.

Re: Ask HN: Should I checkmate my employer?

#64
post #32

A) Sit your employer down and say "I am applying for Jobs in the 80-100K range because . When I get an offer I will take it, you are welcome to make me an offer to stick around now" B) Get on LinkedIn and scope out some recruiters, reach out to the ones you like the look of with a brief of the sort of role your looking for. Get on the phone with them and get their advice - they will get you interviews. Don't stop B i…

> Sit your employer down and say "I am applying for Jobs in the 80-100K range because . When I get an offer I will take it, you are welcome to make me an offer to stick around now" I don't know if I would recommend that. No upside to the employee. A large "egoless value maximizer" business will simply do nothing until employee shows them an actual offer, and only then counter-offer if they want to retain. A small bus…

So I'd agree if he were in the US, but in the UK you couldn't fire someone for that (well you could but you'd lose the tribunal).

I've been in his shoes at a small company; they are taking his requests and ignoring them as is because right now they have a great deal! He needs to tip the balance more in his favor.

OP seems critical to the business; assuming that's true triggering an oh shit moment is how you get movement.

Re: Ask HN: Should I checkmate my employer?

#65
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you can actually make something of your life what are you making of yours?

Choose your own adventure: > I'm talking to him; not you or all Europeans. He's being taken advantage of and feels as much. His story is too common for people from the UK. > All the things I value I have. > shitposting on the internet > And the crescendo, sorry if I caused offense. It was not my intent.

If you have a job in the USA please post / message me the link, i'll happily apply :)

Re: Ask HN: Should I checkmate my employer?

#66
post #16

If you've worked for 8 years doing all that and aren't getting any interest, your CV may well suck. If you were hiring a new PHP developer, consider the things you would care about in a CV you were reviewing.

Truth be told i've only hired juniors - this is half my problem. I've never hired at the level i'm applying and have 0 to compare against.

No, don't worry about that. You've seen CVs, that's already a great start. Pretend you're hiring. What did you dislike in those CVs you saw? What do you care about? What doesn't matter - what would you boredly skip over if you received your own CV from someone else? Is your CV an uncompromising textbook of your life, or is it optimized and showcasing what people care about? Six pages or two? Is a person hiring going to stare at it and get an idea of your strengths and feel like you're going to solve their problems, or are they going to have to sit and ponder about it, or, worse, phone a reference and take a gamble?

Of course, every person hiring is different, but generally the motivations align.

Re: Ask HN: Should I checkmate my employer?

#67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't tell if you're joking or not, but just in case If you ever find yourself as a single point of failure at a company, and you feel you're underpaid, screw being a "good team player" Adopt a "fuck you, pay me" attitude and get what you're worth or get out. "Good team player" is how companies manipulate you into getting more value out of you than they are paying you for.

As the single point of failure for a huge firm, I had to quit. They hired me back in 6 months at the numbers I wanted. They didn't have to, but they also didn't really care. They gambled I wouldn't leave. They were wrong. You have to be willing to leave. 'Fuck it, fuck you, fuck this' are words to live by, in my opinion. Edit: this will not always work. And you might burn bridges. Be warned. Edit2: Also dont actually…

This is a few weeks away from happening to my current employer. They've been gambling that I wouldn't leave, would keep putting up with bullshit and massive underpayment.

As soon as a certain security clearance gets approved, they're in for one hell of a shock.

Re: Ask HN: Should I checkmate my employer?

#68
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Choose your own adventure: > I'm talking to him; not you or all Europeans. He's being taken advantage of and feels as much. His story is too common for people from the UK. > All the things I value I have. > shitposting on the internet > And the crescendo, sorry if I caused offense. It was not my intent.

If you have a job in the USA please post / message me the link, i'll happily apply :)

Welcome to the world of visas.

Re: Ask HN: Should I checkmate my employer?

#69
post #45
post #14

It sounds like you may be failing some sort of implicit cultural filters - you've been in the same small workplace for 8 years and apparently your circles don't include highly-paid IT/development people. "International-tier" tech is a fairly distinctive and exclusionary culture to anyone who is not fluent in either its own norms or those of a handful of adjacent academic fields, and the boundary may be policed based…

I agree with this. I would also consider talking to a recruiter or paying a professional resume writer (one that specializes in tech) to help rewrite your resume and adjust your positioning.

The first time I spoke to a recruiter, I got my first honest opinion about my résumè.

Doing this is free and insightful.

Re: Ask HN: Should I checkmate my employer?

#70
post #14

It sounds like you may be failing some sort of implicit cultural filters - you've been in the same small workplace for 8 years and apparently your circles don't include highly-paid IT/development people. "International-tier" tech is a fairly distinctive and exclusionary culture to anyone who is not fluent in either its own norms or those of a handful of adjacent academic fields, and the boundary may be policed based…

Good advice, but there's a complementary aspect to consider: are the jobs you fail to get actually a good match for your skills and experience? Do potential employers look for what you think they are looking for? Your resumes and job applications could be misaligned, not only unappealing.

For example, a company looking for a rather senior sysadmin might care for familiarity with highly specific tools and cloud platforms more than for the ability to keep a whole company's applications running.

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