Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
(OP)
If you were laid off for a while would you accept a job you didn't like just to have a job (in this economy)? How long would you stay with the employer for to make such a thing less "unethical"?





RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
And I did.
Been here for close to a year.
"Unethical" is a bit of a dangerous word to use here. Would it be more ethical for me to go on welfare in order to support my kids? You gotta do what you gotta do!
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
On the other hand I am sure most employers would have little hesitation in sacking you if they ran out of work or didn't like you. So don't feel too bad if you decide to jump ship early.
Besides you might find the job is not as bad as you thought.
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
The potentially dishonest act is pretending during the interview to be interested in the job, even though you are not.
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
As for the job I took, pay was very low, and remained low the 6 years I ended up staying. The company was a pain to work for. But in the end, I gained engineering experience that landed me later jobs. And, the employer got good new product designs they wouldn't of had otherwise (I was the first "degreeded" engineer they had on their design staff in several years!).
For many non-prime employers, recessions are their only opportunity to have talent.
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Until I found something better, less than a year first time, just over 4 this time.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
2. As long as they can stand me.
It's usually not that long.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
I did review that thread, but that was a money issue. Not quite the same. Thanks for the opinions, guys.
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
TTFN
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RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Regards
Pat
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RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Rafiq Bulsara
http://www.srengineersct.com
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
I had a similar question on this board. Needless to say, the employer in question had no integrity and I didn't have to worry about quitting.
If you ever have an interview with a "Vice President of Engineering" who didn't have an engineering degree, and who never worked under an engineer, and who didn't know what an EIT is; there's a very good chance they're not running a smooth operation.
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Once I took a job at a small engineering company, it was the worse job I ever had...worse than flipp'n burgers!
Chris
SolidWorks 09 SP4.1
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
corus
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Peter Stockhausen
Senior Design Analyst (Checker)
Infotech Aerospace Services
www.infotechpr.net
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Peter Stockhausen
Senior Design Analyst (Checker)
Infotech Aerospace Services
www.infotechpr.net
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
"Throughout space there is energy. Is this energy static or kinetic! If static our hopes are in vain; if kinetic — and this we know it is, for certain — then it is a mere question of time when men will succeed in attaching their machinery to the very wheelwork of nature". – Nikola Tesla
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
I received an offer letter before my first week was over. I put in my notice that I would be leaving in 3 weeks. Everyone pretty much knew that I wasn't going to be there long anyway. My boss at the time wanted to train me on the large equipment but knew it was pointless since I was leaving in a couple of weeks so they did all of the setups for me and I just pushed a button and inspected my parts as they finished. It was a good learning experience to know what machinists have to go through to make parts.
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
My shortest job was 4 months. I had thought about staying there long term, not because I felt guilty, but the work turned out to be interesting for a short while. Then it went rapidly downhill, and at the same time a great job turned up.
My wife worked a temp job for about a week and quit for a full time position. Not quite the same thing but close enough.
The guy next to me quit his contract position with us after a month for something full time.
And always keep in mind what TheTick said, they would dump you in a heartbeat. Never forget it ;)
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
You have to look outside the box. When I arrived in the US 15 years ago, I didn't limit my job search to being an engineer. Some of our pub owners around here are from all walks of education from the nephew of a loan shark to a Physics graduate.
I was a bartender when I met the President of a local company who needed office help. Knowing I was an engineer by trade he gradually over the next two months brought me from answering the phone to installation of the systems (custom software and hardware). Over the next seven years I rose in that company and that experience got me into my current position where I have been for the last five years.
Every thing you do teaches you more about what you like, dislike and can tolerate.
drawn to design, designed to draw
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Not all of the jobs listed above were McJobs, 2 of mine were/are engineering. If something better (however you personally measure it) came along I'd take it.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Regards
Pat
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RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
(Funny story, apparantly HR didn't know about this agreement, only the former VP of operations who was no longer with the co. When the purchaser asked for his 3 months, HR said no. So he got his copy of the agreement to show them. They tried telling him it was no longer valid as the VP that signed it was no longer with the company! They were persuaded of their error. His wasn't the only similar case in that round of lay-offs, they underestimated the severance payout overall by several 10's of $thousands.)
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
That is entirely useless information, but the moral would appear to be that I, at least, cannot seem to judge whether I will like a job without actually doing it.
