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back to article You're crap and paid too much for the little work you actually do

You’re not getting paid as well as you should. I know this not only because you’re bothering to read this, but also because most techies are crap at extracting cash from their employers. It shouldn’t shock you too much to learn that I, as a City headhunter and former contractor, focus quite hard on money - so here's a few ideas …

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        1. gr0undzer0
          Reply Icon

          Re: @Steve KNox

          I find this hard to believe what with all the panic I get from users. In my company I get someone who shows up and says.. "This contract means 53 million dollars if we get it. Our meeting with the customer better go off perfectly in every way." This means how well I plan for this setup technically may lead to good or bad perceptions about our company and how it is run. The projector better run and the backup better be ready. The laptop better not go to sleep mode or shut down in the middle of the presentation, the slide show better be as smooth as butter. How is this not directly related to how much money we can earn?

          In a simple example. I have a user come and say this proposal has to be on the desk of our customer now but I inexplicable destroyed my laptop .. recover it so we can win the contract. I do so they win the contract.

          I wont argue we that anyone cares because they don't. I helped win the contract I might even get a nice email to my boss .. but my boss will forget.

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      2. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Productivity != Profitability

        Perhaps Accounting understand the difference between System I and System II in cybernetics.

        These methods are artifices designed to cram a misunderstanding of systems theory into a simple spreadsheet. They are insane. If this isn't happening in your company, you win, because you are lucky enough to have a company that is run by business people and not bean counters.

        What is required from the support systems should be determined externally to those systems, and budget should then be determined from requirements. It's an iterative process which is why it never happens as long as managers believe they "run" the company in a "top-down" manner. Or as long as support staff think they know what the rest of the company needs, without actually asking it ...

        In the human body, the kidneys can't pick up a ball, or a woman, but if you don't have kidneys you wouldn't do very well at those things. Somehow kidneys get the budget they need. There is no way for your kidneys to lie to your body and start hoarding resources because they managed to invent a reason why kidneys are a profit center. There is no need for kidneys to justify their existence relative to your higher goals. They justify their own existence because without them, you die. These points bear serious consideration when designing support structures for a company. At the very least you need to acknowledge that these *are* support structures, and have different rules of engagement than the production side of the enterprise.

        See the NHS reforms, etc.

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    2. kirovs
      Reply Icon
      Facepalm

      Re: Productivity != Profitability

      My friend you are an idiot or a recent MBA graduate. Most likely both.

      Intangibles? Suppositories (haha, good one, learn English)? Yes, company websites are simply for the kicks and laughs, not for generating revenue. Yes having 15 more secretaries is good... for the unemployment statistics.

      Oh, sharp eyed person? What is that- the people who pick up the most competent person for the next "rightsizing"?

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    3. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Mushroom

      big red button

      No, but I know a senior system administrator who did.

      It took dismantling the stand-alone console on the Bull DPS-90 and a call to the tech support line to get it reset because their CSE (my dad) was only told about this process in the hardware support training class...they didn't actually do it because of the pain it causes.

      On the other hand, he demonstrated that it did EXACTLY what it said it would in the manual. It was really quiet, and cold, in the data center for an hour while it was being reset because my dad doesn't curse.

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    4. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Productivity != Profitability

      At my last job, I could point to a project I'd done and say, that makes us 2 million quid a year, minus my salary for the time spent on it (a rounding error). I know where the money went too, 800k was one senior manager's bonus, 1.2m was another's. I got a 3% raise along with the rest of the department. Then I quit.

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    5. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Productivity != Profitability

      Aside from having personal written practically an entire major retailer's ecommerce site, which was unusual event, which means you meant "most of the time", I'd have to in the main agree with you.

      Though, few, if any service economists would say the cost centres of a company are paid on what they earn a company. Earnings are no better than savings though.

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    6. Convinient bug
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      Re: Productivity != Profitability

      I remember a guy who had a bug in his code, and customer's site was generating a lot of ( network ) traffic ( too much ), which they had to pay for, ofc ( by request or MB or something ). He couldn't fix it because the traffic would drop too quickly and it would be to obvious that in previous months, we were overcharging them. So he had to make a special ( time dependent ) function that would "slowly" reduce trafic ( over months ), but in a less visible way.

