Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!

I’ve spoken in the past about the importance of carving out your own niche in the company that employs you. Becoming an expert in some area of the business can improve your job security and can have a positive impact on your salary. It’s easy to make statements like this without backing them up with any evidence so I’d like to tell you about how I’ve created a situation where my employer literally cannot afford to let me go. Actually, make that previous employer. After a three month notice period, I finally quit my job on Friday and am now a free man. Almost.

Actually, what I am is a contractor that now gets money thrown at him by his previous employer. Despite the fact that I always arrived at work late, wearing trainers and t-shirts and called people out on their nonsense on a daily basis, I do like to consider myself a professional person. I’ve never scammed anyone or purposefully created any problems for any business for my own financial gain. However, if a company screws up, I’m happy to take financial compensation to fix their problems.

In most cases, I believe it’s wise not to burn bridges. While I had a hundred bad things to say about my previous employer, none of them were worth saying. There is no sense in damaging egos for no reason, especially when you stand to benefit from keeping your cool. When I quit, I let them know that I wouldn’t be averse to working for them on a contracting/consultancy basis. I assured them that my reasons for leaving were mainly due to me needing to challenge myself in new ways. Well, that conversation turned out to be quite fruitful. At this point I worked for the company on a full time basis developing/maintaining software solutions and supporting operational systems. It’s the support of the operational systems that is key to the business. Even though I worked a three month notice period, they were unable to find a suitable replacement for me. So, to get them through this difficult time and to shift the support burden away from existing developers, they asked me if I would take over support and provide consultancy on some new developments.

We discussed the requirements of the business and what I would be able to offer given my other commitments. We negotiated and ended up forming a mutually beneficial agreement. The initial length of the contract is two months, during which time I will be required to work 3.5 hours per day, from home. Ha! So, that’s a win. I’m basically getting paid the same money as before to work half days from home! This deal was too good to turn down so I’ve accepted the offer and I start tomorrow.

When they find a suitable candidate to replace my full time role, I will train the hell out of them, wish them well and hand over the reigns. But until that time arrives I’m going to smile, nod politely and take my £40/hour.

So there you have it. My four salary tips in action. Get some mad skills, become an expert, don’t be scared to ask for what you’re worth and if it’s not working, get the hell out of there.

Tagged career, contractor, job, quit, self employment