I've talked to a few recruiters this week and gotten some leads. One of the recruiters was a real downer. She spent a lot of time talking about how bad the job market was. She also was encouraging me to be submitted for a VB6 job. I decided that I wasn't that desperate yet. The other recruiters were much more helpful and I have been submitted at a couple of places.
I also found a one week temporary job. This is at the company where Zac works. I interviewed there a couple of weeks ago. The don't have a permanent place for me right now but they want me to help prepare a bid for a contract. If they win the bid (and they still like me after a week) there may be a position available for me.
I heard from a former coworker that links to my blog were widely circulated around the office. I guess that explains how "Glad to see you go!" found it.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The end of an era
I'm not going to bury the lead: I was just let go by AB on Monday, along with about 40 other people from IT. I have been expecting this for some time and I'm glad to be out of there. I think that they could have handled it better.
The main problem that I had with InBev is that I am a developer and they don't do development. Carlos Brito, InBev's CEO, said that "if you want an IT career, go work for an IT company." This may explain why morale is even lower in IT than in the rest of the company. To InBev, it is very important to be aligned with the culture. The culture is about cost cutting, not questioning your superiors, and repeating the company line to your subordinates, even when you know it isn't true.
We have been told several times in the past that there would be no outsourcing. By the end of the year they plan to outsource several hundred jobs that are currently being done by contractors.
Earlier this year they claimed that they didn't cut the contractors pay by 10%. They claimed that they only cut the amount the paid the contracting companies by 10% the contractors. As if these two amounts were unrelated.
On Thursday my L3, (I was an L5 so that would be my boss's boss) to his entire group that he didn't know what would happen to the people who were not aligned with the culture. On Friday, they started letting those people go.
In the same meeting he said that they were going to start replacing people who left. I'll have to check with my former co-workers to see if they hire someone to replace me or anyone else who was let go. No one believes that they will.
I did not know it at the time, but I was actually scheduled to be let go on Friday. I had a touch of the stomach bug that has been going around so I stayed home. I checked my e-mail remotely and say a meeting invitation for a "private appointment" that afternoon. My boss was not invited to the meeting. I assumed that it was the meeting to ax me so I volunteered to come in. My L3 told me to stay home and that they would re-schedule it for Monday.
On Sunday, my boss called to tell me that he was pretty sure that the ax was about to fall. He knew that he was also not aligned with the culture so he would be let go too. I told him that I might not be that motivated on Monday morning so I'd be in a little late.
On Monday, I told the rest of the group what I knew. It was unofficial but that it was going to happen. Most of the news we here is through the grapevine so this is not that unusual. I kept checking my e-mail to see if they was going to be another meeting invitation. People started joking that they might drag this out a few more days. I spent most of the morning making sure that things were as organized as possible for a smooth transition.
Rick suggested that we go out to lunch one last time as a group. Since there was a meeting scheduled for 12:45, we left a little early. While we were eating, Rick got a call on his cell phone. It was our L3 asking if Rick I was with him. He then asked for my cell phone number. Rick told me that our L3 with be calling me in a few minutes.
When he called, he said that HR was waiting for me in his boss's (L2) office and that I needed to come back right away. He also said that he didn't expect me to go to lunch so early because I had come in late. At this point it was almost noon and he was the one who scheduled the 12:45 meeting. If I had gone to lunch any later, I would not have had a chance to eat. I told him that I had ridden over with Rick so I did not have a vehicle. He said "Can you drive Rick's car back and have him ride with someone else?" I responded, "That would be up to Rick." He told me to call him back if I couldn't find a way to get back.
Of course, everyone at lunch said to keep them waiting. What could they do, fire me? , on the other hand, just wanted to get this over with. Rick lent me his car since he is a genuinely nice guy. I boxed up the remainder of lunch, said my goodbyes, and headed back to the office.
Once I got there, I met with someone from HR and my L2. Neither one really knows me so this was just the impersonal, bureaucratic process that you would expect. I didn't mind that part. After that, a different L3 walked me back to my desk to collect my personal effects. I asked if I could go change into my cycling clothes for the ride home. He said, "As long as you make it quick. I have a meeting to go to." Like I was the one who had scheduled this.
That evening, I went to a happy hour for someone else who had recently put in their notice. MY boss, who had also been let go, was there. Many of the people there were interested in hearing the whole story.
I mentioned earlier that morale was low in IT. Here are some numbers to back it up. These are from a survey that InBev did earlier this year. I have no reason to believe that these numbers have gotten any better (except that I'm gone).
