Saturday, January 31, 2009

Curveball Redux

In my last post, I talked about finding out how my contract was finished at the end of the month and that I was interviewing for a permanent spot on the team. Well, I found out earlier this week that, although I almost certainly would have been given the position and did very well in the interview, the company was no longer able to extend the offer to outside applicants. This was a week known for its massive amount of layoffs, and my client was one of those affected. They were laying off several hundred employees, and not filling several hundred more open positions. Although this position was not included in that number (i.e. they still were planning on filling it), the company decided they could not justify giving it to candidates who weren't already part of the company when so many were losing their jobs.

I understand where they are coming from. Even though in the short term its definitely more advantageous to hire a candidate who can hit the ground running (in my case, I already performed 95% of the duties for the position, and have done so for almost three years), the company also feels quite strongly about protecting and retaining its current employees. When you're a hired gun, it's important to remember that you are not actually a company employee -- you work for either your consulting/staffing firm or you are self-employed. I've seen too many people forget this over the years, and it causes a lot of hurt feelings. But, that's a post for another day. The point here is that the company wants to support and keep its employees even when it might not be the most operationally effective tactic, and I respect that even if I lose out personally from it.

As for what's next, I'll get into that next week. I certainly have plenty of time to blog now!

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