I've worked for the same company for 10 years, My job is stable and I've managed to work my ways up to management. Unfortunately over the past while I've become very bored and sickened with my job and am basically just killing time, (I see alot of you in here during the day, so I assume your doing the same). I want to start e-mailing resumes to other companies (different industries altogether), but with the state of the economy, loosing my seniority and stability I really don't know if I should accept another job if one becomes availiable or if I should just be happy to have a job

First of all, do not quit your present job until you found one that would give you the stability your current job has. If the new job did, then go for it. I would really think hard before leaving your current job though. Weigh the pros and cons of staying and leaving, then go from there.

ohhh I wouldn't leave without another job, i'm not going to ever quit without another job because I do realize I'm lucky to have a job.

I feel anyone who has a job right now is lucky. I just recently got my job and I had been waiting since Sept. 1st for a job. We already had layoffs around here before Sept. 11th but it was worse after. All the major high tech companies around here laid off and all those people went and took all the jobs that were left.

Ya got a job, ya manage to climb the hierarchy ladder ? good job ! Ya're healthy, ya have a family ! Well ya remind me of the serie Beverly hills 90210. Ya complaint alot and whine, but ya've really no problem. and the funniest part is that ya've put a great deal of effort to get there and spent 10 years doin' just that ! If ya quit yer job and go find another cause ya're bored, it's an insult to those who don't have one, and would gladly take yours, no matter how boring !

TGND " I'm young, so either the best is to come,.... or also the worst "

Merci Beaucoup, Voisin, you opinion means so much to me :)

wow ! i can't believe an american folk actually put all these french words in the right order to almost make a sentence. Ya're first on this board ! LMAO ! :D

Originally posted by That guy next door:
<STRONG>wow ! i can't believe an american folk actually put all these french words in the right order to almost make a sentence. Ya're first on this board ! LMAO ! :D</STRONG>

Je Suis Canadien, ne pas Americain, but mon Francais et tres mauvais :D

Ya did it again, not all the words were right, but the order is correct !
Ya must have round 150 IQ :D

Just to make it clear : ya've 150 IQ is an personal expression to say that ya tried sumthin and did much better than I would have expected !

Cal look but ride this Recession out. You guys out East always seem to get hit the worst. I know what you mean though - great job but you are bored and want to do something worthy of your potential :) keep you eyes open because you never know. :)

TGND - Canada is about 35% French and we have bilingual laws so we do have access to quite a bit of francais - its just hard to keep it good if you don't use it :)

Cal, did you do anything about that question we were discussing once in chat or was it best left alone? :)

Right about now if you have a decent job, I'd say stay put. Things aren't so good on the job front.

Originally posted by Shakey:
<STRONG>Right about now if you have a decent job, I'd say stay put. Things aren't so good on the job front.</STRONG>

I agree with Shakey. :)

Cal, I feel the same way about my job! Many a times I think about selling the shop. I hate the thought that 20 years from now I could be doing the same thing!

Maybe a nice break from work will help you re-energize? ;)

Good Luck, Cal :)

Maybe you can change position within the corporation?

Did this in my last real job...to found out that I´ve just stepped from the outer to the inner rings of hell. ;) Took me only a few days to change back...okay, wasn´t the topic.

I guess that the job situation in Canada is as worse as here, so you sure want to think twice about changing security for a new task.
The new job should be offering you a similar position as the current one (you may not want to find yourself again at the first step of the ladder), and you should also be sure that the corporation is not going to fire anyone within the next 6 months for economic reasons. Hard to tell, I know, but I´m constanly watching the economic sections of the newspapers and the Net for significant changes, informing myself about the corporations of my interest.

Originally posted by wavemeister:
<STRONG>Maybe you can change position within the corporation?</STRONG>

I doubt it. If his corporation is anything like the one I work for, they have a total freeze on hiring and transfers right now. Stupid tech sector. I should have been a farmer. Hey, where is Silverado? Maybe I can move and be a scarecrow on his farm. :D

I'm probably not telling you anything you don't already know Cal, but for what it's worth: :)

We should always be taking stock of where we are and where we want to go with our careers. A good once a year review will help you keep on track. If you feel that you are kind of in a rut then maybe you should be sticking your finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing.

But don't look at other possibilities until you have a good grasp of your current situation. You should definitely take stock of your seniority and security. It's hard to come by these days. But is this going to change in your current company? Is it a takeover target? Is there a possibility they will outsource your department? Are they solid enough to withstand the recession? These things could affect your security even if you don't change jobs.

They say there is a change coming in the way we approach work. There will be a shift more towards having many employers over your career. Working for companies as they need work done as opposed to being on staff forever.

Not saying this is going to happen overnight. Just might be worth considering. If you can move to another good job and broaden your skill base, I'd say that might not be a bad thing. :)

ahem, bogie, takeover by a bigger company could financially be a good thing fer Cal. And of course shareholders and assume that bein' in management, Cal must have some shares, right Cal ? so then, it's early retirement !