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  2. Captain Underpants
    Thumb Down

    Given the research that shows that quality of life tends to level out at around 60K per annum, and that Dominic's advice is basically "Learn to be more of a Massive Bellend in order to get greater financial success", I think I'll stick with trying to be an at least occasionally decent human being who understands the concept of hidden productivity gains and makes do with a modest (yet still greater than the average) salary.

    God knows that the last 5 years of finding out yet more disasters from financial services companies don't exactly make me feel a great deal of faith in the City's values (which, let's be honest, pretty much boil down to "MONEY, AND %^&*ING LOTS OF IT!").

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    1. John A Blackley
      Reply Icon

      One man's......

      'Massive Bellend' is another man's 'person who knows how to conduct a conversation' - preferably without reference to acronyms that nobody outside of a small group of esoterics is the least bit interested in.

      There are very, very few businesses that are there for the benefit of the IT department. For the rest of them, IT is just another utility.

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      1. Captain Underpants
        Reply Icon

        Re: One man's......

        @John - I agree that IT is a utility. So's electricity, but I don't expect someone from EDF to choose between stopping by my desk on a daily basis to say "See the way your workstation's turned on and running? That's 'cos of the power to the building that....*self-satisfied pause* I provided." or cut power off every now and again just to make the point that we take 'em for granted.

        The problem Dom's alluding to is that management depend on utilities they can't usefully measure, and he's encouraging players in the provision of said utilities to perpetuate that state of affairs by only focusing on those IT deliverables that can be easily and frequently measures, which for many organisations means ignoring a bunch of other things they should be doing. Easy example - warranty costs. My organisation requires me to buy at least a 3 year warranty with all computer equipment - since our main supplier is Dell, that means we get 3 year (or more) NBD onsite, with phone support from the folks in their Scottish callcentre (who're damn good and very helpful). I've frequently had to have the argument about whether the warranty is "Worth it", and do you know how I win it every time? I explain what happens to those users who insist on getting a MacBook Pro - how if their hard drive/motherboard dies, it's a call to Apple (so far so good), followed by scheduled collection in 2 days time (one day for the courier to do a drive-by dropping off the collection box and then legging it before you can put the box in it - and no they won't accept any other box - then another day to get them to come back and pick the damn thing up), then another week between getting to the repair centre, getting fixed, and getting sent back. So on average, a knackered Dell laptop will normally be up and running within 24 hours of making the call (real hours, not "working hours"). With Apple, it's more like a week and a half.

        How do you usefully and frequently demonstrate that, short of taking a hammer to someone's laptop and then showing them the warranty process, and working out the hypothetical cost of their lost productivity?

        Extrapolate the attitude he takes to backups and you don't end up checking that the backup process is actually generating usable backups, or that your DR solution (assuming you've got one beyond "RUN AROUND SCREAMING LIKE A HEADLESS CHICKEN") actually works, or that any low risk, high impact contingency plans you're tasked with implementing will work. None of that's as good as making sure you're the guy who's seen to fix every problem that comes up with The Big Guy's Laptop, right?

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        1. Tim99 Silver badge
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          Re: One man's......

          Unless you work for a company that has less than ten users "Why don't you have loaner computers?"

          After many years experience in a business environment I note that, on balance, MacBook Pros are somewhat less likely to fail than professional level Dell machines - It is also likely that the Apple kit has the same components across machines, so duplication of the user's environment onto the loaner is easy - YMMV.

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          1. Captain Underpants
            Reply Icon

            Re: One man's......

            @Tim99

            I work in a university, with the attendant joy and entertainment that a variety of funding sources brings with it. If I sometimes have to work to convince people that a warranty is worthwhile, how easy do you think it will be to convince people to contribute some of "their" funding money towards a "wasted" spare machine? (Especially when that money could go on an iPad or a junket...)

            On top of this, given the variety of hardware and software requirements amongst academic users, it's very hard to define a standard environment that will easily let them swap to a different machine and resume work. As a result, it's actually much easier to get people back up and running by fixing their main machine than to get them switched to a replacement machine for a week or two.

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            1. Tim99 Silver badge
              Reply Icon
              Coat

              Re: One man's......

              OK, sorry for my original comment. I know that acedemia is a special place with special funding and politics - That is one reason why I took my science qualifications elsewhere...

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Or...

    you get work in a not a huge company where people actually respect you all the way up and down the chain. Where you actually get a small raise each year without asking for it. Where the most stress you have is reinstalling the crashed server that nobody misses for better part of 2 weeks.

