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Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 - 00:43 SGT
Posted By: Gilbert

What Have I Been Doing

Today, I had a need to refer to the Graduate Research Paper I penned, and only then did I realise the timestamp on it is already more than a year old. Uh oh. I've got to pick up the pace, surely. Ironically, I have some ideas, sadly unrelated to my probable thesis, that look more fun, but it's probably time to hunker down and do what needs to be done. Only consolation is that I do have a gear or two in reserve.

That means less time reading up and exploring non-related information, such as the Wired article I recently came across about some scratch cards being vulnerable to algorithmic analysis. This is the sort of thing that periodically spawns attempts to crack the 4D and Toto "code" (I won't be staying up for a working method). Airless tyres, now that's more practical.


500 Years And Two Months

The Epoch Times is still merrily being supplied on campus, and the eighth instalment of the Guy-Who-Met-A-Five-Hundred-Year-Old-Sage sees him consulting a miracle doctor, and being taught by the sage that some humans are not actually humans, but fox spirits (e.g. Naruto?) or Asura.

500 Year-Old Sage then goes on to warn that the most pitiful of beings are fearless non-believers, who are without future or hope; surely then, accepting wholesale that he has been knocking around for half a millenium, and in people being possessed by animals and otherworldly spirits, must be the correct thing to do! How obviously foolish not to do so!

Well, it's not that the entire paper is this... mystical. There are, for example, more reasonable expoundings on attachment and happiness, and reviews of rather more material objects such as Mazdas and Vacheron Constantin watches, and a piece on "Scientific Evidence Becoming Less Reliable", which despite the slightly scaremongering title does bring up a salient point of publication bias towards studies with positive results.

...And in the bottom half of that very page, without the slightest hint of irony, follows an article on how the human body corresponds to the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Really, they should just syndicate Naruto and get it over with.


On Offer

The most noteworthy column of this edition is however the Career Corner, which seeks to explain "The Consequences of Accepting a Counteroffer". Quoted directly (breaks mine):

...Little did they know that I'm a recruiter and as a recruiter, our pet peeve is someone accepting a counteroffer. I explained to them that unless it was your intention just to get more money than it would not be a good idea to accept a counteroffer.

Your loyalty to the company will always be in doubt. In addition, you will be viewed as a fidelity risk, and no longer be considered as someone they can count on and be a part of the "inner circle".

Anytime you use a new job offer as a bargaining chip with your boss, you can bet that there will be some lingering resentment from your boss; it's just human nature. They will never view you the same.

Loyalty isn't about money.

Furthermore, if you ever accept a counteroffer, the company that made you the original offer will no longer trust you, or have faith in your ability to keep your word. The job will go to someone else, and, if you ever do want to leave again, the opportunity won't be there anymore with that company.

And I'll tell you what: executives in the Silicon Valley have long memories. If your name ever comes up amongst other executives you can bet that your reputation amongst them will be tainted...


Q&A Time:

Q1: Refer to "Your loyalty to the [old] company will always be in doubt". Explain why, if you do take up the offer (and move to a new company), should the new company expect you to be loyal anyway? Wouldn't it be reasonable for them to expect you to be lured away if a better offer comes in some time later (as they did with you?)

Q2: If you could successfully use a job offer to bargain for better wages, does it not mean that your boss was (possibly significantly) underpaying you in the first place? Might that not be grounds for resentment on your part (unless you legitimately owe the boss, e.g. he gave you a break when nobody else would, paid for your training, etc)?

Q3: Refer to "Loyalty isn't about money". This is true; however, you should have an idea whether the company has a culture of being loyal to its employees (e.g. many Japanese firms, at least till recently). If you have seen colleagues being let go swiftly each time a bad patch comes/their seniority pay begins to add up, how much loyalty should you owe to the firm? Re Q2: loyalty ain't underpaying your employees either.

Q4: Refer to "If you ever accept a counteroffer, the company that made you the original offer will no longer trust you, or have faith in your ability to keep your word". Is it possible to accept an offer conditionally in good faith, especially if one is upfront about it? How, for example, can students accept offers from multiple universities?

Q5: Refer to "executives... have long memories". How many of these (top?) executives have a) stayed in the same company for their entire career and b) never, ever tried to bargain for a pay rise? If not, how tainted do they regard themselves?

Q6: [Bonus Question] The author of this article is a recruiter (specifically, an "employment and career management expert"). Do recruiters get paid when you accept an offer? Do recruiters get paid when you accept a counteroffer? Do recruiters like to get paid? Please answer Yes or No only.


Perspectives From Afar






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