Well it's March 6th, and my company still can't decide what to do with me. But I'm still collecting a fat check, and barring a miracle, I'm fully expecting to be laid off in the next 30 days, hopefully with a package - all because I am resisting a move to Austin or Dallas, or another of the 8 cities my company has marked for consolidating operations. I'm also senior and very expensive, and the company is decidedly moving towards hiring junior and cheap people. I've been offered jobs in Seattle, San Francisco, Washington DC, Atlanta, Dallas, Austin, and Chicago.
Regarding Chicago, I was on the phone with my daughter today, who is interviewing with competing firms to drive up her market rate as her current company has been sandbagging her on promotion and trying to buy her off with platitudes. I pulled every job listing we have in that city, and the maximum starting salaries are insulting. My fatherly advice is, "Promises don't pay the bills, get money whipped by a competitor, and boomerang back at a higher position if needed. That's corporate America 2025. Zero loyalty, fuck you pay me." The only downside is that she's gotta peddle Ozempic.
I'll be happy to fly out to any of those cities on Monday morning and stay for the week, but unless they offered me a 5-year guaranteed contract, there's no way that I'm leaving my current situation. Fuck that nonsense. I have fantastic sunsets, peace and quiet, and I can be in the gulf on my boat in an hour.
Honestly, this is the destruction of affordable small and midsize cities, all because our CEO hired some consultants who said "build a new tower in the Domain and force everyone to the office." Fuck that guy.
I'm not going quietly, however. I've applied for about 50 internal jobs, and I am slacking/emailing every leader I can identify, saying, "Put me in coach."
But if they resist, I will play golf for a month and then reassess.
I do have an interview with an internal recruiter to cover an account in Atlanta and I'm going to tell her if you want results, hire me now and turn me loose, but I'm not moving.