    Where you are actually able to walk into the bosses office and TALK to him like a normal person and he actually takes in your input.

    I don't rake in big money but what I do gives me quite a bit of extra and it's a low-stress workplace and that's always a benefit for me. And I get to be as cynic and pessimistic as I want to be without having someone bother with me.

    And all because I'm good at what I do.

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    1. Steve Knox
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      Thumb Up

      Re: Or...

      This is scarily similar to what I was going to post.

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    2. Rampant Spaniel
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      Re: Or...

      The author is correct in as much as the tactics do work in some companies, notably those with poor management. I have 'played the game' it does work, but having also worked at companies where the managers have been 'promoted from the ranks', know your job well, and can recognise your performance it can be career suicide.

      Personally I wouldn't want to work for a company that puts too much value on window dressing and not enough on real performance but I respect others do. Walking in and raping the company for everything you can get is fair game, there's plenty of companies would do the same to you. Luckily I work now for a company that actually pro actively rewards its better employees and there is daily interaction between most levels of staff, the joys of a SME :)

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  4. jason 7
    Unhappy

    He who bullshits most.....

    ...or looks good in an expensive pink shirt and cufflinks.

    Seen it all before, talk the talk, make yourself out the big 'I AM' then get the project, pretty much screw it up by pandering only to the Directors rather than the folks who need it, blame your staff and hope for a re-org to move you to another top project leaving the more capable people to clean up your mess. Rinse and repeat.

    Oh and make sure you play regular golf with the boss and hang on his every word like a Mini-Me.

    The most often phrase when we more able folks discussed those kinds of people (especially after they got yet another promotion) was "but what's he actually delivered?"

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    1. Dave 126 Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: He who bullshits most..... Pink Shirts

      Much like the Dilbert cartoon titled "What Your Work Clothes Say About You". In four parts, but one was a sharply dressed colleague ("Be nice to me because I will be your boss next month") and the last was hairy and bearded, wearing sandals, shorts and a tie-died t-shirt: "I am the only one who knows how the IT system works. Treat me like God"

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      1. Anonymous Coward
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        Anonymous Coward

        Re: He who bullshits most..... Pink Shirts

        Link?

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        1. Dominic Connor, Quant Headhunter
          Reply Icon

          Re: He who bullshits most..... Pink Shirts

          We need to distinguish between Pink shirts and pink shirts.

          Some of you have read my banking career guide where I explain the virtue of Pink shirts, as in Thomas Pink two fold Egyptian poplin cotton which are both well made and look good and shirts which are merely coloured pinkm though I do have one pink Pink shirt.

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  5. jason 7
    Facepalm

    If everyone just concentrated....

    ...on the visible stuff. Most companies would cease to function after a few weeks.

    There needs to be those that sacrifice the BMW, free healthcare and share options in order to keep everyone else in a job (including those bell-ends).

    No one recognises that though.

    If the mindset mentioned in this article is the only way to get anywhere then that's wrong. Very very wrong. Needs to be tempered a little.

    10 1
    1. Anonymous Coward 101
      Reply Icon
      Devil

      Re: If everyone just concentrated....

      Oh sainted one, thou shalt get thine reward in Heaven! And ye benighted BMW drivers, free healthcareites and share option worshippers shalt be smote in ye fiery pit.

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  6. Yag
    Trollface

    Oh! Dominic Connor is back!

    Brace for impact, it will get hairy in there :)

    1 1
  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Delivery Capita

    I resent the remark that Capita deliver, I attend the offices at Capita sites and so far have not seen any evidence of them delivering anything! Please remove that slanderous comment from your article.

    16 0
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Delivery Capita

      "Even if you work for Capita, you occasionally actually finish something useful"

      I must admit; it did seem far-fetched.

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  8. Tony S
    Thumb Down

    True, but...

    A couple of points worth noting. Dominic's article is predicated on the assumption that everyone wants to get more money because that is the only thing that motivates them. This is actually not the case. Abraham Maslow wasn't 100% correct, but his hierarchy of needs is still one of the best ways of defining what motivates people. Once you have sufficient money to pay your bills with some left over, and you feel secure in your job, then the pay becomes less relevant than the need to feel that you are achieving something of value; Maslow referred to it as "Self-actualisation".

