The Job Hunt Thread

[Wisconsin Beth]

Oct 22, 2015 8:27:37 GMT -5 Pants said:

Oct 22, 2015 7:57:50 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

That's what I was thinking.   I was going to say another job offer came thru back at UNMC with higher pay.   I'm sorry for any problems I'm causing and I thank them for the opportunity they gave me.

There is no way on God's green earth I'd see a $7.5k increase if I stayed here.  The only way to increase that much in this industry is to lab hop.   Only an idiot would turn it down.

We'll see how it goes, hopefully they will be professional about it.

Nope.

Beth's email is the right track. 

I wasn't sure if it would work for a lab job.  I've used variations of it but I'm in local gov't and it's all internal and not really a secret. 

[flamingo]

I also wouldn't say that you regret to inform them or that you regret the short notice. I'd just be straightforward and stick to the facts. "I am submitting my 2 weeks notice. My last day will be X." Then rest of Beth's wording works. Definitely thank them for the opportunity they gave you, that will help smooth things over and makes you look like the bigger person.

From what you've said they have a high turn over rate. They shouldn't be overly shocked by this.

[TheHaitian]

Oct 22, 2015 8:11:13 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Dear boss,

I regret to inform you that I am submitting my 2 week (or whatever) notice, effective 10/22/15 (or whatever).  I regret the short notice and inconvenience that this causes you.  I've gotten to X point in data collection as of 10/21/15. 

I thank you for the opportunity of working in your lab and hope to work with you again in the future.  It has been a fascinating experience and I wish you well with your research in Q. 

Sincerely,
Drama

I would say this!!!!!

[TheHaitian]

Good job Drama and Congrats again!

7.5k raise is a pretty nice chump of change, plus the cut in healthcare costs!!!

Good job!!!

[midjd]

Congratulations, Drama! That is awesome news! 

I know you are excited about upping savings and retirement, but be sure to treat yourself to a nice dinner out or some other treat. You've more than earned it!  

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Still no letter yet.

Would it be wrong of me to shoot an email around mid day reminding them if they want me to give my notice tomorrow that I need that letter by the end of the day?

Otherwise it will have to be on Monday or later. I am not quitting this job till I have a written confirmation and start date in my hot little hand.

I know you are excited about upping savings and retirement, but be sure to treat yourself to a nice dinner out or some other treat

I want a couch. I HATE our couch and have been wanting to replace it for a long time but other obligations have to come first.

Now I'll have enough to cover all that AND get a couch!

[Wisconsin Beth]

Is written confirmation email or snail mail Drama? 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Should be email and I can sign electronically. They want me to start before the current tech leaves on November 24th.

[Chocolate Lover]

Oct 21, 2015 19:35:41 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I got the job!!!!!!!!!!!

Formal letter should be in my inbox tomorrow morning. They understand I am not giving my notice until it's 100% official. Should move fast since I was employed there at the beginning of the year.

Estimated start date is November 9th.

OMG I can do so much with a bigger paycheck.    We can put aside money for the house (we're going to buy it from my parents), I can put aside money for braces, more retirement, bigger EF.   We're looking at gross another $21k in the five years I'm with this lab.

First I am finally getting a new couch!

  CONGRATULATIONS!!!! 

[flamingo]

Oct 22, 2015 9:45:29 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Still no letter yet.

Would it be wrong of me to shoot an email around mid day reminding them if they want me to give my notice tomorrow that I need that letter by the end of the day?

Otherwise it will have to be on Monday or later. I am not quitting this job till I have a written confirmation and start date in my hot little hand.

I know you are excited about upping savings and retirement, but be sure to treat yourself to a nice dinner out or some other treat

I want a couch. I HATE our couch and have been wanting to replace it for a long time but other obligations have to come first.

Now I'll have enough to cover all that AND get a couch!

