I really don't like it when people ask why some of us are still here and wasting our time guessing whether we will be cut or not. I understand that the advice to leave this place is well-intentional because everyone deserves better, but on the other hand, each of us has our own reasons and priorities.
I don't want to leave now because I don't want to miss the package. Why would I do that? I would probably do that only if I got a much, much better offer.
13 replies (most recent on top)
“It’s MY package and I want it NOW!”
Sounds like the OP is singing a modified version of an Aerosmith song:
"Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you Oracle
And I don't want to miss a package..."
I am not taking ANY advice from someone who had to "rely" on getting a package. Obviously a tool who spends money as fast (or faster) than you make it!
And if, as one poster states, the job market is drying up, why would I forgo a package and jump to some company who may not have realized they need to layoff as yet? As the new guy, I could be the first to go!
Try having no debt! It is a GREAT way to live, and it is amazing how much further your money goes. Or, pay $2500 a month mortgage and $700 a month for car payments, that is fun too! Actually saw an article yesterday about a guy who made 350K this year saying he was living paycheck to paycheck. Well, with monthly payments of $4500 in mortgage and $1700 in auto (I am serious), it is not surprising.
My word! All these pigeons here providing reasons to sit on their behinds and wait to be canned! And no, I am NOT an HR plant! Just someone who was RIFd a few years ago and struggled badly for nearly 6 months to find work on a limited “package” from Oracle that ran out just as I got a new job. It was stressful to say the least!
Here’s the biggest problem I see with sitting around waiting for a RIF package — your career is wasting away while you wait. And that itself can easily ki-l opportunities for new employment if your skills get stale and are only tied to Oracle technology, which is getting less traction in the job market as customers abandon Oracle in boatloads.
But as other commenters have said, stay on the Oracle Titanic at your own risk. If you like drama in your life, by all means stay.
“ Anyone who wants to "wait for a package" is an utter fool! “
You have a good idea, and people should be looking, but there is no need to be insulting simply because people are not doing what YOU want.
HR is on this forum trying to convince you to leave. They're using scare-tactics that the IT job market is drying up. HR would like you to leave on your own so they don't have to dole out too many packages. The more people they can convince to leave on their own, the fewer terminations count toward a RIF. That's the difference between a voluntary-termination and a termination-via-RIF. HR would like nothing more to report that headcount has been reduced due to "natural attrition." Don't be a fool. Make HR work for it. Make them give you a package. If you've been smart with your money, and most of us have, then you have 1 or 2 years of saving in addition to your retirement savings. When you get your package, relax, there is no rush and there is no panic to find a new job because you have your rainy-day money and you have your package too. If you haven't been smart with your money, then ya, okay, you're a fool. Most of the people I work with have retirement savings and they have rainy-day savings to get them through at least 24 months if they find themselves gainfully-unemployed. Don't let HR convince you to leave without a package. HR would be more than happy to report to management that people are "leaving on their own". Don't let them. Make them work for it. Know your worth. Don't be a fool.
Anyone who wants to "wait for a package" is an utter fool! The IT job market right now is not good, as many companies are freezing reqs and/or laying off people in droves. If Oracle dumps you now with your "package", I guarantee it will take you MANY months to find another job. A colleague of mine needed 3 years (yes, years!) to land a new job after Oracle whacked him, and he was constantly searching for jobs each and every week.
Your "package" will run dry much sooner than you think. And then what? Losing your home, moving in with grandparents? So if you want to wait for your "package", you've been warned. Better to start looking now for a new job.
Whoever claims they are "waiting for the package" is missing the point entirely. The whole idea is that you line up work elsewhere and then leave. That way you take control of your own life and you don't leave things to chance with a terrible employer like Oracle.
Hanging around for a package isn't a good look, you are demonstrating the opposite of the above. You are an example of the Oracle Doormat Principal so obviously you have a strong need to rationalize your own decisions and inaction, thus contributing to your own self-sabotage. A vicious cycle indeed.
I agree with the OP. I'm not self-terminating unless there is something truly amazing to run toward. Some folks have found amazing things elsewhere, but some folks have found things only marginally better elsewhere. Virtually no one finds things worse elsewhere, I know. But, still, I'm with the OP. Why would I make HR's job easier? Why would I voluntarily terminate, unless there is truly something amazing I'd be running toward?
If you don't want to miss the package, then check the USPS or UPS website.
Oh wait, wrong package.
Not a doormat at all. Still getting paid while we wait!
"I don't want to miss the package"
Classic Oracle Doormat Principal excuse.
You must not be in the USA if you are waiting.