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Yes, but an engineer entering a new field they're unfamiliar with could depending on type of training the new company provides.
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
I've never taken a job for the sake of being employed (post-career), but I came very close to doing so this year. I stay at jobs until I feel I have stopped growing, then it's time to start looking. If you've been laid off, I don't find anything unethical about getting any job, and leaving that job as soon as possible if you want to return to your career field.
"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."
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RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Look at if from a different point of view. As a tax payer, how do you feel about someone that could be working instead getting by on government subsidized beneffits? Is that any more ethical than taking a job expecting not to be ther long?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
This is a fact, I've paid for every dime of my post graduate training at seminars and community colleges. The only one companies will let people go to are the over glorified free technical "infomercials" that vendors offer.
Some of them have been good infomercials with more info than mercial.
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
As for "liking" your job, in tough times, that's a luxury. It's a relatively recent phenomenon that people actually get a choice between jobs they "like" and those they don't. Engineers are already quite lucky in that regard; most people only get to choose between jobs they "hate" and those they hate less. Their "dream" jobs are probably close to the one you just don't "like."
As for duration, be professional, give adequate, or longer, notice, and finish your projects before moving on. If you make any term commitments, honor them.
TTFN
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RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
-- MechEng2005
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
How can you possibly make any commitment to an employer as to how long you will stay there? You may have the best of intentions, but life happens. Maybe your wife gets a job that requires you to move. Maybe you have to move to care for an elderly parent. Maybe you find another job that pays better and had better benefits. There are a whole host of reasons that your plans could change.
While there may be some difference in your feelings toward different jobs, is there really any difference in taking a job that you hate with the idea that you're going to keep looking or taking a job that you love, but something happens with your family and you have to find new employment? There may be subtleties there that make YOU feel better about the situation, but is the end result really any different?
Additionally, how is it unethical to put your family's interests above your employers. I would hope that most people do that. As long as you're doing your job to the best of your abailiy, what's the problem?
IR, My company has less than 100 employees and they're paying for my graduate education.
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
TTFN
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RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
I was laid off a couple of months ago, and I've taken a temporary job as a Purchase Clerk. Its quite low pay, but its easy work and it covers the bills.
When I get home after work I search for jobs and fill out applications. I also try and learn some new skills, or brush up on old ones.
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Ibertest Internacional S.A.
http://www.ibertestint.com
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
TTFN
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RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
I've taken temp jobs, bought and sold through classifieds and at flea markets, rumaged through dumpsters (for saleable items, not food!) whatever brought in the income during the low cycles. Never have been on welfare and have always left a job on my own accord. I do feel for you folks that have gone through firings and layoffs, that would be a tough pack to shoulder.
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
westheimer, somewhere along the way you will find yourself in a job where a paycut becomes wholly acceptable to get back other things which matter: family, friends, social life, holidays, etc. When it was my turn to make the decision I ended up halving my pay - literally - to get out of London and to stop working six days out of seven and 90+ hours a week. Lost my paid overtime and a works car, and it was the best decision I ever made. The money from the London job gave me a good start in my life, but what's the point in having money if you have no one to spend it on and instead you are working yourself into an early grave?
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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!
RE: Would you take a job you didn't want if you were laid off?
Speaking both as an employer then later as an an employee.
When I ran a business I would try to find the best employees I could. If one of these guys had a problem I would bend over backwards to see if things could be worked out. If the guy had found a better job that I could not match at the time , I would wish him luck and keep the door open. If the employee was not, that good I did not bend, I would simply wish him goodbye.
Some years ago during the final strike with Eastern Airlines I had people who were vastly, overqualified ,working for me doing mundane tasks with the mutual understanding that when the strike was over they would leave and go back to work and that if I ran out of work they would be the first to go. The way the Eastern strike turned out, I ended up with a couple of very good employees who stayed with me for several years and became very valuable to the business.
Later I closed the business due to a mini recession giving my people ample notice and a chance to secure new jobs, and moved to California as an employee. At first life was good until another mini-recession hit, at which time I discovered that I was just a number. If the company had no work you did not either. Even if you are "overqualified" for a job take it anyway. Right now in this economy we have PhD's driving taxicabs in San Diego, and when the "right" job turns up simply tell your employer you have received a better offer.
B.E.