    Whilst it is necessary to walk the line between doing the right thing and using a "pile of bullshit words" as he indicates, I would refer to Wm Shakespeare "To thine own self be true". It doesn't matter how much bollocks you spout, if you are no damn good at the work, you will get found out and your arse will be toast. If you do a good job, you can go home at the end of the day and sleep well. If the employer doesn't appreciate it, that's just life.

    "you want to live in a house as big as mine" - Dominic, I don't know how big it is and to be blunt, I don't give a toss. Dick swinging is for emotionally stunted people; it doesn't matter how many toys you have, you can't take them with you. What is more likely to happen is that the tax man will take a huge chunk, and then the relatives will fight over the scraps like wild dingos. The real things of value cannot be paid for in cash. Hearing your child's first words, watching your son's first game of football, or taking your 16 year old daughter to her first formal prom; these are things beyond the dreams of avarice, worth more than all of the bonuses, expense accounts, fast cars and pointless titles. The problem is that quite often people do not realise this until it is too late; and you NEVER get a second chance.

    20 1
    1. jason 7
      Reply Icon
      Devil

      Re: True, but...

      I remember sitting with a bunch of pink shirts that were talking 'money and lifestyle'. Going on and on about how much they earned and the stuff they bought with it.

      As for me I'm happy with a modest lifestyle, a small home that costs pennies in mortgage, the small car is paid for and costs next to nothing, paid off my credit card etc. etc.

      They then got round to disposable income. They then found out that even though I earned half as much, I had more than twice the disposable income any of them had.

      They were really shocked, but not about asking how they could increase their disposable income by following my example, all they wanted to know was "why the hell aren't you driving a Porsche??"

      Tedious.

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      1. Graham Dawson Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: True, but...

        Reasons to not drive a porsche are as numerous as the stars in the sky, top of the list being "!they're all basically the same car". I'd rather drive a nice old E-type jag or a big old 67 mustang, but that's because they appeal to me on an aesthetic level.

        As long as I have enough room for my hidey hole and my computers, I'm happy. :)

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        1. Paul 129
          Reply Icon
          Happy

          Re: True, but...

          Um actually, got a Boxster. Driving it makes me smile every time. I would recommend a Porsche to anyone. Tiny crappy house, can't afford a decent laptop, but Bloody Happy in the car :-)

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    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      Re: True, but...

      What he said. Every word is true.

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  9. Antoine Dubuc
    Facepalm

    Oh, do grow up for the love of God.

    I worked as a software tech support for production printing for Xerox for three years and I made more coming in than half the team members who were there for ten years. Why? Because I had a reputation for knowing my stuff, sure, but most of all because I could translate my natural joy of working with technology to others. I made customers like the stuff. I made them happy. At meetings I brought good points and did mostly the common sense things this guy talks about. So sure, of course I made a lot more money. I never kissed ass. I never said anything if I didn't have anything good or and useful to say. I never talked badly about anyone else. I always endorsed good ideas in meetings, be them from my boss or colleagues. And I never was stupid enough to go to meetings to score points or stay negative shit that doesn't help anything. I was not the best, but because I gave the impression to customers and colleagues that I really cared and was doing all that could be done, which was mostly true at least from my skillset, customers loved me and so did my boss. If you are socially perverted and can't avoid making people lose face, or you can't stop saying sarcasms, maybe scoring points, etc. Then of course you'll get the salary a turd like you deserves. People who don't get what this guy's article is saying are hopeless by now. Its simple common sense. In four words: Don't Be An Ass.

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  10. Scott 19

    Most

    Most people work outside the London bubble.

    And I work for a company of 300,000 IT professionals if your not willing to do the job the bloke in the next cubical will or is this aimed at the top end earners, the article doesn't specify? (If you earn under 60,000 a year please ignore sort of warning).

    Are you just trying to prove you are the BOFH in human form?

    2 1
    1. WatAWorld
      Reply Icon

      Re: Most

      If you want to work as a battery hen, fine you'll be paid as a battery hen is paid.

      But I've consulted at some of the world's biggest computer companies, probably including your employer.

      Not all 300,000 jobs are like being a battery hen. You should migrate yourself over to where you can be visible and detected.

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  11. fLaMePrOoF
    Thumb Up

    This article is now going viral across Facebook, top stuff!!!

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  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If I.T. is so worthless

    Lets all just pull the plug. Every admin, techie etc around the world for just 1 hour pull the plug all at the same time. Let's see how worthless they think we are then.

