The acquisition team from my "new" company descended on us yesterday, and most of us came out of the meetings with not a little trepidation. They sent an HR person and two sales VPs, and began by having all of us fill out all of the employment apps, etc. They then went through the benefits provided by the new company, which are really good--part of the advantage of being bought by a large company.

 

Next, it was time for the two VPs to tell us about the company's products, sales process, history, etc. That went relatively well up until the point when I was supposed to meet with both of them--and they both told me that they were out of time--one had to catch a flight (he had just arrived that morning!), and the other had to go visit the company's sales office in the same town. This struck me as pretty lame, as both were supposed to meet with me to discuss my future with the company (if you haven't read my previous posts, the new company has decided that my position will end in March if I haven't found another position within the company). This pretty much pissed me off--made me feel like they really couldn't give a shit about retaining me as an employee (perhaps that's the case!).

 

I have been invited to travel to the company's HQ next week to meet with everyone and to discuss my future with the company, so hopefully I can get some answers then.

 

In the meantime, my phone started ringing off the hook as soon as the news went public and news that I could be in the market started to make the rounds. That's pretty encouraging--and if I play my cards right and find a position with another company, I could come out smelling like a rose--have a new job the day after the company terminates me and pocket six months of salary. I'm still thinking that's the way to go--screw the bastards that can't even take the time to tell me who I am supposed to report to, and who can't even take 10 minutes to meet with me when they're in the same office.

 

I had three phone interviews today with outside opportunities, by the way, and all of them sound like they could be really fun jobs. Since I have 3 months to find a position before this one ends, I can take my time, but two days into the job search it's looking pretty positive!

 

One thing I meant to mention--the company that acquired us amazes me (in a bad way) in just how antiquated their various policies are--many of which seem like they're right out of a Dilbert cartoon! For example, in an era where most companies just issue you a cell phone with a large pool of minutes (and will pay for Blackberry access, etc), this company, which has 8000 employees, requires to you get your own cell phone and plan, and then turn in the entire bill every month with business calls highlighted. They then figure out a "fair" way to calculate how much of the bill they will pay. What a load of crap. They also do not pay for lunch when you're traveling on company business, force you to use their travel agency, which dictates exactly what airline, flight, hotel, and rental car you will be using. The agency is only open from 8am-5pm Monday to Friday, and you have to use an "emergency" number outside of business hours, and there is no online option for booking travel whatsoever.

 

They do provide a corporate Amex card, but the bill comes to your home address, is under your credit, and you are required to pay the bill directly, regardless of whether you've been reimbursed for the expenses or not. I'm OK with that policy, except that you are prohibited from using a personal card (and getting points, etc., from the purchases). It has none of the benefits of a corporate card, with all of the risk.

 

Other crazy items: when you visit "HQ", you are required to wear a suit (!)--I thought stupid-ass policies like that went out the window 10 years ago! When asked what the dress code should be, one of the VP clones said "well, let me put it this way--you won't be underdressed if you wear a suit!". What a load of crap.

 

The company only provides 2 weeks of vacation in the first 5 years of service--then you get 3 weeks, and nothing more. That means that I will lose 7 days of vacation over my current plan. The company also only recognizes 7 holidays--my current company recognizes 9--so scratch another two days that I used to enjoy, so now we're up to 9 vacation/holiday days that I won't get any longer. I had a hard time coming to my current company, as I lost a week of vacation as it was (I had 4 weeks in my last job).

 

The new company is also going to offer me only 2 weeks of severance pay--they call it a "retention bonus" (another load of crap). In exchange for agreeing to be "retained" for 3 months, they'll pay me 2 weeks of salary. The remaining portion (5.5 months) is being financed by the founders of the company (the one that got acquired).

 

So, I just don't know--I am feeling really ambivalent about the whole deal. I just can't wait to get my money from my stock options, and I can tell you that it's going to be a long three months before I can get the fuck out of here. Perhaps they will be able to turn things around and convince me to stay, but at the present moment I'm thinking the chances are in the 5% range.