I would definitely follow up if you don't have anything from them by say, 2pm. I know our HR dept here is SLOW, and a written email reminder seems to help them move faster 

Plus, the person who hired you might assume HR is taking care of things when they aren't. So it's a good touchpoint/reminder for everyone to get on the ball!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Congrats, Drama.....

I know you tried to make the best out of this job, but personally, it would have driven me nuts.

I REALLY want to make the suggestion that if you get any educational benefit, you need to take advantage of it as soon as it becomes available.  There are a few, clinical research certifications that you might want to look into too.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Are they giving you any of your old sick leave bank back?  Even a couple of days would be good. 

[mojothehelpermonkey]

Congrats!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I am going to ask, the worst they can say is no about my sick leave. But UNMC's sick/vacation start accruing the day you start so it won't be long before I begin to have a stockpile again.

Ran into a snafu.  Apparently if I start on November 9th then I am not benefits eligible till December 1st.  I carry our benefits.   We'd have to go on DH's plan for a month which I REALLY don't want to do after dealing with his boneheaded benefits department this summer.

So I am waiting to hear back to see when I would have to start to be eligible in November.   If I have to only give a week that's what I will do.

Mich this lab does drive me crazy.  I got annoyed this morning b/c I got flack for letting someone take a piece of equipment that is shared property between the entire department.  It is not ours to monopolize. I wasn't going to wait till they came in at 10 am to ask permission since the other lab needed it at 8 am.  They never bothered to tell me yesterday we'd need it for today so I could make sure to bring it back.  

Hogging shared materials is one of my biggest pet peeves.  It's also a good chunk of why my PIs aren't popular around here and in turn everyone shuns me since I work for them.

[Ombud]

But if you leave your current job on 11/8, don't you have their hc coverage until December? Current coverage to December 1st, new job's coverage December 1st on?

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I'd have to check with Boys Town HR once I give my notice.  I want to see what UNMC says first.  I am not alerting anyone just yet until I have all the details hammered out.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Just got done talking to HR. They do not cover benefits till the end of the month. They only cover it till the next pay period.

So if I leave on November 9th that would be a little over two weeks without coverage. We can't afford COBRA and I don't want to pay over a grand for three weeks of insurance anyhow.

I doubt we could get on DH's insurance for that short an amount of time and to be honest I'm only ever going on his insurance again if it's the last one on Earth.

So a week's notice it is so I can ensure we have health coverage.

I am waiting for the letter to hit my email.  I am going to go ahead and give my notice tomorrow morning, that way if things go sour I still have a full week of pay and I can just tell them screw you I'm not coming in on Monday.

I'd hate to burn a bridge but if I am with this new lab for 5 years my current position hardly matters.  It's to cover a gap in my resume/employment at this point in time.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Mich this lab does drive me crazy. I got annoyed this morning b/c I got flack for letting someone take a piece of equipment that is shared property between the entire department. It is not ours to monopolize. I wasn't going to wait till they came in at 10 am to ask permission since the other lab needed it at 8 am. They never bothered to tell me yesterday we'd need it for today so I could make sure to bring it back.

Hogging shared materials is one of my biggest pet peeves. It's also a good chunk of why my PIs aren't popular around here and in turn everyone shuns me since I work for them.


Yeah, this is a really good way to make you unpopular and make your job waaay more difficult.  In KY, we had very little shared equipment but we did use a lot in TX.  You really need cooperation between labs for the big shared stuff, like ultracentrifuges and EMs.  Otherwise, you can really find yourself screwed over and others will be unwilling to work with you.

This is really shortsighted of your PIs.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I agree, but apparently it's what they do b/c I got snark from another lab about it. I told him that I just started here I have no idea what goes on between you guys and this piece of equipment.   I understand his frustration but I didn't appreciate him taking it out on me.

[quince]

Drama, you maybe don't have to get COBRA or change coverages because you don't have to let them know whether or not you elect COBRA until I think 60 days, but at least 30, so until after your new benefits are established: which means you can retroactively elect if you need to. That might work for you.

