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How do I keep joining dying teams?
Jan. 7th, 2021 12:14 pmHalf of my job is being a system administrator, directly managing servers and services in IT environments. The other half is being a software developer, writing software that does the first half for me (and others). You might have heard the terms “dev ops” or “site reliability engineering” used to describe this role or one similar to it. At some companies there might be just a few people doing what I do, or there might be hundreds with smaller teams focused on specific parts of the infrastructure.
Now that you know what I do, here’s a short reverse history of the last five years of my career:
( Read more... )
I’m pretty sure I’m not killing these teams. Some of them were already failing when I arrived, and others just don’t seem to be the sort of failure I have any control over, instead being a consequence of organizational decisions at a higher or broader level. Most of the people leaving have left with multiple years of tenure, unlike my recurring departures averaging about a year each. I also think four in a row is too many for it to just be bad luck or coincidence. That leaves me wondering how this keeps happening, and what I can do to avoid ending up in another situation like this.
I don't think this is always downsizing at a higher level. These are all successful companies, most of which grew in head count, revenue, and value during my time there. It's possible that there is focused downsizing going on, squeezing IT for the benefit of the rest of the company, but I doubt that's always the case. And if it is, that's still something I want to figure out how to avoid stepping into.
I also don’t think it’s happening because they are taking whoever they can get from the bottom of the barrel to fill these failing teams. First, because none of these were my only offer at the time I took them. Second, maybe I am actually bad at my job, but if that was the case then I’d expect to see more people like that, including being hired after me as the teams shrink. Not every time, but at least once by now, rather than always being the last hire before everything goes to hell.
I’d love to hear what you think could be causing this pattern in my life and how I might escape it. I’d appreciate if you come up with some ideas before reading my theories below.
Theories:
I’m unknowingly selecting for roles / teams / companies with this impending problem.
This situation actually is what I’m best at handling, and interviewers recognize that.
I’m giving off signals that say “I’ll last long enough for some hidden deadline to pass”.
I’m giving off signals that say “I’m desperate”.
I actually am causing these team-level failures, in some non-obvious way.
PS: I’d also be open to advice on how to spot such a team during the interview process. After the second or third one I’ve been trying to do my diligence, but obviously it’s not working.
Now that you know what I do, here’s a short reverse history of the last five years of my career:
( Read more... )
I’m pretty sure I’m not killing these teams. Some of them were already failing when I arrived, and others just don’t seem to be the sort of failure I have any control over, instead being a consequence of organizational decisions at a higher or broader level. Most of the people leaving have left with multiple years of tenure, unlike my recurring departures averaging about a year each. I also think four in a row is too many for it to just be bad luck or coincidence. That leaves me wondering how this keeps happening, and what I can do to avoid ending up in another situation like this.
I don't think this is always downsizing at a higher level. These are all successful companies, most of which grew in head count, revenue, and value during my time there. It's possible that there is focused downsizing going on, squeezing IT for the benefit of the rest of the company, but I doubt that's always the case. And if it is, that's still something I want to figure out how to avoid stepping into.
I also don’t think it’s happening because they are taking whoever they can get from the bottom of the barrel to fill these failing teams. First, because none of these were my only offer at the time I took them. Second, maybe I am actually bad at my job, but if that was the case then I’d expect to see more people like that, including being hired after me as the teams shrink. Not every time, but at least once by now, rather than always being the last hire before everything goes to hell.
I’d love to hear what you think could be causing this pattern in my life and how I might escape it. I’d appreciate if you come up with some ideas before reading my theories below.
Theories:
I’m unknowingly selecting for roles / teams / companies with this impending problem.
This situation actually is what I’m best at handling, and interviewers recognize that.
I’m giving off signals that say “I’ll last long enough for some hidden deadline to pass”.
I’m giving off signals that say “I’m desperate”.
I actually am causing these team-level failures, in some non-obvious way.
PS: I’d also be open to advice on how to spot such a team during the interview process. After the second or third one I’ve been trying to do my diligence, but obviously it’s not working.
