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I look forward to getting feedback on these newsletters so
that I know if I'm providing any useful or interesting information. I
seemed to have hit a nerve judging from the responses I'm getting on the question
of the work ethics of Trinidadians. See Tell Us What You Think.
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Suppose you are tempted to apply for a new job. You
may not be desperate to leave and, in fact, you are quite happy in your current
job; it's just that you would like a change and a new challenge, and you will
earn more money to boot. Your resume will look better if you have a
history of good jobs to show your career progression and the breadth of your
experience.
Then you are made an offer and it's time to make a
decision. You talk to your family and you decide that this is a good
opportunity that you should not pass up. You feel that now is a good time
to leave your employer as you're not working on anything so crucial. You
sign the job letter and hand in your resignation to your boss. Then the
@#$% hits the fan!
Suddenly you discover that your current employer thinks
highly of your talents and that you have great prospects with their company;
only they never gave you this impression before. They want you to stay
with them and they prove this by presenting you with an equal or better
counter-offer! What do you do?
What you should do is think very carefully about the
motives behind the counter-offer and also what you may be doing to any future
chances of working with the new company should you renege on your signed job
contract.
The reason your current employers are so keen to keep you
is that your leaving will make life very inconvenient for them - it's costly to
recruit a replacement and it takes time and is a hassle. Plus, a new person has
a learning curve to get up to speed and won't have all that on-the-job knowledge
that's in your head. They are thinking of what's best for them, not for
you.
The fact is that nearly every person who accepts a
counter-offer leaves, or tries to leave, that employment within a year. By
accepting another job, you have shown disloyalty to your employer. This
will impact on your promotion prospects and probably the quality of the work
that comes your way, despite their promises to the contrary.
They will never trust you again not to leave them in the lurch. They just
wanted you to finish whatever you were working on and give them time to work
around your loss. You will find yourself being left out in the cold and
you will eventually become unhappy enough to start actively job-hunting.
I have seen this happen over and over again. I
know from my own experience what it's like to be torn between the comfort of
your current employer and the attraction of a new opportunity, and the pressure
an employer can put on a person to stay. I decided I needed to move on and
never regretted that decision. My advice is to be absolutely sure you can
resist any counter-offer before accepting another job.
If you have any doubts then by all means talk to your
current boss about the reasons why you may consider looking for other
opportunities, so that you can explore what potential there is in staying put.
But do this before you go as far as accepting an offer for another job.
Word of warning - do not resign before you get that job offer in your hand!
Another consideration in a small society like a Caribbean
island is that if you turn down a job offer you may be spoiling any chances of
ever working with that company again. Also, one day you may go for a job
interview with a different company and come face to face with the same person
you let down. So, do consider very carefully what's best for you! |
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Letters to the Editor:
In my more than 25 years in
IT, 15 abroad, 10 in Trinidad, I do not see more or less commitment from Trini
IT professionals than professionals from abroad, UK, USA or otherwise. What I
do see is, professionals or even people with personal pride who are committed
will always do their best, and even work very long hours/weeks/months to
complete the job on-time, mainly due to bad management/planning/short staffing.
However, there is too much poor project management, poor senior management, with
a large slant on keeping the bigger boss happy (sucking up, not wanting to say
no), a tendency to wait until the last minute to get things done by some staff
and using others to get one's own job done, and reaping the reward for
themselves. Most of this of course being human nature. .... Philip.
As an IT manager coming
from Germany to Trinidad some years ago I can follow these described problems.
My own experience is very mixed if it comes to such issues. I met both, highly
educated and motivated Trinidadians working very professional and also the
“typical” Trinidadian worker, getting defensive on every suggestion of
improvement and having real problems with time management and authorities.
Implementing changes into an average Trinidadian company is a real challenge to
every manager involved. The very positive aspect to me is the experience and
learning factor.
It is so very easy to change habits and policies in an
environment as you find it in Europe, preferable in Austria, Germany, Italy and
France where no worker would ever question your order but just run to get it
done asap. Yet, you suddenly find yourself involved with staff that want to know
why and how and by the way “me was limin so me not doin nothing now ‘cause me
tired, boss”.
It is a true challenge and even as an international experienced manager you have
to re-think and be creative. Also it can be very tiring – to an European manager
it seems there is a lot of time wasted – but let me tell you something: it is
not! Job wise there is nothing like the satisfaction of getting the team working
and the job done, especially in Trinidad, with Trinidadians.
And PLEASE don’t misunderstand me! There are true and amazing professionals out
there I have the most respect for and fun working with!!!
.... Dirk
Interesting thoughts.
Is it true that Trinis are typically resistant to suggestions of improvement?
Do you agree that staff having to work long hours is due to poor project
management and bad senior management? What are your feelings on our
"carnival" mentality and resulting lack of productivity? ..... Ed.
We would love to hear what you think of this issue of
CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that
you would like to share with us, please send those too.
Comments, suggestions, feedback?
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© Copyright 2005
Caribbean Resourcing Solutions Ltd.
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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In This Issue:
-
Editor's Note
-
Counter-Offers - Should You Accept Them?
- Tell Us What You Think
-
Subscriptions
Check our
website for a complete list of I.T. JOBS
New requirements include:
Web Developer/ Programmer
(TRINIDAD):-
To provide design, programming and implementation support to business
software with specific emphasis on web applications.
– Job Ref:K132
I.T. Manager (TRINIDAD):-
To facilitate and maintain the optimal use of computer systems.
– Job Ref:K131
Assistant General Manager - Technology
(TRINIDAD):-
To assist the company in attaining it’s strategic I.T. objectives.
– Job Ref:SJ101
Windows Network Administrator (TRINIDAD):-
Responsible for management, administration and maintenance of the
Windows network environment. Execution of network-related special
projects. Provision of technical support for other special projects in
train.
– Job Ref:SJ80
Urgently required:
I.T. Auditor (TRINIDAD):-
To perform complex level internal auditing work.
– Job Ref:SJ99
We are always looking for the following skills so please
encourage anyone with experience to apply via
www.crsitjobs.com:
I.T. Sales - all levels and for
different Caribbean islands
AS/400
UNIX
Contract jobs are usually filled quickly from our
database and therefore are not advertised on our website, so make sure that your
résumé is up-to-date to get included in our searches
Online
Psychometric Testing
WHO IS CRS?
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www.crsitjobs.com
... a leading provider of technical resources in the Caribbean
We are based in
Trinidad & Tobago
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www.crsoilandgasjobs.com
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