RE: When you hear the Axe in the dark...

["James Barrow" <vrfour -at- verizon -dot- net>]

>John Posada asked:
>>Al Geist asked:
>>
>>What if they burst in with a better offer????
>
>I know you were kidding, but I'd like to ask a related question.
>
>Has anyone ever handed in a resignation, then be given a better offer to
>stay, and not found out that it was just a stall until a replacement could
>be found and you were shown the door?

Allow me to step inside my alter-ego Hugh.  Hugh Betcha.

This happened to me last November.  I was brought in on a six-month contract
to create all of the documentation and training videos needed for an
18-month project that had six months left before the go-live date.

I finished all of the documentation with a week to spare.  My supervisor
called me into his office that week to congratulate me and inform me that
there was a 'ton of work left to be done on similar projects'.  

As my daily commute was almost four hours per day, I told him that I
appreciated the fact that he liked my work and wanted to keep me around, but
the drive was killing me, and that this meeting was in effect my two-weeks
notice.

He then told me that he *really* liked my work and would do whatever it took
to keep me there.  He offered me FTE, a nice raise in pay, and flexible
hours (as in, I could show up at 10am to avoid the traffic).  I accepted the
full time offer and he wasted no time getting me started on the next project
with a critical deadline.  He left for New York on business the following
day.

For the next week I worked my butt off completing the documentation for the
project, and my boss was in constant contact with me asking for status
updates.  But there was something odd in his emails.  He would often end
them by asking me to make sure that I backed up my work on the shared drive,
leave instructions for how I did complex things in Frame, and even where I
got sound clips that I used in the training videos.

The next Friday I got a call from a recruiter asking me if I would
interested in a tech writer position.  I told her no, that I had just
accepted a full time position.  She tried to get me to change my mind and
went on to describe the position.  It was precisely what I was doing at my
current job.  I asked her who the client was and, you guessed it, it was my
employer.

So I sent the Dice job description to my boss and asked what was going on.
Basically, without incriminating himself, he said that he made me the FTE
offer to keep me around long enough to complete the 'critical project'.

- Jim

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

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include single source authoring, team authoring,
Web-based technology, and PDF output. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

Now shipping: Help & Manual 4 with RoboHelp(r) import! New editor,
full Unicode support. Create help files, web-based help and PDF in up
to 106 languages with Help & Manual: http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
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 admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.