Career Rush

Small retreat

Although our steroids are called career steroids, they are not only suitable for a management position. With the help of some you can achieve a salary increase, or certain amenities and indulgences that will be important for you personally.

Therefore, in the further presentation, we will understand the career, and, accordingly, steroids, more widely than the post.

Prehistory

One of the coolest and versatile steroids known to me is rush (in English, Rush - pressure, pressure). The term came from computer games, especially from real-time strategies. Personally, I met him when I played Starcraft Broodwar, or rather, when I watched our team masters. They showed me what a zerg rush is.

Rush is a quick attack at the very beginning of the game, when you spit on development, consolidation, resource extraction and infrastructure creation, and stupidly spend all start-up capital on creating one or two simplest combat units, and run into the attack. The enemy, if he did not prepare for the rush, will be taken by surprise - he has nothing to defend himself on, he builds all sorts of mines and little houses there.

Rush is a risky tactic, both in the game and in life. If the enemy foresaw a rush, and prepared to defend, then you are likely to lose. In life, if your rush doesn't work, you get fired.

Therefore, rush is almost always used at the beginning of work in a new company - that is, at the moment when it is not terrible to be dismissed. Well, more precisely, not so scary. Of course, there are exceptions - for example, the first job, or a dream company, where even loudly breathing is scary. But, in most cases, especially in IT, a job change is an awl on soap with a slight increase (income usually), so there is nothing to lose. So make a rush.

What is rush?

So, a career rush is a quick “release” of the resources you need at the beginning of a career. Salary, position, new table, secretary, personal driver - what is enough of imagination. Why does this often work? And, really, does it work?

It works, and how. I saw dozens of examples with my colleagues, and I applied rush several times. Now I will try to explain why this works.

When you first started working in a company, you have nothing to lose. You have a trial period, and in the case of parting, you may not even write anything during your work. Therefore, you can and act bolder when it comes to your requirements for the employer.

In the same period, the employer treats you differently than others. You are forgiven for what is forbidden to others ("he did not know"), you will patiently explain what others will not, you will be answered to a question that others are afraid to ask (such as "can I increase my salary?").

It turns out that at first there are two unidirectional forces - you are bolder, and the employer, on the contrary, is more malleable. It's time for rush.

The principle is simple: "what if he does?" You seem to be trying to expand the boundaries in which you were put. If so, moved a little fence, and sit, wait, what will happen next. No one yells - ok, we leave the fence in a new place. Or a little more portable.

It is only important not to delay, act quickly. But not on the first day, of course. At least a week should look around, understand who is who, so as not to be mistaken with the choice of decision makers (hereinafter, the decision maker).

If, in response, they bristle up, run down, swear and yell - well, you can always pretend that you are new to the company, and something is not understood.

Yes, rush can be repeated after promotion, inside the same company. Consider the increase as a reboot - you are treated again indulgently, and again you become bolder. Of course, weigh the risks and possible benefits of rush - maybe the game is not worth the candle.

Restart provides the so-called carte blanche - like modern leaders like a word. It roughly means that the new leader (ie, you) is going to not just sit on the fifth point, but wants to change something, shake up the foundations, break the patterns and the like. Accordingly, he needs special powers - the same carte blanche. As they say, every citizen, of every rank, is obliged to provide the bearer of this full and unconditional assistance.

If you were given a blank check, think about the rush. With a high probability (alas), you will carve a blank check, as most managers do - but by that time, everything will somehow be forgotten, calm down, and they will not turn you out. But the property acquired, so to speak, by overworking - that is, received through a rush - will remain with you.

Another reason Rash works is that his psychology is poorly understood by his bosses, especially those who have been in one position for a long time. I personally had to explain the principles of rush to directors and owners several times when they were confronted with applying this strategy on themselves. They didn’t understand at all what was going on - “how can she ask for wage increases after a month of work?”. Yes, easy, just aunt prosharennaya - rush went.

An important point: if you applied a rush, and you did it, keep silence in a rag. The meaning of the rush is that the bosses will make concessions to you, in a special order, just in case. If you begin to replicate this information, it will not be a rush, but a precedent.

For example, if you received a salary increase with the help of Rush, and went about bragging about it left and right, then soon a line will be drawn up for the boss to try your algorithm. Of course, the boss will not be satisfied. Who will he blame? You, stranger, who else. So silent.

Actually, the theory is all. Everything is elementary, and you consciously or unconsciously know this technique. Therefore, I turn to examples - one's own and others.