    4 3
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Mushroom

      Re: If I.T. is so worthless

      I'll admit that I like to work, and love what I do....but I don't love it that much.

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  13. Dominic Connor, Quant Headhunter

    Dominic responds...

    Tony S is right I am taking money as the objective because I can usefully explain how to get more in a shortish article. I'm working on a "happy" piece but is much harder,not least because it's subjective. However, a good part of "happy" comes from being treated better, money is just one expression of that and my points help you to be appreciated more.

    @DJ Smiley, I'd ask you to look at this the other way round. Why is it that vital work like backups is actively ignored by senior management ? Until it goes wrong of course. Do you think anyone on the RIM even knew what business continuity meant until millions of Blackberries stopped working ?

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    1. Tony S
      Reply Icon

      Re: Dominic responds...

      Dominic, it's interesting to see that you have been following the comments; is this because you are proving Maslow's hierarchy? You've put togther an article which is outside of your normal remit (I presume that you are not being paid for it?) and you are keen to get the recognition for your efforts.

      It is hard to put a value on some things; that is why sometimes all we can do is go back to the money. But that will only ever have a limited efficacy; at some point, the money matters so much less than the satisfaction that comes from a good job, well done. Perhaps that could be the principle behind your next article?

      As it happens, I am my own harshest critic; I know exactly when I have done a good job, and you had better believe, I can self-flagellate like a 12th century monk when I don't get it quite right. The company will not know and probably won't care; that's OK, because I will know. I will do what I can to make sure that they know, but I won't blow my brains out if they simply will not do things the way that I want. And if they don't think that I am worth the extra few pounds, then fine. At some point, I will move on, and they will then have to take a chance on a replacement.

      That is life.

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      1. Matthew
        Reply Icon

        Re: Dominic responds...

        Tony S - I think you misunderstand Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. I suspect that you are mistakenly assuming that money is a hygiene factor in Herzberg's Two Factor Motivation Theory.

        Money is not mentioned, but all of Maslow's needs can be met by an individual with money, and most importantly as we progress 'up' the pyramid money makes these needs easier to meet. Allow me a couple of examples (in ascending order):

        Physiological - A limited amount of money is required for food and shelter. A little more money will not meet more of this need once the basics are provided for.

        Safety - Additional resources provide the perception that you are protecting yourself/family from ill-health, unemployment, etc.

        Love / belonging - While money can't provide (proper) friends and family, it can, for example, allow travel to see distant family. And the first person to suggest that money doesn't improve the opportunities for sexual encounters is living a dream (see Bernie Ecclestone).

        Esteem - Money provides the means for enhancing self-esteem & confidence (bigger car/house/Bulgarian Airbags) over the Joneses, as well as providing a very simple means of keeping score.

        Self-Actualisation - Money provides the opportunity to seek self-actualisation. Those on the breadline don't really get the option of exploring "what they really want to be". They are too busy attempting to meet the lower needs first.

        Remember that these are defined by the individual for themselves. You may not agree that these examples meet your needs, but whoare you to tell others whether this applies.

        1 1
        1. Tony S
          Reply Icon
          Happy

          Re: Dominic responds...

          Matthew,

          I would suggest that you are mistaken - the whole point of Maslow is that money is NOT the answer. Yes you need a certain level to meet the basic needs, but once past that, as you say yourself it provides no extra benefit.

          As for money getting you more action; I know someone that is getting a lot more than Bernie and he doesn't have to spend in a year what Bernie spends in a night. Why; possibly because he treats the women right (or he is hung like a horse, don't want to ask!) Sarkozy is another one; money and power are great aphrodesiacs, but eventually, you will want someone that you can actually having a decent conversation with. How do you measure love? Damned if I know, but I can say for sure that money won't play a huge part.

          If your esteem is bolstered by cars / houses great; but these things can become of less value after a certain point. If you are keeping "score", then good for you, but what is important to you might not be to others; you could be chasing a rainbow.

          As for self-actualisation; money can help, but it won't guarantee you achieve it. And the problem is that if you spend too much effort chasing money, you won't have time to achieve anything else. I know of many people just over the breadline who are doing exactly what they want and are pleased with their lot - and they wouldn't change anything for a fortune.

          http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/hierarchyneeds.htm

          Look around the world and see who the happiest and most contented people are. And yes, each to his own, and good luck to everyone in their search for happiness.

