Hector's balls are there no more,
He left them on the veterinary floor,
To procreate he is unable,
They cut them off on the surgery table
Sunday 15 February 2009
Monday 9 February 2009
Thoughts on redundancy
I'm sufficiently reassured by the apparent fact that nobody reads this blog to continue posting my nonsense.
What, I hear nobody cry, were your thoughts and feelings on being told that you might be getting made redundant?
Firstly, nobody has told me yet that I am being made redundant. My position is being made redundant on the 30th April and I am now in what is euphemistically known as "consultation". I'm intrigued to find out what this "consultation" actually involves. In the six working days since I found out this news there has been little, if any, consultation. My boss phoned once to find out how I was. I was fine. The only other consultation as such was a five minute telephone call from an outplacement consultant - there's a potential growth industry - who asked me to send him my CV. He would call me back tomorrow. I'm still waiting.
The company has undertaken to try and find me another post and I am also expected to look for positions on the company intranet. There are some interesting jobs there but unfortunately they are all in the snowy wastes and I haven't had my jags to live there.
Now, I wouldn't want anybody to think I'm doing nothing. My agents have been appointed and are all beavering away to find me new opportunities. I have also started to use my network of friends and ex-colleagues and opportunities are pending. It's just that most of the opportunities are not ones I particularly like.
Insurance Brokers like to appoint people who can basically steal business from their previous employer. I mean that quite literally. If you can bring a book of business with you most firms will give you a position tomorrow. Let me be more precise. Most people will have something called a restrictive covenant in their contracts. It forbids them from canvassing any of their previous clients during a period, usually the first twelve months, of their new contract. It is frequently ignored, usually on the grounds that it is held to be a restrictive practice or a constraint of trade. I personally have taken business with me before and I regretted it and felt somewhat shabby, and that was without a restrictive covenant. Notwithstanding the legalities I take the position that I signed the contract, accepted the covenant and, in so doing, gave my word that I would honour it. This is something that may make me appear to be a fool to some but, if so, I'm happy to be that fool.
I actually, through a takeover, once ended up working for a firm which was actively involved in inciting its new employees to steal business from their previous employer whilst issuing dire legal threats of retribution to any of its ex-employees who had moved on. Such bare-faced hypocrisy is perhaps an extreme example of a practice which many others quietly condone.
I must admit that my initial feeling on being given on this news was a excitement. My previous position was becoming dull and stale. I would probably have looked to move on in around a year or so, so the only inconvenience was having to move at a time not of my choosing. But that can't be helped, the company have their requirements so move I must. I'm generally positive and excited that the next few months will be hard work, tiring and invigorating. They will result in a new challenge and in meeting new people. It's something I enjoy and am looking forward to.
What, I hear nobody cry, were your thoughts and feelings on being told that you might be getting made redundant?
Firstly, nobody has told me yet that I am being made redundant. My position is being made redundant on the 30th April and I am now in what is euphemistically known as "consultation". I'm intrigued to find out what this "consultation" actually involves. In the six working days since I found out this news there has been little, if any, consultation. My boss phoned once to find out how I was. I was fine. The only other consultation as such was a five minute telephone call from an outplacement consultant - there's a potential growth industry - who asked me to send him my CV. He would call me back tomorrow. I'm still waiting.
The company has undertaken to try and find me another post and I am also expected to look for positions on the company intranet. There are some interesting jobs there but unfortunately they are all in the snowy wastes and I haven't had my jags to live there.
Now, I wouldn't want anybody to think I'm doing nothing. My agents have been appointed and are all beavering away to find me new opportunities. I have also started to use my network of friends and ex-colleagues and opportunities are pending. It's just that most of the opportunities are not ones I particularly like.
Insurance Brokers like to appoint people who can basically steal business from their previous employer. I mean that quite literally. If you can bring a book of business with you most firms will give you a position tomorrow. Let me be more precise. Most people will have something called a restrictive covenant in their contracts. It forbids them from canvassing any of their previous clients during a period, usually the first twelve months, of their new contract. It is frequently ignored, usually on the grounds that it is held to be a restrictive practice or a constraint of trade. I personally have taken business with me before and I regretted it and felt somewhat shabby, and that was without a restrictive covenant. Notwithstanding the legalities I take the position that I signed the contract, accepted the covenant and, in so doing, gave my word that I would honour it. This is something that may make me appear to be a fool to some but, if so, I'm happy to be that fool.
I actually, through a takeover, once ended up working for a firm which was actively involved in inciting its new employees to steal business from their previous employer whilst issuing dire legal threats of retribution to any of its ex-employees who had moved on. Such bare-faced hypocrisy is perhaps an extreme example of a practice which many others quietly condone.
I must admit that my initial feeling on being given on this news was a excitement. My previous position was becoming dull and stale. I would probably have looked to move on in around a year or so, so the only inconvenience was having to move at a time not of my choosing. But that can't be helped, the company have their requirements so move I must. I'm generally positive and excited that the next few months will be hard work, tiring and invigorating. They will result in a new challenge and in meeting new people. It's something I enjoy and am looking forward to.
Friday 6 February 2009
Redundancy
So, at great expense, I flew down to Leicester attanded my interview and flew home.
The following week, at even greater expense, I flew down again, stayed overnight and attended a meeting where I was told that my position was provisionally being made redundant, I had been unsuccessful in obtaining the new replacement post and would probably be leaving on 30th April.
I have to admit that I wasn't devastated. I was genuinely pleased for my colleague who got the job. He genuinely wanted it and went the extra mile to get the job.
So, now I'm faced with a job search and it's something I'm genuinely positive about. I have been in my industry for more than 20 years, but with a newly minted degree I'm quite anxious to see if there is anything else I can do with my life. I've been looking in my current industry and have arranged two interviews but it's proving a little more challenging to find something new and exciting. It's also really quite scary putting your head above the parapet and stepping out of your comfort zone - that's enough cliche's for one sentence!
The following week, at even greater expense, I flew down again, stayed overnight and attended a meeting where I was told that my position was provisionally being made redundant, I had been unsuccessful in obtaining the new replacement post and would probably be leaving on 30th April.
I have to admit that I wasn't devastated. I was genuinely pleased for my colleague who got the job. He genuinely wanted it and went the extra mile to get the job.
So, now I'm faced with a job search and it's something I'm genuinely positive about. I have been in my industry for more than 20 years, but with a newly minted degree I'm quite anxious to see if there is anything else I can do with my life. I've been looking in my current industry and have arranged two interviews but it's proving a little more challenging to find something new and exciting. It's also really quite scary putting your head above the parapet and stepping out of your comfort zone - that's enough cliche's for one sentence!
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