Thinking of leaving soon as I want to pursue other opportunities. Did anyone regret making this move? Why or why not? There’s so much uncertainty and no real direction
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I worked in the procurement space not too long ago in IT and I found the US people to be great but when I worked with the EU Brazil teams it was majority a bad experience. I was a fresh grad and never could understand why they treated us so poorly. I assume it must've been pay gap, culture, or we acted like entitled Gen Zers but don't miss that. Don't miss the coworkers and managers that made you feel like you were invisible if you hadn't solved cancer or ran a marathon. I found this thread because now I work in another SAP job with even less to do, less influence, and "behind" technically but getting more pay and flexibility in CA. Just dealing with looking back a lot has helped me see what I have now is more satisfying that grinding for the machine that didn't care back.
Got PIL in 2020 and it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I’m now in a job I love, work with people that are amazing (I did have that at XOM), have management that is supportive, and a culture that is unlike anything else. Oh, and I make a ton more $$$ and have benefits I didn’t have at XOM. And I WFH. The grass most definitely is greener on the other side.
Op, hopefully you've made your move out. Care to post a follow-up on how things are going?
Exxon is a total shlt place to work at. Period!
This is coming from someone who is educated from the best schools, done very well for himself both financially and professional life with an enjoyable personal life. I have worked and enjoyed working at start-up to large scale companies. I also worked for Exxon for several years but realized this was the most terrible organization given the abundance of yes men, broad nosers and cult like brain washing by the corporation.
If you have any ounce of talent, save yourself misery, start looking right away.
@3nac+19c5D4Hz I love your post, pretty much exactly my observation as well when I was with XOM. I left XOM for a much more relaxed environment which pays a lot too. Well, I was PIP'ed from XOM and I am back on my feet yet again, doing what I really love to do. I don't have any regrets with my separation from XOM. During my interviews, I noticed that companies don't really give a sh*t that I am coming from XOM. I thought that XOM would be great in my resume, but not exactly. At my current job, people would challenge me if say that "At Exxon, we did this and that .." No respect for XOM. Nevertheless, going back to what I said, I am happier now separated from XOM.
OP, I am the one responded to @3uez+19c5D4Hz and @3emf+19c5D4Hz, if I can add some more: I was with ExxonMobil since 1997 (heritage Mobil). Until 2005, conditions were really good, after 2010 and beyond, the culture totally deteriorated. Why I stuck on back then, but why I would not recommend sticking with ExxonMobil anymore are the following back-breaking show-stoppers in ExxonMobil:
1) Company values obediently following orders, procedures and best practices. So if you are Bell, Einstein or Christopher Columbus, you would never get a chance to break out of the pack. You need to howl together harmoniously as a pack of hyenas, you cannot howl alone. Lone wolves with smart and innovative ideas get cannibalized and eaten alive by your neighbors.
2) Company values useless middle managers and not technically competent people. If you work as a middle manager, then if you are a technology lover and technical person like me, you will unfulfilled and unutilized and will be very unhappy. If you like being a useless manager, then you can enjoy good pay, but after a few years you have NO technical skills and you can only work at ExxonMobil, as no one will hire you outside - as the only skills you have are to check timesheets, badge access reconciliation with time sheet, expense reports, holiday scheduling for direct reports, stabbing technical people during performance ranking, calling for useless meetings, and mastering the art of looking stress, worried, tired around the company of your direct rankers - all a sick environment.
3) You learn a lot less as the company has tremendous inertia.
I used to get sick just thinking of entering my office.
Now I am a lot happier with my new job.
Do NOT listen to negative people who will tell you there are no jobs out there. Think of how foolish this view is! We are entering an era of super high tech. IT, NASA, electric cars, hydrogen, new online university training, faculty, trainers, and on and on. Look at the millions of products on Amazon - how is this happening??? There are many factories, many offices, many opportunities. But it is important to have a positive attitude. If you have a negative, defeated, beleaguered, besieged attitude caused by the stress and strain at ExxonMobil, then yes - interviewer can sense it and you will not get a job. Forget ExxonMobil, be a new person, be positive and believe me - you will get multiple offers, not one.
