Got walked out today...
 

Took a job at a competitor here in town. Felt kind of weird... Been there 16 years.

Something that seemed odd was I have been working on a fairly important project for weeks. I was pretty close to implementing it in production. I was the only one in our company working on it, No one else knew anything about it. I would of gladly sat down with some one and shared everything I had up to this point. No one asked anything. They just walked me out of the building. Seems to me they just lost at least eight weeks of research? Probably alot more. I guess I shouldn't worry about it, but after 16 years I can't help it.

But I did hear that my new employer is opening a plant in California and need people...:D

Congrats Shawn! As for your former employer, they were probably just pissed they were losing you and didn't know what else to do.

Contrats Shawn. Pity they couldn't treat you like an adult, but it's their loss.

Congrats on the new position.

This is EXACTLY why you should never let it be known that you are even looking at alternative opportunities until you have something and are ready to take it. Most assume that there will be some period or transition or atleast notice but there are employers that simply want to cut ties and move on (even if it is more costly for them).

I assume you gave couple weeks' notice, but they frog-marched you out immediately?

Not unheard of, although kind of shortsighted of them I think. Everyone is worried about employee sabotage but presumably you had plenty of chance to do mischief before too.

If you have any time between today and when you start at the new place, I'd call your former boss, remind him of the project, and offer to come in and brief them to help w/ the transition. Maybe in a nice email that also says how you enjoyed working for the company, and hope to stay friends with all the good people there, etc etc. At least I'd make the offer.

But once you've started working at the new place, you can't do that - unless your new company agrees, and personally I think that opens a can of worms so I wouldn't ask.

I left on good terms. You never know what the future may hold.

They only walk you out if you go to a competitor, but i would of thought the people at my level may have thought..."Hey if he leaves, we are gonna have to figure this out." But you are probably right, they probably just weren't thinking. I better not get any phone calls.. :D

Congrats on the new job. :)

I warked for a small mom and pop place for almost 12 years. I was VP at the time that I gave my required (employment contract) 4 week notice. 2 Hours after I gave my notice the owner walked into my office and told me to leave right now.

It was really weird, and I can tell you the 1st few weeks of the new gig will be just as weird, you get into a zone working in the same place, a comfort zone, familiarity. That is gone. Everyone is new, the people you considered friends are gone.

But it gets better as the weeks tick off and you get into projects. I can honestly say the first 2 or 3 days at the new job were horrible for me emotionally. It was really hard to go somewhere new.

I got walked out once. I took the family on vacation to Quebec city, had a great time!

Congrats on the new job.

I got walked out of a strip club once....

Shawn,

Does that mean we need another Welcome to CA BBQ for you? You better hurry up, summer is almost here.

Chris

Congrats!

I understand their position on the matter. Years ago at a company where I worked, one of the developers was leaving. Late on his last day, he was on his way out, but one of the IT guys noticed he had a large stack of floppies. He claimed they were some 'personal stuff' but they took them from him anyway, telling him he could have them back after the content was checked out. Sure enough, it was a dump of the entire PVCS system - every last byte of the company's source code.

I changed companies a few weeks ago after 5 years. I does feel sorta strange to walk into a new place. They gave me a key to the building the first day. My honest face I guess.

Chris i will call you guys if we head out that way again...;)

I understand the "get out" policy. I knew it was coming and was fine with it. I guess I just hate to see them have to start over on a pretty important project.

Did you at least put on a good show? Cluck like a chicken? Drool?
"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!!!!"

Tons of possibilities.

Congrats!

What kind of work do you do? What part of CA are they opening in? Maybe I can be of some help finding people.

Never been walked out of a job, but I have been walked on a number of times :P

I didn't scream or anything. But I did walk around for awhile with a shank in my hand. :D

We do manufacturing of medical replacements such as hips and knees. The rumor I heard was Carlsbad and that they needed everything from machinists, engineers, quality control, to shipping.

LOL!! The first thing I just thought of was that hammer should have yelled "Dude don't Taze me" over and over on your way out.

I've asked several people to leave after they have given notice.

Generally what has happened is they looked for a new gig due to something lacking in their current one or "grass is greener" mentality.