Examples

First is my example. Immediately, in order not to retell the context - as I received a wage increase, I “lost” my boss and got good working conditions, using a rush.

Example 1

So, I come to work as a 1C programmer to the final client (at a production and trading enterprise). An important feature is that before me there was neither a programmer of his own, nor his own system administrator, everything was outsourced. Users, accordingly, "hungry" to horror. Yes, the IT department, for natural reasons, was not there either, as was the head of this department.

I do not know about you, but I am used to working with comfort. This is not about an expensive chair or a portrait of Jason Born, but about one single condition - the absence of urgency. In my personal opinion, nothing kills high-quality work like setting deadlines, especially - urgent and megasr super-deadlines. Such a stupidity is even more peculiar than setting a deadline for a task that does not have any urgency at all. Or it does not need to be addressed at all.

What is interesting is that if a programmer is not given a time limit, then he will make the task faster. But the bosses, and the users are not aware of it, so they, hungry for the attention of any IT specialists, piled on me in a crowd. They began to fill up with urgent tasks, creating an artificial time trouble - a favorite method of parasitic bosses.

I had nothing to lose, and I applied a rush — I immediately started sending them all. Not soft, not hard, but so mediocre. Explaining reasons, priorities, development speed, etc. In general, as a stewardess - politely, but adamantly.

It was an extension of my garden. I didn’t want that there were different around, forgive, cows, and drool drooling to my beds. Several times I was summoned to “talk” with the director, but I was adamant there too — politely, clearly, and thoroughly, for each task, yes and how. The director was, in general, no difference - he, as it were, just harnessed for his own. And since I did not defend myself, and did not attack, I couldn’t blame me either. In addition, I explained my actions to the good of the company.

In general, with comfortable conditions everything turned out. What is important is that this environment, this attitude has been preserved throughout my work in this company, although the staff has been very updated over this time. The reason is simple: the environment began to work for me by itself — people passed on to each other in their own words, how programmers work here. Of course, there were upstarts like “I will teach them how to work there,” but not a damn thing happened - the environment was already for me. The fact that programmers do not call the deadlines for solving problems has become as natural for everyone as snow in winter. In our automated system for receiving tasks, the “deadline” field was completely absent.

Example 2

But happiness did not last long - they assigned a boss to me. There was a strange story there - sort of like they decided to create an IT department (based on me), but for some reason they did not tell me about it, although in previous work I was the head of the IT department. In short, in some inexplicable way, my boss was some aunt who did not understand anything in IT, but she could scream very loudly and demand timelines. In my garden got a goat.

At first, I simply ignored her, and she also behaved decently - she just sometimes asked when I would finish (“finish, when finish”) and how she can help me (“bring, serve, go, that, don't bother”). But then she broke out as they began to swear every day.

I felt uncomfortable, and I went to the second wave of rush - came to the director and said that I would not work with this aunt. Explained everything, of course. For them, by the way, it was a revelation that the aunt does not understand anything in automation. I don’t know that she’s got them there ... This event happened about 4 months after my employment - I still had nothing to lose.

In the end, they decided that they needed both aunt and I, and left both of them. I again became a programmer without a boss, and she headed the newly created some kind of department related to processes.

Example 3

There was a salary. In new companies for me, there is always the same problem - the devil will break the leg in the system of motivation. If for sellers or bosses, it is usually understandable, then in the case of 1C programmers, there is always a dark forest, because no one understands their work, and everyone is tormented by one question - for what do we pay them money at all?

Salary needed a trial rush. First, the main thing is to understand how everything is done here. Secondly, as a bonus - what if the truth and raise the salary?

Interested in how salary rises here, I started at that aunt. She told me to shut up and not blather, that it’s too early and so on. As a result, it turned out that she simply has no idea how the mechanism for raising wages works.

From the big boss I knew three people - the director, commercial director, and owner. The latter — least of all, and in general — did not immediately recognize its existence. But, after six months of work in the company, I was suddenly called to a conversation - sort of how to meet and tell you how these six months went. The meeting was attended by the owner and commercial director.

I decided that the time for salary rush had come, and, casually, after a report on tremendous automation, I screwed up a request to increase my salary by 10 thousand rubles. We agreed without talking, because the amount is not large. But the essence was not in the sum, but in the one who considered the proposal and who made the decision - the owner. Now it was clear who to talk about money.