You sound like a nice, honest and intelligent person OP, good luck to you.
OP here
@3emf+19c5D4Hz
Thank you so much, you have given me courage and hope. Happiness is important and I feel undue pressure and stress having to work here so I will double up on a plan and leave. I have bad dreams everyday I have to wake up because of work and the people I work with and it shouldn’t be this way
To OP - regarding your post @2psl+19c5D4Hz - you asked me where I am..
My original post @2mme+19c5D4Hz
I was working in Baytown - BTES - Baytown Tech Eng Specialists - one of the worst snake filled organizations with so many merciless, brutal, conscience-less back stabbers. I got a job in Houston - automation and process control field. Did not have to relocate though I would not have minded. Relocation can always be fun, enriching and interesting experience. Remember you do not need to retire where you move to for a job, you can always relocate later.
Anyway, OP - I got booted PIPed out of Baytown but got a job in South Houston area. Feel much happier. I suffered many agonizing years in ExxonMobil. I have worked for other companies before and can say never work at ExxonMobil, it is worst of the very worst. If you leave, you will NOT regret I can assure. Jobs are there - may take time, but jobs are there, not to worry.
I left on PIL payed vacation back in July. No regrets. No repent. We don’t care what it meant. NO REMORSE.
@3thd+19c5D4Hz You don't focus on technical questions because, even though you're in IT, you don't know anything technical, what a shame. I am comparing my experience with other Fortune 100's and they engage their technical experts to hire. Anyhow, many EM kids end up being generalists, not knowing any technical sh*t.
I’ve done both behavioral and competency based interviews for years for different companies, including EM. The behavior based interviews are c*ap, but even so, any recruiter worth a flip would never make an offer to a candidate that was technically unsound, regardless of the behavioral match. The behavioral based recruitment might rule out good technical candidates because of poor fit, but should never allow someone to be hired that is not competent. If you are doing this, you don’t need to be recruiting.
"EM hired you and pays you an enormous salary because you should already have a strong technical foundation from a decent degree program"
good try at lying but no, that's not what EM does for recruiting. In 9 out of 10 interviews of new hires, we (the interviewers) would fight for behavioral skills over technical skills. I have seen kids who had no clue on technical questions and still got hired over others who did well on technical but not so well on behavioral for IT positions. I'm not a fan of this approach but what would I do when the majority think the other way around? This is the reality of EM recruiting for for technical position. So stop the bs about EM hiring you because you should already have a strong technical foundation...
Just do it, you won't regret it. If there's one thing that you might regret, it's the pension and yeah, the travel opportunities. I left and now enjoying a nice pay, better and nicer coworkers, and slower pace. And more learning opportunities. Better for me.
I was PIPed last July, was shocked and bewildered, left immediately though, got 3 mo pay, found a job in 1 mo. Very happy. 12% less base pay but bonus makes compensation almost the same. At new job, no snakes, no admin managers, no silly safety meetings, no repeating about hand rails and the bull c-ap. Lot happier. Glad got PIPed. Leave now if you can. Not worth getting old with ExxonMobil.
It’s not EM’s job to teach or train you to be a technical expert. That is YOUR job. EM hired you and pays you an enormous salary because you should already have a strong technical foundation from a decent degree program, and if you apply yourself at work and learn from more experienced employees, you can gain additional knowledge that will allow you to succeed at EM and elsewhere.
Instead, you want someone to spoon feed you like a little bird incapable of doing for themselves. You can blame management, culture, and everyone else, but YOU are responsible for not only improving your skills, but also for the pathetic whining creature you seem to want to be. What is so hard about accepting personal responsibility? Afraid it might actually take some effort, while easier to just sit back and cry that you are a victim?
Great! Someone joined and tried to mock at people "slacking off."
You did realize that much part of that "slacking off" came from the culture that the XOM genius "leaders" created, didn't you?
