Mislead by new employer - should I join old employer in a gap of 1 month?

Hi,

I had resigned from my previous employer in Jan 10. They had sent to work on a client location(that was in gurgaon and i am based in noida) and would not consider my application for relocation to the parent firm. I started to lookout for other options and found a job with a firm that was giving me work in latest technologies. Meanwhile after my resignation was accepted by the old firm, i came back to my parent office and was given the offer of joining new projects in the same office. But at that time these offers did not match up with the one that the new firm was offering. So i quit and joined the new place on 1 mar 10.

On joining the new firm i found that i had not been allocated to the project that i was told about in the interview. I spoke with the HOD about this and he said that i was incompetent to be part of those big projects so i was to work in this small project only.

The whole idea of changing the job was for better work, better work environment. I am getting neither of this at the new place. My previous employer was offering me work on the same kind of project and i didnt accept it. I have not derived any benefit from my change. My previous employer was a bigger and better brand name and a mature organisation. This change has resulted a break in my profile. I am now regretting my decision to change and don't know what to do.

I have spent 1.7 years in the old workplace. The new workplace is my 5 change in a career span of 4.8 years.

Should i just join back the previous office or should i look for another job?

Sainath's Advice on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 :

Hi Neha,

Unfortunately,  what you have experienced is a common experience with many developers. The only way a small organization can lure you from leaving an MNC job is by holding out the technology carrot, and some degree of  a hike. This is an age-old strategy. Experienced pros  are quickly able to quickly size up a person and place an offer which candidates can fall for. But, in my opinion, it  is a gross mistake as you are betraying trust and losing the employee's loyalty in the 1st stage itself. Check out the below link where the panel was asked a similar query, should give you a better understanding:

www.dotnetfunda.com/advices/a89-should-i-go-back-.aspx

Having said that, I respect you for the fact that you took a risk -  maybe it has backfired but no real progress is possible without taking risks. The trick is to take calculated risks, have a fall-back plan in place should things go wrong and believe in your own ability.

"If you take risks, you may fail. But if you do not take risks, you will surely fail. The greatest risk of all is to do nothing."
    -  Roberto Goizueta, Coca Cola CEO

You need to take a step back and salvage what you can now.  Go back to the planning board and analyze your situation. This is my reading of your situation:

Goal:
To work in the latest technologies

Action: Return to previous employer

Payoffs

• Established MNC
• Good branding
• Placed in Noida once again
• Comparatively safe during a recession

Costs

• It can be personally  challenging to return to an old employer in a very short time - people do pass remarks, particularly those who are afraid  to  take risks themselves. However, I have observed in close quarters that people have a short memory. In 1-2 months  time.  life is normal. What I mean to say is it is not as bad as you may think.
• Same old project - no real growth in skills
• People will remember that you have quit once  and this can impact your long-term growth in the company. But if you get a good reporting manager this will not  be the case. Moreoover, your reason for quitting the company was a justified one in the 1st place

Action: Stay with current (new) employer

Payoffs
No  real visible payoff - you may have been given a hike and you may be allocated to a project with better technologies but all this is uncertain.

Costs

• They have proven their low levels of integrity by breaking your trust in the 1st instance
• You may harbour bitterness, resentment towards them which can become a daily challenge and bring down on-job performance and halt growth
• The organization may not be as financially  stable as the previous one

Even when you choose to join a smaller company, you need to do  your homework well -  ask as many people as you can about the company. Search out information about them on the internet, know who their main clients are. Ask questions during the interview -  ask same /  similar  questions to the technical and the HR interviewer, draw out the common feedback (common feedback is closer to the truth)  and then come to some conclusions. Remember, the interview  is an opportunity for an employer to assess you, at the same time you should make maximum use of the opportunity to assess the employer as well.Ask for the contact no. of a person with whom you can speak if you have more doubts to clarify. Approach experienced people for help in analyzing the company-  trust me they will, even if  they are short of time.Approach a finance person and ask him to assess the financial health of the company -  find the balance sheets, income statements of the company if the same is being shared on the net. Take your time to  come to a decision after doing a rock-solid analysis. Do not be hasty - remember, this is your  career and life.

Check out one of our earlier advice on this topic:

www.dotnetfunda.com/advices/a43-question-about-my-career-.aspx

Making rapid job changes in the 1st 4-5 years is okay - many people may frown upon this, particularly those in HR, but nobody can "not" hire  you if  you are really good in your work.

My immediate suggestion is -  take a day off, do a thorough analysis (write out options available to you on paper), and come to a final decision, we can only  suggest options, the decision has to  be yours alone.

And start off once again. Almost all successful  people I know have had to go through this - start > move fast > make mistakes > learn from mistakes > start off once again with better experience > succeed. Only the Formula 1 cars move fast, crash, have to be repaired and re-enter the race. Bullock carts don't crash -  neither do they participate in life's race. So get going.

"You can only stumble if you're moving."
    - Roberto Goizueta,Coca Cola CEO

All the best !

Regards,

Sainath Sherigar,
www.ugain.info