LOL. Good point TGND. :)

Originally posted by That guy next door:
<STRONG>ahem, bogie, takeover by a bigger company could financially be a good thing fer Cal. And of course shareholders and assume that bein' in management, Cal must have some shares, right Cal ? so then, it's early retirement !</STRONG>

Early retirement?, shares?, TGND.. maybe i can hire you as my financial adviser

I don't know if this will help you decide Cal, but I worked for MIC Electronics (Quasar/Panasonic) for 15 years. Worked my way up the ladder, made decent money, and attended management seminars for the move up, then the roof fell in. The company started heavily laying off in 1984 and rumours of the doors to the company closing started. Higher management didn't even know for sure what was going to happen.

I found another job in 1985, but I didn't know if I should wait out the storm or take the new position. The pay was a little less to start but it was a company (Digital Equipment Corp.) that had never layed people off in it's 35 year history. I had a family to support, and decided to take the new job. The job was great and I enjoyed working there, and worked my way up quickly, but after five and a half years the electronics companies started having problems and layoffs started for the first time for this company. I had just retired from the National Guard in Illinois in 1992 and once again moved on, this time to Florida.
I had planned on moving to Florida before all the problems started and I was offered to move to another facility within the company but my family had already been living in Florida for a year before I joined them in 1993.

Question is, if I stayed with the company, would I still have that job today? I can't be sure because I only had the 5+ years senority.

In Florida, I took a big cut in pay, but have again worked my way up the ladder after working 8 years in my present position, and whatever happened to MIC Electronics? They made a lot of changes, but never did close.

My point is you have to look at job security as best you can for yourself and your family. You may be bored in your job, but it doesn't get much better anywhere else, at least not for long.
It's hard to start over again with a new company, and I've done it twice.
My job gets boring too, but as long as people use cooking wines and drink beverage wines, my job is secure (I think). Anyway, I'm not going anywhere until I no longer have a choice.

A concise summary of everyone elses comments thus far: Do your homework.

I am very lucky in that I work for one of the only companies left in the world that promote from within 99.9% of the time and you can start there out of school and stay until you are ready to retire. In a nutshell, stability and security.

Granted things are not always exciting, but I tend to work for the weekends and make my life exciting outside of work. Although, I make work exciting too, sometimes for the good and sometimes to odd looks from others.

A good career change job search takes at least 6 months and could take as long as 18 months. Fact. I'm always looking at what is going on outside of my company and have found that at present time, just about everywhere is either not hiring or looking to take advantage of getting some top notch experience at a rock bottom recession price.
Just last month I was courted by another company who was willing to offer a 22% paycut! I don't think so!

I wish you the best of luck in your search where ever it may lead you. Remember, that you want to be happy too. Finding that balance is always hard. Good luck!

what company dya work fer GMan ? sound like the magical Land of Nordhya to me ! But I agree 100 % wiv what yer say. But it's only an analysis not an answer ( love to be picky :D )

TGND " Hail to the GMan, he's absolutely right ! "

The big problem in Canada right now is outsourcing. You have to be very careful that your department can't be done cheaper by a group of people in southeast asia.

I think my job is pretty stable. People will always need blood :) knock on wood. Cal really shop around before you decide :)

Originally posted by Zel:
<STRONG>The big problem in Canada right now is outsourcing. You have to be very careful that your department can't be done cheaper by a group of people in southeast asia.
</STRONG>

That's actually becoming an issue with the corporation I work for. Transferring positions to facilities overseas in order to save money.

I guess I should add a couple things. Yes I am greatful I have a job, I know alot of people now don't, Actually I can look out my window and see lots of people who don't as I'm probably in an area with the highest unemployment rates in North America, north of the Rio Grande. Yes our company which depends on international trade has a hiring freeze. I can't even replace people who leave. No I'm not going to ever quit without another job, or leave for a job that doesn't appear stable. I'm just thinking that I spend 1/2 of my waking hours in a place that bores me, Sunday nights are hell knowing I have to go back. I'd just like to find something that I actually enjoy doing.. BTW thanks Zel and Bogie keep those transfer payments from Ontario coming, Atlantic Canada really likes them

Just start looking Cal! I'd never stay in a job where I wasn't happy. I think it goes without saying that you should never quit a job without having found a new one - no matter what the current unemployment rate, etc is. But it never hurts to look around. I just had a carreer talk with my older brother yesterday and he told me that the biggest increases in his wages had happened those two times he had changed job! What does it matter if you've been with a company 5, 10, 15 years when you're not happy and don't feel that you advance at the rate you deserve? So start looking - put your CV out there - but be discreet about it :)

hey we'll keep sending them - just keep brewing Alexander Keiths okay :D

Gman is not allowed to talk about "the firm" as we call it on the inside.

As for outsourcing, I been on internal business alternative development groups that look at outsourcing all the time, which is status pro quo for a company my size these days. However, outsourcing is becoming attractive to smaller and smaller companies every day now, based on what I have seen in my own work. The problem is, most companies do not really do their homework before jumping off this bridge. Liability, experience and control are often neglected for the almight dollar.