Part 1 – https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/te62se/you_are_very_qualified_but_not_the_right_type_of/
Picking up two weeks after the part 1, out of the blue I get call from one of the directors at the IT consulting firm. After the normal bs how are you doing, they ask if I am still available. I am. They explain they have a short term consulting assignment (a few months) for a client who they are doing a bunch of work for needs someone to take over the IT leadership as the current person just gave their two weeks. We discuss pay, not great but I can use the work. I agree, they send email over contract, I sign and the following Monday I am to show up at the client for them to interview me. If they accept, I am in.
At this point I am so what the fuck ever. I have a few other things working, but slow as shit. Short story, the client met me, obviously was in a bind and I was breathing, could but a sentence together in a coherent response and was presentable in my suit. Hire me on the spot, I start right that minute staying for the rest of the day in meetings after meetings about the tech projects they have going on. Very interesting shit, but my emotional investment is low as I am here just until they hire a FTE. Gun for hire, get as much done as you can but with the restriction of no more than 40 hours billable a week.
Me being me, I pushed that as I actually like people and feel shitty cutting out exactly at 4pm each day as my hour commute countered as part of the 40, though I commuted by train so easy enough to work on emails and shit so.
Two weeks in the person I report to and I go out to lunch. Figure just a working lunch nothing else. They ask me if I like here and after a little back and forth ask about my interest in taking the FTE role. Well, fuck me, the work is interesting, the company a bit wonky, but no more than other companies. Most people there have been there 10 years or more and from the side conversations all seem pretty happy outside of the normal whiny asshats who hate themselves so much they hate everyone and think everyone should be as miserable as they feel all the time.
Now, I am under contract to consulting firm with a clear non-solicitation clause. I say, I would be interested, but they will have to talk to the consulting firm first before we discuss anything further. They state they will do so and get back to me. Apparently did so right when they got back to the office as on my commute home I get a call from the consulting firm asking if I was aware of the client's desire to hire me and what was my interest.
Shit, what do you think. You rejected me, then throw me this bone of a short term contract, of fucking course I am interest dumbass. No, I say 'yes, I would interested if this works for you'. So this had never happened before (20 year old consulting firm), had never had a client ask to hire an employee away. Hmmm, perhaps you are not hiring the 'right' type of right people after all you dumbfucks.
Looking at what I just wrote, yep there is some bitterness here.
Much longer story short, after several weeks of hearing nothing from either fucking side the client approaches me and tells me that the consulting firm notified her that the consulting firm rejected her request to hire me 'as they needed my services for other clients'. What the actual fuck. So now I am the 'right' type of right. Fuck me sideways.
I immediately call the firm and ask, so what does this mean? Am I hire permanently? They respond, “We wish to discuss this with you. Please come to the office on Tuesday of next week to meet with me and the CEO.”. So a small part of my ego is like, 'Ha, they are going to have to admit they were wrong.”. Most of me predicted this would just be another jerk off session for them to try and figure out what the client saw that they apparently did not.
Meanwhile, I am getting shit done at the client. Projects that were stalled are progressing, found a load of shit wrong with other areas that I had been working with the team to get corrected along the way and client, team and most of the rest of the company are shit happy.
Meeting was just some bullshit again 30 minutes of how they are looking for forward thinkers who can really impress a client and wow them with insights. In short, we want a person who presents themselves as the smartest person in the room to the point that the clients feel they must hire and listen to them to fix all the shit that they have going wrong. Right, you are small fucking consulting firm, not fucking McKinsey. The meeting ends with them desiring to setup a series of tests over the next few months to demonstrate my forward thinking, my ability to communicate these insights in a winning manner and so other shit I do not remember.
The meeting ends with them stating the client extended the contract for 3 more months, so I was relieved to get some more work but confused as I did not know what I was supposed to do to pass these fucking test. As the person who I reported to walked me out I asked directly, what exactly do they wish me to do each week to demonstrate to them whatever. This person says and I quote “You know, I am not sure either. I need to talk to the CEO to get what exactly he is thinking and get back to you.”
I just sat in an hour and half meeting where the CEO was talking in circles thinking that well I have no idea what the fuck you are going on about, but I will get specifics from the person who setup the meeting, the one I report to when we are done. Nope, they had no clue either.
Weeks go by, I ask each week what the fuck you want me to do. Meanwhile, the work at the client as dramatically increased as I am accomplishing my tasks with the team and the client wants more done of what I have identified should be done and we bring on additional consultants from the firm. I am growing their fucking business. Is that not the demonstrate of my value. Who the fuck knows they have been giving me we will get back to you for a month now.
Client extends the contract again with more projects. We are building a relationship where we talk about the interviews we have done for the new FTE, how known of them match up to what I deliver and they express more then once that they would still like to hire me. I do not even think about it anymore as the solicitation is rock solid. I keep chugging away as the work is cool, they client likes me and I am having a good impact on the people and the company. My little ego is happy, the money is coming in and I suddenly have a new line on a FTE role somewhere else, but also taking fucking forever.
I start having to go into the consulting firms office a couple times a month as I am now using more of their resources at this client since I expanded the number of projects for team meetings to discuss my clients resource needs, yes I consider them my client now. They have no love for the firm, but love my ass. Building relationships with the consultants I start hearing how things that the reason I could get so many resources where their other clients had finished up their projects, or cut budgets and cancelled future work. I did hear they had 3-4 bids on a set of huge projects and that was why they need to know my clients needs as the higher ups expected to win 2 of those and resources either would be tight or they have to hire on more.
I hear this for a month or so and notice the person I report to is stressed out to all hell. Snipping at me when we talk, cutting me off and just being an even larger asshat they they normally are when we engage.
This shit goes on for months, but I am content as I do not have to talk to him more than once every two weeks. Oh, and I gave up on asking whatever the fuck the test were as this firm was so fucking messed up from their CEO who thought he was sometime of business buddha I knew I did not want to work there full time.
I happy at my client. They treated me like a FTE letting me use their benefits of the office which were really cool (cannot list them as it would be too identifying), but let's say that they treated their employees like they were actual assets with clear caring activities. Not just words with them. I truly wanted for work for them but knew that was not to be.
End of part two – 1099 for a shitty consulting firm, but got working at a great client.