Congratulations! Yay!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Oct 22, 2015 12:38:32 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I agree, but apparently it's what they do b/c I got snark from another lab about it. I told him that I just started here I have no idea what goes on between you guys and this piece of equipment.   I understand his frustration but I didn't appreciate him taking it out on me.

It's a good thing you are out of there, Drama.  There is lousy management all the way around, and if anything you DEFINITELY need collaboration between labs.  The fact that you apparently have very little in this place is going to come back and bite your PIs in the butt some time.  They might be looking for freezer space, if a freezer goes down and everyone will be "nope, no space".  Ultimately, YOU would be the one that needs to deal with this though.

When does your insurance start at the new place?  On your first day, or do you have to be employed a month?  Last time I moved, I found out that if I worked the first day of the month, my insurance was carried through to the end so it made more sense leaving on the first day of the month than the last.  I also managed to get myself on the payroll the same day at the other institution, and I had a month before my insurance kicked in so I was covered that month.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I already got that figured out. If I left here in two weeks I'd lose my coverage for about three weeks in November since they go by pay period not by month.  Insurance would kick in December 1st at UNMC.

I can't go more than two weeks b/c they need me to overlap with the person leaving.

If I start on November 2nd my insurance at UNMC will kick in immediately.

So that's the plan I am giving one week's notice. It's is what is best for me and my family.

[mojothehelpermonkey]

It sounds like they haven't been using you very efficiently as a technician anyway, so I wouldn't feel too guilty about only giving one week's notice.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Gave my notice. They are not happy with me.   Especially since I am only giving them a week.

I blame that one on Boys Town, they forced my hand with that one.

[Chocolate Lover]

That's their problem. They don't care what's best for you and the family.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

They want to try to negotiate with HR for two weeks but I don't think that is going to happen, benefits are usually pretty set in stone.

They said they didn't appreciate me going behind their backs to continue my job hunt after accepting this position that I took this one with no intentions of staying.

Which is incorrect, I had every intention of staying when I took the job.   I didn't know I was going to become so damn miserable and frustrated that I'd want out in four months.

But I didn't say that out loud.

[NastyWoman]

Oct 22, 2015 16:07:07 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

That's their problem. They don't care what's best for you and the family.

So  It's fine that they have policies that are best for them, but the flip side of that coin is that their employees (STBXE in this case) will look after themselves first as well.

[Chocolate Lover]

Oct 22, 2015 16:23:52 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

They want to try to negotiate with HR for two weeks but I don't think that is going to happen, benefits are usually pretty set in stone.

They said they didn't appreciate me going behind their backs to continue my job hunt after accepting this position that I took this one with no intentions of staying.

Which is incorrect, I had every intention of staying when I took the job.   I didn't know I was going to become so damn miserable and frustrated that I'd want out in four months.

But I didn't say that out loud.

They also don't appreciate when someone comes to pick up shared equipment, so who cares what they think?

[flamingo]

Oct 22, 2015 16:23:52 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

They want to try to negotiate with HR for two weeks but I don't think that is going to happen, benefits are usually pretty set in stone.

They said they didn't appreciate me going behind their backs to continue my job hunt after accepting this position that I took this one with no intentions of staying.

Which is incorrect, I had every intention of staying when I took the job.   I didn't know I was going to become so damn miserable and frustrated that I'd want out in four months.

But I didn't say that out loud.

Just remember, if they decided they didn't like you for some reason, they'd fire you, and not give you ANY notice. It sucks for them, but they had a chance to treat you well/decently and not contribute to you being miserable every day.

At this point, even if they come back saying that they figure out the HR stuff so you can stay for 2 weeks, I wouldn't do it. I'd stick with the original plan, which is 1 week. Staying longer just gives them more time to treat you badly. Plus, even if it's petty, at this point I'd feel like leaving after 1 week was a win for me and I wasn't going to "give in" by staying an extra week. 

[TheHaitian]

Leave after 1 week, that is what is best for you and your family.

2 weeks notice is a courtesy, not a requirement.