The main problem that I had with InBev is that I am a developer and they don't do development. Carlos Brito, InBev's CEO, said that "if you want an IT career, go work for an IT company." This may explain why morale is even lower in IT than in the rest of the company. To InBev, it is very important to be aligned with the culture. The culture is about cost cutting, not questioning your superiors, and repeating the company line to your subordinates, even when you know it isn't true.
We have been told several times in the past that there would be no outsourcing. By the end of the year they plan to outsource several hundred jobs that are currently being done by contractors.
Earlier this year they claimed that they didn't cut the contractors pay by 10%. They claimed that they only cut the amount the paid the contracting companies by 10% the contractors. As if these two amounts were unrelated.
On Thursday my L3, (I was an L5 so that would be my boss's boss) to his entire group that he didn't know what would happen to the people who were not aligned with the culture. On Friday, they started letting those people go.
In the same meeting he said that they were going to start replacing people who left. I'll have to check with my former co-workers to see if they hire someone to replace me or anyone else who was let go. No one believes that they will.
I did not know it at the time, but I was actually scheduled to be let go on Friday. I had a touch of the stomach bug that has been going around so I stayed home. I checked my e-mail remotely and say a meeting invitation for a "private appointment" that afternoon. My boss was not invited to the meeting. I assumed that it was the meeting to ax me so I volunteered to come in. My L3 told me to stay home and that they would re-schedule it for Monday.
On Sunday, my boss called to tell me that he was pretty sure that the ax was about to fall. He knew that he was also not aligned with the culture so he would be let go too. I told him that I might not be that motivated on Monday morning so I'd be in a little late.
On Monday, I told the rest of the group what I knew. It was unofficial but that it was going to happen. Most of the news we here is through the grapevine so this is not that unusual. I kept checking my e-mail to see if they was going to be another meeting invitation. People started joking that they might drag this out a few more days. I spent most of the morning making sure that things were as organized as possible for a smooth transition.
Rick suggested that we go out to lunch one last time as a group. Since there was a meeting scheduled for 12:45, we left a little early. While we were eating, Rick got a call on his cell phone. It was our L3 asking if Rick I was with him. He then asked for my cell phone number. Rick told me that our L3 with be calling me in a few minutes.
When he called, he said that HR was waiting for me in his boss's (L2) office and that I needed to come back right away. He also said that he didn't expect me to go to lunch so early because I had come in late. At this point it was almost noon and he was the one who scheduled the 12:45 meeting. If I had gone to lunch any later, I would not have had a chance to eat. I told him that I had ridden over with Rick so I did not have a vehicle. He said "Can you drive Rick's car back and have him ride with someone else?" I responded, "That would be up to Rick." He told me to call him back if I couldn't find a way to get back.
Of course, everyone at lunch said to keep them waiting. What could they do, fire me? , on the other hand, just wanted to get this over with. Rick lent me his car since he is a genuinely nice guy. I boxed up the remainder of lunch, said my goodbyes, and headed back to the office.
Once I got there, I met with someone from HR and my L2. Neither one really knows me so this was just the impersonal, bureaucratic process that you would expect. I didn't mind that part. After that, a different L3 walked me back to my desk to collect my personal effects. I asked if I could go change into my cycling clothes for the ride home. He said, "As long as you make it quick. I have a meeting to go to." Like I was the one who had scheduled this.
That evening, I went to a happy hour for someone else who had recently put in their notice. MY boss, who had also been let go, was there. Many of the people there were interested in hearing the whole story.
I mentioned earlier that morale was low in IT. Here are some numbers to back it up. These are from a survey that InBev did earlier this year. I have no reason to believe that these numbers have gotten any better (except that I'm gone).
| Salaried (5662 people) | IT (444 people) | |
| I am proud of the work I do | 94% | 90% |
| I am motivated to do what it takes to help the company win | 85% | 80% |
| I am satisfied with my line manager (direct supervisor) | 78% | 74% |
| I feel a real sense of ownership in the work that I do at AB InBev | 70% | 66% |
| I am proud to work for AB InBev | 72% | 60% |
| I am optimistic about the company's future | 64% | 57% |
| I feel that my opinions and ideas really count at work | 55% | 53% |
| A strong sense of commitment is shared by everyone in my department | 55% | 40% |
| I would stay at AB InBev even if I was offered another job at the same or slightly higher pay | 45% | 32% |
| I am satisfied with the training and career development opportunities at AB InBev | 44% | 20% |
| I feel informed about the changes the company has made, even if I don't agree with all the changes | 64% | 62% |
| Based on what I've learned about the new company's culture, I am or will be loyal to AB InBev | 61% | 59% |
| I am optimistic about my future with the company | 42% | 34% |
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Have I mentioned that I hate my job?
