Resigning 4

[WARose]

I just got finished leaving my job without a concrete offer from another outfit. Now that appears to have been a bit hasty as I'm not sure the people I have been talking to will make an offer. I guess that's one lesson learned.....but the thing about it that worries me is how future (potential) employers will view these moves: this is now the second time in a row I've resigned somewhere without another job lined up. The first was because they expected me to ride herd over a bunch of kids in a department (in my early 40's, I was the oldest structural engineer there), and they put stuff in front of me that others had developed and expected me to stamp it without geotech info and so forth. This last one was just ridiculous: I was there every night until 9pm (sometimes until after 1 am) and I had no drafting help.

It's kind of a vicious cycle: seems like the only people that are hiring are the fly-by-night outfits like these. And the really solid places (I think) get turned off by frequent moves that is part of getting mixed up with these companies. With the second place they were probably relieved because they were out of work.....but I have to admit on the first one, I probably did leave them high and dry (which is what potential employers fear).

Not that I announce this on a resume, but the question is bound to come up in a interview process.....how would you handle it? Just lay out the facts as I have here.....or a different approach? Looking at my resume, they will see some of the same places over and over (which will let them know I leave good work behind)....but this is bound to be asked.

 

[lacajun]

Blue Bell's recent problems punctuate why professionalism and ethics are important. Lack thereof may mean illness or death.

Blue Bell knew of listeria problems

Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC

 

[urgross]

If you know you are right, you stick with your word. If the company does not like it, and you can't reconcile your differences, it's time to move along (or get an arbitrator). I had a prior supervisor ask me how I thought I could be correct on an NFPA issue when every other mechanical engineer was saying I was wrong. The IMC backed me up with a field interpretation, and large amounts of the mechanical engineering community had to eat crow, ass first. After that I was given carte blanche as Chief of Engineering.

 

[IRstuff]

Sticking up for ethical issues is a scary proposition for most, particularly if you're in a company town. Most people don't have the confidence of getting the next job to just walk away from the current job at a moment's notice. I once had a verbal, knock-down, drag-out with my GM over testing issues, and was in the process of creating my Pearl Harbor memo when he came back and apologized. That time, I didn't have much of a choice, since it was a jailable/fineable situation, as well as a potential life-loss, given that some customers were doing flight test. But the GIDEP alert showed up the next day anyway.

TTFN
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