Hey folks welcome back to another episode of the corporate Cowboys podcast my name is Alex your host as always this is season eight episode two today’s Proof of Life well it’s Monday February 27 2023 and for those who don’t know or aren’t familiar with the podcast these episodes have become 30 minutes consults
Of sorts 30-minute consultations for free out of the goodness of our hearts after all we’re stand-up guys with Criminal Minds right so you want to make a move in corporate you want to move up thinking of asserting yourself as a corporate cowboy well you’ve come to the right podcast
You can find us on Instagram that’s at corporate Cowboys with the Z we’re on patreon as well that’s the corporate Cowboys podcast we’re up on rumble on YouTube we’re out and about so this podcast serves as a type of uh cathartic therapy for me of sorts because
Well I don’t I don’t go to a therapist this is therapy helping other people through their problems now you want to set up something personal something one-to-one exclusive to be able and personalize tailor a strategy a plan some kind of scheme for your particular situation by all means reach
Out our rates are more than fair we’re reasonable people after all you can write to us also it’s P.O box 3372 Rancho Cordova California 95741 and if you’ve heard my uh my previous episodes the ones that I’m speaking in that contact information I believe I try to repeat
Every other episode or every episode if I can good luck trying to fast forward through it because I vary it it’s never only in the beginning or at the end today’s question is coming from our slash career guidance let’s make this let’s make this a Snappy one right
They’re asking for advice so they’ve flared it for advice but the question I’m reading in now is simple maybe too simple how am I going to fill 30 minutes with this it’s asking it’s asking and I’ll answer it because even though one might think it’s an obvious question
Some people still don’t know what this is which is why they’re asking it on Reddit of all places this person might be fresh meat in the employment Market in the labor market fresh meat and not hard to come by but uneducated uneducated also not that difficult to come by
So that’s why it’s good that podcasts like this exists so that you’re able to learn some and come away with some notes either you’re jotting them down on paper or mentally in order for you to incorporate them into your way of life to learn to Value yourself as a professional
As you navigate your career and seek constant Improvement to Better Business anywhere you transact business so these folks are asking for advice on our slash career guidance and they want to know what at will means that’s quote at will they ask has anyone ever heard of quote at will on a job offer
Boy oh boy have I ever have we ever right obviously the answer is yes we have absolutely just about every job just about every job has that type of provision at will and what that means necessarily is that you’re working there by the very will of the employer or by your own will
Typically at will means that both the employer and the employee have the same right not to renege on the contract but to break to release the contract and not continue working it necessarily means that you can just stop showing up for work from one day to the next
And no issues no issue because it’s at will you don’t even need notice unless unless let me let me condition that with unless terminating the employment agreement is subject to some type of notice provision in the contract so again this requires you going back reading the contract
Reading exactly what it is that you signed on for and I hope I hope you took it upon yourself to learn what the terms are to learn what the terms that you will be working with are and negotiated to some extent terms that are favorable to you
Or at least not unfavorable to you right you don’t always have to come off winning if what you’re doing is building together with an employer and you have that Mutual understanding that you guys are both professionals and you will be doing business together this is what I mean when
When the theme of the podcast is educating and arming professionals to be able to work with corporate not just for corporate what that really means is elevating The Professional elevating the individual to the level of the corporation that’s a lot of clout it’s a lot of juice
It’s a lot of influence if you know how to maneuver if you know how to handle it right I haven’t even read the body to this question the body is short so maybe that’s why I’m making time but typically when I open up these questions I’ll just
Take a glance at it how long the body is and it’s not like I can make a good estimate of of uh whether or not it’s good for Content because I rarely skim through it and you’ve heard me previously if you followed along until now that if I read The Prompt if I
Read the body on this given whatever our hypothetical client has left in terms of facts and context I might stop after every other sentence and give a little comment but also I’ve got to give you a disclaimer because no matter how much information they put into the body of these
Questions it’s never enough It’s never enough it’s not until I have this hypothetical client as an actual client you see I’m giving you the blueprints here it’s not until I have this hypothetical client as an actual client that I’m then able to act in a capacity of a professional advisor a professional consultant
For their specific situations or circumstance so again disclaimer anything that I say anything that my associates say anything that is posted on social media with the corporate Cowboys or Associates incorporating Associates should not be construed as legal advice we do not we do not condone any wrongful activity
Nor do we promote it right yeah we might talk about it doesn’t mean we condone it we’re stand-up guys we just have Criminal Minds so the body of this says at will right they’re wondering what act well means could someone please explain this the offer letter I received from a tech
Company says quote at will employment end quote should I jump my current position where I’m stable to this what are the pros and cons what are the pros and cons of at-will employment technically technically no not even technically actually I’m willing to bet if they signed on to uh
Well whatever their current position is where they claim to be stable a dollar I’m willing to bet a dollar yes it’s a symbolic figure even though it’s of nominal value what’s a dollar you might ask nowadays I’ve seen hands get shaken over a dollar I’ve seen lives get taken
Over a little bit more it’s saying here should I jump my current position where I’m stable to this to this other at will employment and what are the pros and cons I’m willing to bet a dollar that their current quote stable position is actually at will
A dollar a dollar says it if they don’t know what at World employment is now who’s to say that the terms that they signed on to with the current company aren’t exactly the same right the only reason they believe they’re stable is because of the illusion of Illusion stability security insurance