I have been very unhappy with my job ever since InBev bought Anheuser-Busch late last year. The main problem is that I am a software developer working for a company that doesn't value software development. I have been looking for a job but haven't found the right one yet. There are rumors going around that more people might be cut in the very near future. If people are let go I expect that I will be one of them. Actually, I am hoping that I will be one of them.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Cincinnati Trip
It seems that whenever I go a long time with posting an entry it is because I have too much to say rather than because I have I nothing to say. I'll try to catch you up.
Last month, we all went to Cincinnati for the Teismann family reunion. We had been looking for an excuse to go to Cincinnati for a while and this was our chance. Helen had also wanted to take the kids to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis so we decided to make that part of the trip as well.
We left early in the morning on Thursday, July 16th. We stopped at the Ballard Nature Center in Altomont, IL to look for a letterbox (I'll talk more about letterboxing in another post). The nature center was really nice. We got to get out of the car and stretch our legs for a bit. We saw birds, various insects, and huge frogs, and we found the letterbox. The visitor center was larger and more interesting than I expected.
 |
| Ballard Nature Center |
We made it to Indianapolis in the afternoon and went straight to the Children's Museum. It is very large and we had a good time going there. It was definitely too much to see in one day. Here are some pictures that we took. After that, we checked into out hotel. Nothing fancy, just a La Quinta.
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| Indianapolis Children's Museum |
The next day (Saturday) we drove to Cincinnati. We had originally planned to go to the Cincinnati Children's Museum because we thought that they had a reciprocal agreement with the St. Louis Science Center. When we got there we found out that they didn't, but that the Museum of Natural History & Science did. That's where we went. This was also fun. We especially enjoyed the cave exhibit.
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| Cincinnati Museum of Natural History & Science |
After that we went to our hotel, which had an indoor water park. We went there for about an hour before eating and collapsing in our room.
On Sunday we went to the water park in the morning and then off to the family reunion. The family reunion was small but a lot of fun. The kids loved playing with their cousins. After the reunion, we went back to the hotel for another hour in the water park.
On Monday we went to the water park one last time. Then it was off to the Newport Aquarium. The hotel package that we got included four tickets to the aquarium. The Aquarium was very nice but it was not laid out very well for what we wanted. Everything was laid out linearly so that you pretty much had to walk through the whole aquarium. This took about two hours. We would rather have skipped parts of it and only spent an hour there since we still had a six hour drive ahead of us.
We did not get home until after 8 and that was with the help of a time zone change. Luckily for us the kids are used to taking long car trips so there was not too much complaining. Of course the portable DVD player and Nintendo DSi helped as well.
This post is long enough so I'll have to post about my job in the next post.
Monday, July 13, 2009
City Museum
I took the kids to City Museum on Saturday. Helen wasn't feeling well so she stayed home. The kids and I had a great time and really wore ourselves. If you haven't been there, City Museum is hard to describe. It's not really a museum, it's more like the worlds largest attic. There are things to climb on and crawl through and slide down. Certain things were more difficult because of my hip but it I still had a good time.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A little bit of hope
I haven't posted it about it much but I have not been happy with my job for some time. Last year, before the takeover, I told me boss that I'd rather be fired than work solely in support. When InBev took over I learned that what I wanted didn't matter (you would have though that I would have already known that).
About six weeks ago we had a meeting where we were told that it was up to each of us to find our own career path. After that meeting I immediately started working to get out of support and back into development. I had been (respectfully) pushing on the topic since then but I wasn't seeing any progress.
Just recently, I found out that there are some things going on behind the scenes that could lead to me getting what I want. Nothing is certain, and nothing is official, but there are at least possibilities. I should be hearing something relatively soon.
About six weeks ago we had a meeting where we were told that it was up to each of us to find our own career path. After that meeting I immediately started working to get out of support and back into development. I had been (respectfully) pushing on the topic since then but I wasn't seeing any progress.
Just recently, I found out that there are some things going on behind the scenes that could lead to me getting what I want. Nothing is certain, and nothing is official, but there are at least possibilities. I should be hearing something relatively soon.
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