The next salary increase I received with the use of another steroid, I will tell about it next time.

Example 4

Now someone else's example. I started working in a 1C partner company. The essence of the programmer’s work there is simple - there is a task, there are hours coordinated with the client, you solve the problem, you get your wager for those hours. For example, it was agreed to the task of 8 hours, and you have the rate of 300 rubles (it was 13 years ago, I remind you). Made the task - you will receive 2400 rubles. So, for a month, with a normal incoming work flow and due diligence, it was possible to drizzle half a year.
The stages of design work were evaluated in a similar way, but there it was not so small that they could put 10, 100 and 400 hours into one. In this case, the programmer received money at the closing stage.

But a certain guy came to this company to work, say - Sigismund. And he invented that the watches agreed with the client do not have to be equal to the real. If he, working with a client, entered into the work for 100 hours, and did it for 20, then he should receive it for 100. As well as the client must pay for 100 hours. Common thought? I do not know, still in some places holivary on this topic go.

So, it was a rush of Sigismund. In the company, no one ever did. The marginal income that programmers received was equal to that very poltyashka. And Sigismund began to receive up to hundreds.

The problem was aggravated by the fact that the data on the development were open. And not just open - they were also reported at monthly meetings, including - singled out especially distinguished. Sigismund distinguished itself so that the whole company wanted in its place. And the era of the Great Hours began.

By the way, I also took part in it. So I participated that in our city, for some reason, they remembered me as the founder of the Big Watch in the 1C sphere. Even at the interviews several times they were asked “is it you, the same one? Well, you know, we can't do that ... ”. Sigismund, hello, take your glory back. Although, it's a thing of the past, everyone has long forgotten everything.

As you can see, in this case, the rush was not correct, because its results were not hidden. He even went beyond the company, reflecting on the industry of the whole city. Of course, in that company, and in the rest, such rush was covered with special conditions in the system of motivation.

Example 5

Well, another example, to the heap, small and simple. It can be said, abstract, because I have seen it several times - only the names of companies and the names of actors have changed.
Got to work aunty CFO. He does everything according to the book - he discusses goals, coordinates development projects, regularly reports on what is happening - both about turnover and about changes.

The director looks - can not rejoice. Finally, a normal CFO! Initiative, efficient, no need to podpinivat, explain, by the handle to drive. Well, just like in the message of Garcia!

And then - bang! - rush. Once again, this financial director comes to the meeting, shows his schedules, says so convincingly, and at the end rolls in - but can I raise my salary? The director asks questions - eh, how is it that the probationary period is not even over, and in general ... And what is it? - asks financial. “I’m exceeding your expectations, you praise me, and I’m really a good aunt.”

The director is trapped - after all, he praised. And it makes a decision to raise the salary, “but only for the last time” and “but only to no one!”. All zerg won.

Example 6

Okay, give another example. Mudatsky, unpleasant, terrible, but - rush.

I hired a system administrator. Good kind guy, intelligent, hard-working, modest, quiet. But, as they say, in a dark pool ... Yes, this is the same ram from the past chapters of "Career steroids".

So, a couple of months after the start of work, he comes to me with a letter of resignation. Like a bolt from the blue, as they say. In general, nothing foretold, there was not a single hint. He called the reason simple — they called for a previous job, they would give a little more money, and, well, a familiar activity.

I can say I was offended - why should I do that? Though I would hint that there is not enough money, I would talk with the director. In short, he signed a statement.

But the director and owner were opposed - for some reason they liked him. The director is very strong, and the owner - well, not so much. He understood that it was wrong to agree to rush, but he showed mildness, and the system administrator received his 5 thousand rubles. per month.

Last time I scolded sys.admin for stubbornness, and now you will understand why. Rush is the only thing he knew, but did not understand his limitations. Therefore, continued to use only rush, within the same company. Naturally, success disappeared very quickly - everyone understood long ago that he would not go anywhere, and stopped paying attention to his nagging.

Summary

Rush is a forced onslaught on the decision maker in order to obtain an increase, position, conditions.

Rush should be used only in the first months of work in the company, when you have nothing to lose, and the employer has something to lose - you (he also spent a lot of time and money looking for).

A good rush should not be advertised, otherwise you will suffer in hindsight.

Unsuccessful rush, if you do not go too far, does not bring any harm.

If you are a boss, and a new employee asks or requires you to increase, position or special conditions, you should know - this is a rush.

It’s better not to give in to the rush - open Pandora’s box.