These "geniuses" poured money down the drain to hire useless contractors and put XOM technical employees in management/supervising situation, where they did nothing but watching these contractors, instead of nurturing the technical skills of these employees and making them into true technical leaders? Ever ask why there's not a clear technical career path at XOM?
I recall in a group meeting with HR, someone asked why XOM didn't have a CTO position and the answer from this great HR lady was that if you wanted to develop your career for a CTO position, go somewhere else. XOM would not be a place for you. Oh well, what else would I expect? Glad I took my walk early...
Lots that can't find jobs regret it. No paycheck, no benefits, lousy and expensive healthcare, no paid vacation, nothing ahead but bills and pain for them and their families. Not all, but lots of the stories about getting better jobs with massive pay increases and great working conditions are largely troll nonsense. Don't be fooled by it. Better see it for yourself first. I've seen some first class resumes hit the street with nobody interested. That's hard data. More so than what anyone can write on a forum.
In response to the first comment in this thread... of course having a plan in place is ideal. But folks need to know that if their mental health is really suffering from working in this environment, leaving without another job in the pipeline might be the best option. I'm not trying to sound like a total snowflake here - that kind of "hustle mentality" is what leads to employees having heart attacks at their desk, or doing the unthinkable to themselves. Plan if you can, leave if it's not healthy. It's like staying in an abusive relationship because you think it's your only option.
As opposed to the virtuous and principled people here that laugh about being paid well but admit to doing nothing at work? Same ones that claim how life would be so much better outside EM but don’t have the guts to leave? Right, right, these “non genuine people” whose rhetoric is lies? I see so clearly the distinctions between the “good guys” like you and the others actually running the company. Think again.
I have not heard anyone that has regretted. In fact most are doing much better! I envy them as I am stuck here and will go through another round of assessment...
Left with pay jump, bought xom at 35, been listening to more complains from my exEM colleagues who are working even harder to maintain my dividends. I feel like I have grown up. Can't get any better...muacks!
Hit the road Jack!
I’d reckon the people that likely regret leaving (whether by choice or not) are either A. Folks that are family/personal life first then career second because it’s easy to coast here and get paid well or B. Had skills that were overpaid at EM but not paid well at other companies. Some supporting functions are paid very generously here.
@ 1pjp+19c5D4Hz
I agree with all of your comments (toxic pit, high pay), except the part about genuine people. I'm mid career and if I'm not sincere in my intent with others, I believe I've lost being an upstanding citizen (if that has any merit in today's world). Don't get me wrong, snakes will be snakes, so have to be vigilant to not be bitten, but if sometimes leaving snakes alone is the best solution... In summary, I hope we can be nice to one another regardless of the environment around us. Be safe & well!
I miss being paid to slack
If you ever leave, first thing you will notice is a fresh breath of air and you will get to treat, live and enjoy life like normal human beings.
The problem is that the pay at Exxon to produce nothing useful is quite high, so it is easy to drop inside the toxic sink hole and impossible for many to consider leaving. When in doubt, just remember that there is no price and perks good enough to waste away prime years of your life listening to and doing id–tic things.
Management from very lowly supervisory levels to the very top senior executives conduct it's business with fake persona. Nothing that comes out of anyones mouth is genuine – everything is simply company rhetoric.
I miss the volunteer events like Day of Caring. It was the only time I actually saw the management doing work. It was so refreshing.
I miss the meetings about meetings and the managers...
Nah, very happy with my decision to leave.
I definitely miss my coworkers and friends, however the archaic and blind management system, not so much.
I miss all the snakes who worked as colleagues in the Upstream RTD.
Never met anyone who has. People enjoy the freedom to feel comfortable in their on skin and enjoy the lack of judgment.
big regret over here, i really miss the safety meetings
Me me me !!!!
Just kidding :)
Work on figuring out your next move before making any decision. Think everything out carefully.
You may very well end up being happy somewhere else. But you need to have a real plan in place.