I accepted their 2 weeks and told them i appreciated their staying and finishing their projects.

Then something weird happens. Since they have mentally "left" they end up spending more time wandering the building and being negative than they do producing work.

One of those people I hired back three years later.

It's not personal. Just business.

I fully expected to be walked out today. Actually it was part of my EVIL plan! MUWAHAHA!!! :D

I didn't want to stay for the two weeks because of what has been mentioned. You kind of lose your motivation... but i would of gladly sat down this morning and gone over my projects to help out the next guy.

I just got off the phone with my new employer. Looks like i start in the morning. No rest for the wicked...;)

Mother walked me out of the house...said to never come back...since that day Mother and I have not been on friendly terms.

I got walked out by Verizon, even though I wasn't going to a competitor. They even asked me to sign a statement admitting that I had booked bogus sales, since they paid commissions long before clients got billed, and said they might have to yank a commission. I protested that I had never booked a bogus sale and my bigger ones were even voice-verified by a third party agency. So they tore up the paper and said no problem. WTF? Then they walked me out. I still get calls from recruiters asking me to interview for that same job.

Can you get me a deal on a hip resurface? ;)

Give me a little while to get settled in. Then i can start working my magic...

Great news on the new job, Shawn. Still have the titanium monkey? :D

When you get settled, put me down for 2 knees!!!! I want the very latest technology!

After that crap they pulled last time with the move to Cali, I think you're better off....

True. Last company would start a long drawn out campaign against anyone they did not like. A horrible place to work for all involved. Then I get to this new place and they have group being laid off - but they give 6 months notice as new procedures are put in place. Then you have all these gumpy old ladies around.. You can be at a company for a month or 25 years and it means nothing. Always be ready to leave.

Saaweeeet!
C

Good advice - and yes, depending on the person and position will determine whether I let them continue to work their notice out. Most times we seperate quickly on good terms and I have hired a number of people back (the good ones anyway) that have determined that it wasn't actually greener.

I hate to disappoint, but it's probably not personal.

Being walked out is the norm now. At least if you're in a position where you could leave with a lot of key proprietary info, or have direct/indirect access to cash. They're afraid you may do something malicious if you stay.

I've been "walked out" of several jobs. A few I’ve been rehired at later on. Others gave me excellent references.

That is SO different from my experience.

When the dairy I had worked for for 20+ years was closing distribution centers, my boss sat down with me and gave me 8 months notice and outlined the package they were giving me after the end date.

They had seen the effects on customer loyality when sales people had been axed by our competitor and wanted no part of that sort of black eye.

I worked right up to the last day.

Is there really no trust?

Les

I used to design fuel cells before I switched to the oil patch. We had one of our senior scientists resign once and he was walked out. Like you, he was working on something only he was privy to and was planning to spend his last 2 weeks finishing it up, documenting his work etc. It was a stupid HR decision to do this and it never happened again.

Anyway, the company that this fellow went to later bought our company - I'm sure that that HR jerk felt a bit uncomfortable working with Peng again.

When I quit, I was working on a project for the California Energy Commision and even came in 2 weeks after my last day to complete my report foir the CEC with the required amount of test data (the fuel cell system needed to have a certain number of hours on it as part of the test).

When did you work in as a stripper?

I'd a fired him too... no offense intended.

I have to say, I'd walk you out too. My old company in Germany let a sales guy stay two months after he anounced he was going to a competitor!!!! WTF

Shawn,
Congrats on the new job!!

I feel pretty good about it. Like I said I expected to be walked out...thats just the way it is.

What floors me is that no one asked a single question about that project I was working on, like what have you tried? or Where are you on this? or what is your protocol? just nothing... the only person in the company that was working on the project and they walk me out the door. I bet someone is going to be in a meeting this week explaining why they have to start over...

One of our IT guys (one of the good ones) gave her notice. Not going to a competitor, not going to anyone in the industry--was getting married and moving interstate. Got 'walked" that day despite her protests.
Long story short, when they tracked her down on her honeymoon to ask her the passwords to all her encrypted files for the new system she had been assigned to sort out, her answer was anatomically novel but not overly helpful.