Hey! So to make a long story short, about 2 months ago I learned that Iāll probably be PIPāed (posted about this here btw and received super helpful advice, thanks <3). I thought this comes only from my direct manager (who is leaving now), but after talking to my skip level they seemed to support the decision. āØAfter learning this I immediately started reaching out to other teams who were hiring, because Iām in a big tech company and an external switch is complicated in the current market.
Fast forward, a manager from another team wanted to hire me. I didnāt want to raise any attention until I had a confirmation that this is a done deal. Hiring manager + recruiter told me they want to hire me, so I had to talk to my skip level & manager. I was really afraid of doing this too early because of how bad it looks if it doesnāt work out, but at this point I had no choice.
I phrased the conversations with my managers as asking for advice if it makes sense or not. Skip level told me immediately itās a great idea and I should go for it, manager was more neutral, but there were no efforts made to retain me.
Last week, I told them that Iād decide to go for it, so my managers and the hiring managers had a conversation.
In the meantime, I did my job as usual and didnāt inform anyone else. This week I learned as expected that Iād be pipāed in my current role if I stayed, so leaving would have been a good choice. However according to management the PIP isnāt designed to force me out but āto help me improveā (not very conifdent that they really mean it though).
This week, I also got informed though that eventually the other team moved forward with another candidate. Fair enough, no hard feelings, but why do you make me go to my managers if the decision isnāt final?
The reasons were:
- Concerns regarding remote work
- Technical skills
My company has RTO going on and Iām currently remote, apparently the new director is a fan of coming to the office.
Anyway, Iām applying externally, and I have some processes going on, but nothing concrete, so it seems like Iām forced to stay in my current role. Iād be okay with being laid off, but I canāt quit myself because Iād lose on a lot of benefits (not in the US) and also severance.
My idea was that I would need to say that eventually I backed off due to not being able to agree on some issues revolving around workmode and start date.
Afterwards I would then ask to sit down with manager & skip level and address the points that make me unhappy and ask for a clear trajectory from their side to address these and also on how they imagine collaborating given the PIP they triggered.
Does that seem to make sense to you? I mean if I can leave I will leave immediately, but currently thatās not an option yet.
So now Iām really wondering how to go from here? Iām currently aligning with the hiring manager & recruiter to align communication, but given that I already said Iām leaving that can only be damage control.
Reality check time, Youāre on your way out buddy. Companies donāt use PIPs as a last resort anymore, 99% of the time itās to build the case to let you go without any blowback / unemployment and based on your history it sounds like this was a long time coming and you knew it. You didnāt get the other role because your current manager most likely gave the other team a heads up. Your only real option is to look externally at this point so it doesnāt really make sense to me why you wouldnāt at least try, If youāre in a big tech company what exactly makes it complicated to switch? If anything that should make it easier?
His manager at least had the decency to warn him ahead of time about the PIP. Still - it seems mostly about forcing him out of his remote position.
Definitely Iām on my way out. An external switch atm is just difficult because there arenāt that many open positions. Iām currently in one process where I profited from my network. Other than that itās quite tough right now. ca. 1.5y when I was making the switch, I had to pick from 3 different offers and cancelled on a few final round interviews. The market is bad for my field right now, this is what makes the switch tough.
And yeah Iām also assuming they gave the new manager a heads up. Too bad.