Funny how fatty and hiphop say exactly the same thing for their first post but then split completely opposite on the latter posts.
I agree with their first post. If you were fired for critiquing managers, that's 100% poor communication on your part. If you had a series of discussions and found that you were unable to sway management over to your side, choosing to leave would be an acceptable outcome. Getting fired isn't an acceptable outcome.
X-Runner wrote:
Make sure to file for unemployment right away.
You did not choose to leave, so you are eligible.
Don't let pride stop you from taking this as welfare.
Companies pay into this fund. You are entitled to it.
If you get fired then you don’t qualify for unemployment benefits.
People in large companies don't respond positively to criticism and challenges, like most of the population. Suggestions have to be framed in terms of a question or positive suggestion or planting the seed in some manager's head. That's the way it works.
If you want to act on your own idea, you basically have to find the perfect company for you or go your own way. That's about it.
animaxcg wrote:
LOL one junior dev... who probably got half your salary and actually did all the problem solving.
Yeah lol, I love the type of BA and PM’s that overlook the difficulty of *ACTUALLY CREATING* the feature or platform.
“Why isn’t this working yet!!”
So, what was the exit plan?
So were you a salesman or could you actually use/train the product that you were the product manager for? If you could use/implement then you are in great shape as your customers are your future employers. If not, there is always real estate.
Grumpy old boss wrote:
X-Runner wrote:
Make sure to file for unemployment right away.
You did not choose to leave, so you are eligible.
Don't let pride stop you from taking this as welfare.
Companies pay into this fund. You are entitled to it.
If you get fired then you don’t qualify for unemployment benefits.
Of course you do.
Unless you got fired for stealing from the company or something like that.
You sure don't get unemployment benefits if you quit.
What do you think think qualifies for unemployment benes?
Sounds like you got fired for being an ***hole. There a right way and a wrong way to give constructive feedback. You should take this time and learn how to speak your mind without being someone you boss wants to fire. It will serve you well in the future.
You don't have to fly under the radar. You can present your ideas without criticizing others.Try not to be a know it all. You can ask questions about ideas you don't agree with instead of critiquing them. You can present alternatives in a "have we considered X" instead of "we need to do X instead".
X-Runner wrote:
Grumpy old boss wrote:
If you get fired then you don’t qualify for unemployment benefits.
Of course you do.
Unless you got fired for stealing from the company or something like that.
You sure don't get unemployment benefits if you quit.
What do you think think qualifies for unemployment benes?
You get unemployment benefits following a layoff or other termination that is not for cause or misconduct.
Companies avoid firing people because if they don’t have a good reason for firing them the company is required to pay part of the unemployment benefits. I’m guessing the OP left out a lot that was happening and that his employer is going to tell California EDD that there was some form of misconduct. It takes a lot to get fired even in at-will employment states.
Otherwise some folks could repeatedly work for a year to qualify for unemployment then do something to get fired so they could take off for six months.
Anyone getting fired for cause did something pretty egregious. Companies just don’t want to do that. I’m sure the other side of this story is much more enlightening.
X-Runner wrote:
Grumpy old boss wrote:
If you get fired then you don’t qualify for unemployment benefits.
Of course you do.
Unless you got fired for stealing from the company or something like that.
You sure don't get unemployment benefits if you quit.
What do you think think qualifies for unemployment benes?
Despite your self confidence, you are mistaken.
bgt29 wrote:
I knew it was coming, but it still sucks. I made the conscious decision a few months ago to be more outspoken and challenge the ideas of those with more seniority. Several big initiatives had stalled or failed in the last year and no one seemed to care. Due to Covid, the company is losing revenue and our costs are increasing. All 2020 raises were cut and 401k matches were cut. I didn't want to sit back and watch our company decline for what I thought were obvious reasons. I even launched a new product that will drive $20 million in revenue. But I criticized my manager and some business leaders.
Was I wrong? My Dad is disappointed because I could have flied under the radar and continued the cash flow. Now I have to either look for a job or become an entrepreneur. I feel great and free, but still feel like I lost.
I'm 30 years old, had a 100k salary, have 75k savings, no liabilities. I'm a Product Manager in Tech which is part technical and part creative, so some skills aren't directly measurable. The company I worked for makes hundreds of millions so it's kind of big. It's old.
Any feedback? Is my Dad right? Or is this a blessing in disguise?
As a libertarian, I believe you should be loyal and subservient to your superiors. It should be illegal to speak out against your boss, and you were right to be fired.
I'm not Trump supporter, but this is exactly the type of thing that will get him reelected come November.
MAGAKAG
If an employee gets fired they can file for unemployment.
The employer then gets notified of this.
Then the employer has a right to contest it.
The employer had to show a serious grievance or misdeed by the employee. The onus is on the employer in order for the claim to be denied.
I don’t think situation falls into that category and I doubt they would fight it. Especially if they are a big company where it’s cheaper to ignore than waste time contesting it.
File for unemployment.
My advice:
1) You have Friday and Saturday to be pissed or feel bad or whatever. Those feelings no longer matter as of Sunday morning. Put it behind you.
2) Don’t use the word, entrepreneur, ever again unless you plan on staying in one of the few cities where that term is cool.
3) My contact info is on the Colorado Track Club website. Feel free to call. You have options if you are intelligent and driven.
Rob
+ never engage an executive without a solution
Consider yourself so fortunate. In any other time in history you’d be worth 50k in the market - we are in the biggest tech bubble in history (far worse than 2000 where computer programmers making 150k were working for 50k as office assistants after the bubble burst)
hedgeout wrote:
Consider yourself so fortunate. In any other time in history you’d be worth 50k in the market - we are in the biggest tech bubble in history (far worse than 2000 where computer programmers making 150k were working for 50k as office assistants after the bubble burst)
Not close. How is it a bubble?
Those programmers in 2000 were working at bunk tech companies on HTML for a website. That was a bubble
Sometimes you have to lock it up. I am 38 years old started my career 13 years ago at no joke $18,000 annual. I Have promoted 8 times last year I made $210,000. It has to do with being professional and keeping my opinions to myself unless my opinion is needed. As stated being fired is like a felony on a record. Good luck though hope you pull through and learn something from this.
I'd like to hear the company's side...
OP, influence is a skill. It sounds like you may need practice in it. Take this as a challenge going forwards -- can you have the kind of impact that would come from saying what you see and being honest, WITHOUT getting fired for it?
Part of this might be on your management. Impossible to tell given the information we have. It's possible you could luck out and find someone who is more comfortable with pushback next time. But it's very possible that even with the people you were dealing with, you could have found a way to say this stuff, have a positive impact, and be recognized for it, all without being fired?
Also, I'm reading WAY between the lines here, but it sounds like stuff might have boiled up to the surface and you could have been speaking from a place of "I can't take it anymore, here's all the stuff I bottled up about why this is wrong". Maybe think about whether that's the case. If you let emotion get in the way of reasoned discussion, then it becomes about "here's why you suck" and not "let's think about this course of action in a different way". Which no one will react well to.