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Tell HN: A reminder you hold so much power

by throwarayes on 6/14/22, 10:52 PM with 20 comments

Having a tough time on your team? Bad relationship with your lead? Working on a death March project? Burnt out?

A reminder you hold so many cards Your org needs you. There are so many software eng opportunities right now, and even with a bear market, you have enough options for employment that your company should be working hard to retain you.

Take care of yourself: you work for YouInc, not your company. You and your satisfaction/sanity are the product. Your employer is just a customer. Don’t get gaslit into believing in the cult around a specific company, no matter how grand.

You can do it. You can interview and get good at selling yourself. Don’t sell yourself short. I believe in you :)

Focus on building YouInc - your personal brand and “product”. Constantly market and grow independent of your employer and you can go far!

  • by eric4smith on 6/14/22, 11:58 PM

    Be the person that everyone has to rely on. Be the person that has the answers no one has.

    That’s your real leverage. Not just a hop from job to job.

    There’s even a word for it “intrapreneur”. Someone who looks at their job as a business.

    Instead of trying to be explicitly independent of your employer, make them be dependent on you.

    Life is about relationships. You can’t just be focused on yourself like that. It’s really not the way.

    Edit: please, I’m not describing being a knowledge hoarder. That sucks as others have described. I’m describing being a linchpin.

  • by annie_muss on 6/15/22, 12:21 AM

    Without knowing much about someone I think the first half of your advice is dangerous. I used to operate that way, thinking I could get a job any time so why worry. I quit a job with nothing lined up and couldn't get anything above minimum wage. Not everyone is having recruiters bang their door down and offer them great jobs.

  • by nothappyatjob on 6/14/22, 10:58 PM

    Thanks for this reminder, I really appreciate it. I actually came to submit https://jobdescriptiveindex.info/ which is a job satisfaction questionnaire that I just filled out.

    I was trying to see if I was "objectively" miserable (i.e. is it the job or is it "in my head"). The score wasn't really high. It helps to consider all of this.

    Thanks again

  • by brailsafe on 6/14/22, 11:17 PM

    I agree with the latter half entirely, but the first half is just not true. All you have to do matter how good you are, is miss a few meetings or show up late. Yes, you have financial leverage to try and make moves, but with a recession coming up, even that's a bit tenuous. It depends on tenure and company, but a lot of the time you're super disposable, because a lot of tech doesn't matter remotely as much as ICs think it might. It's pretty depressing admittedly, but after many years, but my opinion is that you have no leverage until you definitely have a stake, and until then you might as well do the least amount of work possible to fulfill your duty of being on time. Beyond that, it's not in your best interest to really push for much beyond a higher salary through switching companies, or acquiring a real stake in the business

  • by mdm12 on 6/15/22, 12:52 AM

    And save as much as you possibly can. Nothing beats gaining financial independence to avoid employer dependence.

  • by Kaze404 on 6/14/22, 11:49 PM

    Thank you. This came at the perfect time for me.

  • by systemvoltage on 6/15/22, 12:06 AM

    > Your employer is just a customer.

    Agree with most of it except this bit. In order to be succesful, respect customers, understand their needs, deliver and create value. Lead by example, take initiatives, lift others in your team and hold yourself to the highest standards. Work hard, persevere and be the change you want to see. It's ok to not pledge allegience to your employer or sign off your life like the Japanese corporate culture, but being unreasonably resentful of your employer will make things worse for everyone in the company.

  • by night-rider on 6/15/22, 1:49 AM

    Keep saying the affirmation: ‘I am sufficient’. Affirmations work! They work even better in the industry you’re talking about. Everything is broken and will be for some time. When everything ‘just works’ it will be a form of death to this industry. In fact those drinking the corporate kool-aid and believe that everything just works out of the box are the ones we need to be concerned about.

  • by omoikane on 6/15/22, 12:47 AM

    This is reasonable advice, especially for people with imposter syndrome. It is not universally applicable, some people might need the exact opposite advice.

    Understanding your true worth and how it changes over time is an art that is difficult to master.

  • by incompatible on 6/15/22, 1:00 AM

    "Your org needs you."

    Nope, I'm not employed. Every organization in the world is having to make do, somehow, without me.