[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
[Author Index (this month)][Thread Index (this month)][Top of Archive]

Re: Cutting a contract short

Subject: Re: Cutting a contract short
From: "Jeff Scattini" <jeff -dot- scattini -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 17:18:43 +0200

For what it's worth, when I walked away from my last contract to take
the position I have now, I had a long talk with my manager about the
reasons why I was leaving. The open communication we had allowed him
to see that what he could offer wasn't enough to keep me at the
position. I also gave him several recommendations of equally or better
qualified technical writers that I knew were looking for a new
contract. I've found that's a good way to mend fences if you're going
to leave early. Don't just leave your manager hanging with a vacant
position. We all know a colleague who is looking for work that we can
recommend for a position. I don't know if my manager hired my
recommendation, but the fact that I was obviously concerned about the
vacant space I was leaving allowed me to part on fairly good terms
with that company.


My two cents.


On 9/11/06, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> wrote:

There are three separate issues you need to address in this situation.

1. What are you obligated by contract to do? If you are working
W2 as an agency employee, you have no contract obligations
with regard to notice that can be enforced in most states (but
check yours). If you are 1099 and carrying your own contract,
you are a vendor and different rules apply. Depending on the
terms of your contract, you can be required to give a specific
notice (30 days seems to be the most frequent), or you may
be subject to legal consequences in the form of penalties the
can pursue in court.

2. What are the potential effects on your future prospects? You
may be working in multiple fields or in a field where there is
little or no contact between different companies. Or you may
be working in a small, close-knit field where any prospective
employer or client can bypass the HR or Purchasing depts of
any company on your resume by picking up a phone and calling
a golfing buddy. Do you have lots of other references (not
necessarily local) you can fall back on in the event this company
and agency become ugly on you?

3. What will the effect be on your personal self-image? Can you
say, "they'd walk me out the door today if they needed to shave
a few thousand off this quarter's bottom line, I'm looking out
for my interests," and walk away? Or will you spend the next
five years fretting over having "failed to keep a commitment,"
and break into a nervous sweat whenever you need to look a
prospective employer/client in the eye and say that you can be
relied upon to finish what you start?

You can obtain legal guidance for #1, but for #2 and #3 you're
pretty much on your own. I can't even tell you which of these
you should consider the most important.

Gene Kim-Eng


----- Original Message -----
From: "Administrator" <admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com>

> I'm currently in the middle of a 6-month contract that I'm considering
> cutting short to look for another opportunity. There are several
> factors involved, such as a relatively low current pay scale, the fact
> that my current position involves very little writing (maybe a few
> days worth out of the whole 6 months and that's pretty much done), and
> that the contract is expected to end shortly before Christmas, a rough
> time to be out beating the streets for a new contract. I'll mention
> that I was told up front there is a fair chance my contract might be
> extended, but there's certainly no guarantee of that and even then
> most of the negatives I mentioned will still hold true.
>
> I'm concerned over how many and how badly I'll burn bridges if I do
> leave. There's the agency I'm working through. I haven't worked with
> them before, but I'm fairly new to this area and am worried about
> burning relationships. And of course I'll annoy the company I'm
> currently working with since they have another non-writing task that
> they'd like to stick with for the next few months while they prepare
> to roll out a product.
>
> Can anyone offer any wise words of counsel?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Easily create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to any popular Help file format or printed documentation. Learn more at http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as jeff -dot- scattini -at- gmail -dot- com -dot-
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/jeff.scattini%40gmail.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Easily create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to any popular Help file format or printed documentation. Learn more at http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot-
To unsubscribe send a blank email to techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40infoinfocus.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.

References:
FWD: Cutting a contract short: From: Administrator
Re: Cutting a contract short: From: Gene Kim-Eng

Previous by Author: Re: Music choices
Next by Author: canon camera user doc style
Previous by Thread: Re: Cutting a contract short
Next by Thread: Re: FWD: Cutting a contract short

[Top of Archive] | [Author Index (this month)] | [Thread Index (this month)]

What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:

Sponsored Ads