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HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know

rachelbythebay.com

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Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know

#381

Post by koonsolo »

croes wrote: post #224
koonsolo wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you want to view the world like this? This kind of mindset puts you in a very weak position. I look at it like this: I work for a company because it's a win-win. They need some work done, and I need money. In fact, as a coder, the company is the one in the weak position. If I leave for another company, I can get paid the exact same amount instantly. They will have to get a new person, pay them the same, but fi…

If you get the reputation of being a difficulty employee, they don't hire you, doesn't matter how good you are. They make a cost-benefit assessment and as long as your benefits outweigh the costs, they'll bear the costs, otherwise you're gone. Feudal system at its finest.

Well, I'm also making that same assessment for them. If they give me too much shit for the pay, I'm going to work for someone else. It's all about negotiation and win-win deals, no?

Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know

#382

Post by koonsolo »

antihero wrote: post #349
koonsolo wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you want to view the world like this? This kind of mindset puts you in a very weak position. I look at it like this: I work for a company because it's a win-win. They need some work done, and I need money. In fact, as a coder, the company is the one in the weak position. If I leave for another company, I can get paid the exact same amount instantly. They will have to get a new person, pay them the same, but fi…

Holy shit this is the most privileged mindset. Do you know people who aren't coders? You know we live and work in some sort of dream land and 99% of people in other jobs don't have anywhere near this level of freedom and bargaining power. You will sell yourself short by forgetting this. Coding isn't guaranteed to stay like this - as tooling gets better and better and more people get into it we will be seen less and l…

You can get the same level of freedom with manual labor. I don't know where you live, but here, contractors make a shitload of money. Especially plumbers are in high demand.

Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know

#383

Post by bambax »

HR doesn't always win though; Github's head of HR "resigned" (or was resigned) this Saturday after having inappropriately fired an employee the week previous. It seems the employee has been reinstated.

https://github.blog/2021-01-17-update-on-an-employee-matter/

Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know

#384

Post by koonsolo »

mlang23 wrote: post #217
koonsolo wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you want to view the world like this? This kind of mindset puts you in a very weak position. I look at it like this: I work for a company because it's a win-win. They need some work done, and I need money. In fact, as a coder, the company is the one in the weak position. If I leave for another company, I can get paid the exact same amount instantly. They will have to get a new person, pay them the same, but fi…

Everybody is replaceable, no matter how confident they might feel.

Indeed, including your employer

Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know

#385

Post by mcv »

ivanche wrote: post #357
mcv wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Invest it in index funds. That's pretty safe, and gives pretty good returns. The only way that's going to disappear is if the entire economy dies, and then money won't be any good either. If you want to prepare for that , you need to buy land.

Just to add, invest in broad-market index funds (or ETFs). Something which tracks FTSE All Worlds, MSCI World, maybe even S&P 500. Nowadays, there are hundreds of indexes that are so narrow I'm baffled how they're useful.

Absolutely. It's easy to get lost in the world of cryptic indexes. I generally use and advise S&P 500, because it's easy to find, remember and understand, and it performs very well.

I should probably look into MSCI World SRI, which is a socially responsible index (or a neverending collection of indices) that excludes all sorts of dirty and questionable enterprises like oil and weapons.

Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know

#386

Post by verylittlemeat »

crispyambulance wrote: post #380
akmarinov wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure about Thailand and it really depends on your lifestyle, but 100k will get you through 2-3 years at most in the other countries, if you live in an urban setting, not really pinching pennies.

None of these "cash out your lifesavings of 100K" when you're a 20-something and go live in the woods/foreign-country plans are realistic. Sure, it's theoretically possible, but it's much better to redirect that effort into finding a job you can live with in your own county. Nothing wrong with a bit of wanderlust, and you can certainly get that out of your system with the safety-net of a sustainable career. Do I soun…

It's psychologically comforting and you don't need to be an expat for it to be realistic. I agree that most people underestimate the value of creating a sustainable low stress life in their home country. Many people I know in the US seem to think working here means building up constant stress that eventually needs to be blown off in an orgy of travel and degeneracy.

I have about 80k in liquidity and in the back of my mind it's reassuring to know that if something went wrong at my job or I burnt out or got fired I would be ok. With just my savings I could rent a room in my city for something close to 10 years, including all basic necessities. Even just taking a part time minimum wage job I could easily double that time frame.

As it is I live happily in a small space with a very frugal lifestyle. Paradoxically I think going to work knowing that I could walk away at any time actually makes me a healthier and more productive person/employee.

Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know

#388

Post by mcv »

muro wrote: post #337
mcv wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "I am always terrified of losing my job." I stopped fearing that when I became a freelancer. It's done wonders for my confidence, and I'm much more productive as a result. It also helps to be married; two jobs give a lot more security than one. Even so, having savings that can last you through a downturn or possibly even fund an early retirement, is definitely a good idea.

Married can make it more difficult if only one person works.

Of course, but being single is also difficult without a job. Having two people gives you a second option.

Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know

#389

Post by whywhywhywhy »

rkachowski wrote: post #355
rocqua wrote: post #320

I really don't enjoy the tone here. The derision with which it speaks about managers, like they are either evil or incompetent, is unfair in my experience. (my) Managers are just people. They have a task, they do their best to get that task done. Sometimes they decisions that seem bad to me. Often that is because I misunderstand their goals. Sometimes, it is because I know something they don't, and something they cou…

The article ends with "reasonable exchanges are only possible with reasonable people". If you have an unreasonable manager or are dependent upon unreasonable people, there is no amount of meditation upon unaligned goals or rationalisation that will change the situation. Expecting everyone to act rationally in the best interests of a shared goal is an exercise in frustration and a fast track to burnout.

Does the author seem reasonable from this rant?

Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know

#390

Post by beckler »

> "One exception to this that I've found is when someone already has plans for getting rid of someone and just needs the "ammo". At that point, they will quickly become your "friend" in order to get all of the dirt on that person, and then once the deed is done, it'll be like you never existed to them."

This one hits hard. I was just a developer at the time, but I had a co-founder get really chummy with me, and I eventually discovered it was for exactly this reason: to get "ammo" against the CTO to force him out. I got fired shortly after the whole situation played out.

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