When it’s time to change jobs

February 02nd 2007

After 3 years, which I’d like to point out is a record for me for the longest time in a single company, I decided it was time for a change. I had pretty much done the same thing for the past three years and I had built up such a reputation for my expertise that it was impossible to do anything else. Don’t get me wrong, when I started I loved what I did and I did it incredibly well. I revolutionized my department. But after 3 years I wanted to move on to bigger things. I was denied the training I needed to get a promotion to the next level, and I was warned in advanced that “At our level, we don’t get yearly raises” (that put my raise record at 1 raise in 3 years, 2.8% which means I’m now making less than when I started if you take into account inflation). Now all this brings up several issues.

First is the raise situation in France. Basically, raises are used to normalize the salary curve. People who make less get more, and people who make more get less. It’s very socialistic. The problem with this is, the people who make less often usually make less for a reason, just as the people who make more often almost always make more for a reason. So the raise strategy in France just doesn’t make any sense to me. Under performers are rewarded, and overachievers are punished.

At this point I should point out that this is my first and only big French company and that it’s totally possible that this is just the standard procedure for my company. But I’ve discussed with others and it seems to be the status quo. Contrast this with the US, where if you get anything less than the standard rate of inflation (currently around 1.80%) you get upset, especially when the company is doing really well which is currently the case for mine. I mean, who wants to make less and less every year? Even more shocking is that when you take into account the fact that home prices are rising 10-15% in the past few years, that 0% raise ends up hitting you where it really hurts!

Then there is the grading system. I don’t know how other companies do it, but ours grades everyone below average, average, above, and super above. My first year I got above average. I personally thought I did a super job. I completely modernized our project and started a wave of modernization that continues on even now that I’m gone. My second year, I truly did a super job and I got a note of average. Now this blew my mind because I won our company a very large project from a client who was ready to leave us after 15 years. I may sound a bit modest but at the end of the project, the client told me that I was the reason we won the project. I may be crazy but I’m not stupid and that’s not average. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of euros here!

So now here’s the kicker: I do a super job and get average grade. I get a raise and I’m told I won’t get one every year (hence, I won’t get one next year). So guess what? I didn’t bust my butt the next year and I did a good job but not exceptional. Project finished on scheduled, profitable for the company, client very satisfied. Sounds good to me. And I got an average note. And no raise, but at least I knew that last one was coming.

And there you have it. A vicious cycle. A self-fulfilling prophecy. A system that breaks you down and makes you average. I can’t help but see the parallels here with a socialist government and society. Contrast this with the US. You do a super job, you get a super raise and maybe even a promotion. Then you continue working hard (or maybe even harder). Raise/promotion/promotion/raise. The harder you work, the higher you go until you get to the top. It seems more logical to me.

So I decided to move on. I’m not the only one, many of my coworkers have left recently, even one the same day as me. I found another good opportunity in the company so I did a transfer. I tried my best to negotiate more money in the deal but that was out of the question. “Company policy”. Take it or leave it. It sounded like a good opportunity and I really didn’t have anything to lose so I took it. I kind of felt bad for giving in, I know that if I were to go to a competitor I could have 10% more. But I feel the experience I get doing different things will be worth it. I also requested objectives to get me the training I need to get promoted to the next level. In the long run that could be worth more.

I’ll conclude by saying the department I left is probably tougher than average, at least that’s what I hear. But you know what? For the weeks before my departure, I saw lots of candidates interviewing. I was even giving the interviews myself because not everyone knew that I was leaving! The job market in France is not like in the US. The overall employment rate is around 10% in France compared to half as much in the US. That means it’s an employers market and employers can get away with giving average reviews and 0% raises.

So what can we do about it? It’s easy. At least once a year send out your CV, interview, and see what kind of offers you get. I work with a few people who’ve been in the same department for a long time (10 years for example). They’re certainly paid less than the people who’ve joined the company in the past few years. And most importantly, take advantage when the job market is strong by changing jobs with a big increase in salary. Money isn’t everything, but all things being equal it’s certainly nice to have more of it than less.

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  1. The French dinner party, American style : Everyday France on March 18, 2007 10:10

    [...] forward almost a year.. I changed jobs and suddenly I wasn’t eating lunch with my friend, which had been a daily ritual for almost 2 [...]

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