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work contract stopped

work contract stopped

work contract stopped

(OP)
Hello:

Got some bad news today that my work contract will be stopped soon. I still have about 4 weeks notice to find some fall backs. Official reason is reorganization of the company. My boss and I know that the real reason is different and it is that we could not get along with each other. I did not like the job anyway but managed to keep going forward and deliver what I was requested to deliver with the objective to find some way out in the meantime. It did not happen. Customers rated satisfactorily my contribution to their business but management/HR was busy otherwise constructing the outcome that I just made you aware of.

Fact is, my career has been punctuated with relatively short employment periods and lot of switching.
Something like 4, 1.5, 2.5 years job periods is immediately remarkable in my resume. But definitely when I will be leaving this job, it would not have lasted very long (1 year).

Now that I am going to work at landing interviews, here are my questions :
Would you state to prospective employers that your job has been stopped - for instance given my record of short employment periods - would that help if I say : "my current job will end in xx days - this is the main reason why I am actively prospecting for a new role".

More generally any suggestions how to tackle this challenge would be appreciated.

Thanks

RE: work contract stopped

So, are you a contract worker, or an employee?

Sounds like a contract worker...

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: work contract stopped

"would that help if I say : "my current job will end in xx days - this is the main reason why I am actively prospecting for a new role".

yes,i would want to hear that bell ring clear and true, and then you'd make me empathize.

then i'd need you to sell the hell out of why you haven't been long at multiple places and why i don't need to be concerned that you'll for some reason or another disappear from my office after we got you up to speed

and, please know, i could be persuaded

good luck!

RE: work contract stopped

I think it would be beneficial to explain you are leaving on good terms, only due to company restructuring (don't bring your baggage about not getting along with the boss into an interview.) They trust you enough (professional and personality wise) to give you some advance notice, and you are still carrying out your duties to the best of your ability, etc. You can emphasize you are now looking for a long term position with more stability, and expect to stay for quite awhile if they bring you on.

Puts you at a bit of a disadvantage when negotiating salary, but with no explanation you might not get to that point. Less than 1 year without explanation does not look good. If you aren't totally happy with the salary offer and they aren't willing to negotiate, showing *a little* confidence by saying you can accept, and feel you can prove your worth during the first few performance reviews would be a mature way to handle it. Let's them know you do expect to make more soon, so they won't be surprised if you start shopping around after 2 years with no raise, for example.

RE: work contract stopped

Getting four weeks' notice speaks well of you, but you still face a serious writing challenge.

My suggestion, based on too many jobs that didn't last long enough by HR standards:

For each job, you need to make the real reason for your departure clear to the hiring manager.

It does not need to be clear to HR weenies. Don't label it with 'reason for departure' or anything similar; just work it into the narrative of what you did.

It needs to be true, or at least credible and not demonstrably false.

It doesn't hurt to work in a little subtle humor for the hiring manager, but it has to be undetectable by HR types.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: work contract stopped

(OP)
Thanks for your orientations. Some precisions:

- I am not contractor but work as staff member although I initially got a contract of fixed duration. Because I was brought from my former company as permanent staff worker, I was told by HR during the interview/job offer stage to not worry about the fixed term contract as it is really just a mandatory formality ; in other words if performance is within expectation there said there will turn my contract to permanent. No record, this was all verbal.

- Regarding notice period, this is Europe. So its legal requirement to receive 4 weeks notice as minimum. Actually the usual practice for fixed term contract / staff member is to be informed of the extension status a least 3 months before the expiry of the contract. Being an expat, my residence is tied to my work and so the 3 months period is just what you need to start maneuvering, as best case. I know in US people are less at advantage in terms of notice and protection against laid off (1/2 weeks seems more usual practice).

- I work in oil and gas, so most easy way to get out of this would be to start contracting. But this seems tough at the moment due to depletion of new infrastructure projects. Fall back is to start my own business but due to the fact I don't have "multi-purpose" work permit in Europe (being expat) there are paper work barriers there, in short I cant start my own business until I clear a tedious and long administrative process and it is very likely tat the outcome would not be conclusive. In addition, I just have about more than a decade in business so I do have experience but its somehow limited.

RE: work contract stopped

(OP)
Mike,

I landed an interview at my former company. I made a request to them in writing that I wanted to go back to my previous position. Now I am invited officially for an interview.

So this can be a "light" at the end of tunnel but it can also be a train coming opposite direction.

One question I expect is: why have you left at first place and why now expressing an interest to come back ?
Saying that my contract has been stopped makes me in a weak position and is a knife with double edge.
They could let me sink or have some sympathy. Don't know which card to play?

Any suggestion please?


RE: work contract stopped

Minor white lie....... present job isn't what I thought it would be , management structure leaves a bit to be desired, now recognise that my reasons for leaving here weren't as well thought out as I believed at the time.. yada yada yada. Having said that, during my career I always believed if I left an organisation and my new position didn't work out for whatever reason , I wouldn't try to go back to a previous employer and I would seek employment elsewhere.

RE: work contract stopped

Considering my own career, having changed jobs about two years ago and having survived four rounds of layoffs at my current employer, I've given this some thought. I left my previous job on good terms and most former coworkers considered my move a step up. If I were to be let go and consider going back to my previous employer, I would sell it as bringing more value back to my previous employer. I wouldn't be looking for the same level of responsibility, I would shoot for what would amount to a promotion. From a previous employer's standpoint, you've gained a year's worth of experience (and maybe training) that they didn't have to pay for. You beat out competing resumes in that you already know their policies, procedures, people and culture. Asking for more responsibility could imply a positive reason for having left in the first place.

Please know, however, I haven't ever hired or fired anyone myself, so this is not HR advice.

I used to count sand. Now I don't count at all.

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