          4 1
      2. Dominic Connor, Quant Headhunter
        Reply Icon

        Re: Dominic responds again

        Apparently "Dominic embodies everything that is wrong with the world ", which @agentgonzo thinks is news, even though the fact that I'm a City headhunter is plain to see, so of course I am.

        @Tony S, I do get paid, but no one ever got rich writing for the tech press.

        Yes, I like recognition and part of what I'm saying here is that the buzz from recognition and getting paid better are consistent with each other, I suggest that higher paid people find that the same work output is more valued, simply because it is more expensive.

        @Pericat is right, I've read Macchiavelli and some of that has leaked into my writing.

        Several people say they don't like working for large corporates, fair enough, but my experience is that there is stupid politics, obsession with "face time" and lack of recognition for actually useful work in firms of all sizes, I've been in a two man shop, a 300,000 body IT behemoth, and much in between. I don't see a positive or negative correlation in life quality.

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    2. That Steve Guy
      Reply Icon

      Re: Dominic responds...

      IT as a rule are always judged by failures in the systems so how do you measure how useful we are?

      People expect things to just work, they have that much of a sense of entitlement, if something goes wrong they demand you fix it immediately, if you don't your incompetent.

      Nobody thinks what a good job we are doing when things are working, we are always measured on failures and responding to failures and that is why we are undervalued.

      Paying for IT is like insurance, you don't like paying for it but when things go wrong suddenly you need it.

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  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Filtering the message out tells me,....

    "its as much as game of politics as technical prowess".

    True enough, have seen capable techies who condescended to certain managers hounded out of jobs or denied credit.

    Frankly, I know its a game, so I play the abrupt techie and my boss soft-pedals the target, with me preventing us getting walked all over and him looking good finding the equitable solution. And I know he will look after me (as best he can) because I help him in this way.

    I also code utlities and write procedures to pass on my expertise to my team-mates, but there is always a "bank of work" still for me to do, that I promote each time I hand something over. Stay visible, stay useful.

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  15. SoaG

    Industry Standard Lie

    Sure they all got the same raise, whether 4% or $4,000.

    That's not to say they were all the same before the raise and thus aren't the same after.

    Nor that they all get the same bonus

    Or benefits

    Or sent to the 2 day conference in Cancun and why don't you stay down an extra week and take the Mrs.

    Etc.

    Smart management will give the appearance of egalitarianism to those looking for it and still find any number of ways to reward individuals.

    Sure, they could lie about it. Why bother when it'll just piss them off when they find out and it's easier to rescind or redirect who gets the extras doing it the other way.

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  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Scott 19: I think you've missed the point.

    Re "Re: AC 13:19": I think you've proven the point...

    I think I understood some of this when I saw how my university worked. Either way, I've always worked for small local companies. The few interviews I've attended at larger companies over the year has only confirmed by decision.

    I went for an interview at Accenture once (I know... the money sounded good...) They had a sort of briefing on how the techies were structured. I was horrified. By the time it got to the actual interviews, I was wondering if it would be rude to "disappear".

    1 0
    1. Neil McDowell
      Reply Icon
      Pint

      I left the Accenture 'interview' after the first roleplay! I had a beer...hence beer

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    2. AdamWill
      Reply Icon

      rude?

      You worry about being rude to *Accenture*? Way to reinforce stereotypes about the English. :)

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    3. Scott 19
      Reply Icon

      Not real

      Nope I didn't miss the point, be a good little butt kisser and you get a raise, it ain't hard to read between the lines of this pretty light piece of blogging.

      The intresting part will be to see if anyone takes this advice and gets a raise because in the real world the best way to get a raise is to move jobs.

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  17. Semaj
    Thumb Down

    You really are everything that's wrong with both the recruitment and development industries.

    The real lesson I am picking up from your articles is to pay close heed to my inbuilt bullshit and numpty detector when dealing with recruiters and contractors alike.

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    1. AdamWill
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      well

      I actually liked this post rather a lot more than the first series.

      This one is very clear that it's describing a situation that exists. It makes no value judgments about that situation (well, the ones it implies are fairly universally negative). It just describes it.

      Many people might like things not to be this way. Dominic doesn't really engage with that. He's just saying that, at least in the world he moves in, this is how things work, and this is how to behave if you want to make loadsamoney. He doesn't say that's what you _should_ do.

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