Those aspects of comfort are an illusion in corporate it’s rare it’s rare it’s rare that these words security Insurance stability it’s rare that these words impart some kind of Peace of Mind to professionals who know what those words signify at will employment means that your job is only as stable as you are
You have to be stable in order for the job to be stable for you and that goes back to another overarching theme of just about every episode I gotta drop I have to drop these phrases you take care of business and business will take care of you it’s
Your stability that makes your position indispensable I know Alex puts in the work and does massive amounts of dirt I can depend on him he’s reliable that motherfucker’s stable he’s got a stable position with us right if he’s not reliable if I can’t depend on him if I can’t
Trust them if that professional relationship is not built on integrity Alex is is on Shaky Ground is on thin ice his position is not stable with the company we could let him go at any point because his employment with us is at will and most all positions of employment except
For maybe a couple of jurisdictions in the United States maybe other jurisdictions ruled like around the world independent on what you sign on to they’re going to be at will without any notice required you could I could walk in from one day to the next
And if my boss doesn’t like the tie I’m wearing that day could fire me Alex that tie looks ridiculous take the rest of the week off you know what matter of fact take the rest of your career off you’re fired and this and this uh body continues here
It’s asking well what are the pros and cons right the pros and cons to at will employment really the pros to it is that at will employment is what you make of it sure you might start at will but as a professional depending on the position that you’re working in
Depending on the industry you’re working in depending on the people that you work with the company that you work with right I don’t always want to say that you’re working for people because you want to Elevate yourself you want to empower yourself to think on their level
So depending on your situation and who you are working with you could turn that agreement for at will employment into something for a term of years if it’s worthwhile if it’s something that you have researched and investigated and you’re able to negotiate how nice would that be if you can commit
Two three five years to accompany and get paid your worth why wouldn’t you stick around but but that depends on you having come in stable embodying what is stability what is security what is Assurance professional assurances that they can depend on you they can trust you before you know it this at World
Employment becomes something else something that will require additional considerations before they choose to exercise that at will discretion that that power to let you go just at will if they know Alex puts in Mad work gets his hands dirty one day one of my bosses has
A petty fit and says I want Alex gone if they don’t have the power to let me go it’s gonna come under additional consideration nah Alex is not that type Alex is not bad guy to just be let go like that nah Alex is Dependable Alex is reliable Alex is stable
The cons the cons to at will employment I wouldn’t really so much call it a con it’s an opportunity it’s the long game necessarily literally because your entire career and I I harp on this often on the over this podcast your entire career is based on entry level
Forever being entry level forever that includes at will employment notice how it I didn’t go straight for at will because if the corporation wants you gone if somebody wants you gone they’ll do it either officially or extra officially right so the cons to that is
It takes a while for you to develop and cultivate that sense of trust that sense of dependability reliability for your managers for your supervisors to view you as a stable professional unless unless you already carry that with you unless you have that reputation for being the consummate professional
Which we are all striving to attain as corporate Cowboys unless you already have that reputation about you conducting yourself as a consummate professional the con is that it takes time to cultivate a reputation and only an instant to throw it out the window and in an instance you can [ __ ] it up
And you’re gone that’s why your entry level forever even CEOs and CEOs at least traditionally would get brought on board for a term of years maybe a three-year contract for them to be a CEO and even then their contracts are not Ironclad in the sense that they can’t just be let go at
Will nah I said it folks want you gone you’re [ __ ] gone just give them a reason if I want you gone you’re [ __ ] done give me a [ __ ] reason right and I’ll come up with the reason halfway halfway while I’m terminating you Lastly the the body you see notice how I broke it down sentenced the sentence now the last Sense on the body here the last paragraph says I’m currently choosing between my current employer versus jumping to a smaller company for a 50 raise 50 percent is a ton of money
Doesn’t matter how much money you make fifty percent more on top of that is a lot say you’re making a dollar a dollar an hour somebody offers you a dollar fifty to come work for them that’s fifty percent that’s a lot I guess if we want to take it up to today’s
Equivalent if you start in a position at twenty dollars an hour right and you think it’s a stable position you think there’s stability there don’t show up for a week right don’t show up to work for three days for three days we’ll see we’ll see how stable that is right but but a
Professional in every other sense of the word a corporate cowboy could negotiate an agreement a contract which allows them to take days off at their discretion so long as certain Milestones are achieved and objectives are met right that’s again that’s higher level thinking it might require a personal consultation of sorts to identify
Whether or not opportunities like this options like this exist in your set of circumstances you want to find out Reach Out reach out to us I I mean I laugh at the thought that folks have a circle of buddies to watch the game with and [ __ ] circle jerk one another
Smoke drugs and drink and all that which again I’m not knocking if you’re also making it about business but if it’s just [ __ ] 100 if it’s not something to just decompress like if you do it on the regular regular sounds boring my guy sounds boring as [ __ ]
You stick around as a professional as a professional you stick around a circle of [ __ ] who do jack [ __ ] for a little too long and it gets boring it gets boring so why not tap in with the circle of professionals that you are aspiring to be like I’m no I’m no Andrew Tate
I’m no Jordan Peterson I could give two [ __ ] about what the Matrix is like we’re already born into this corporate War and for some they’ve just been taking blue pills like they’ve been taken mandated boosters and [ __ ] you’re already in corporate you’re already in the system what’s the
Worst that could happen if you do a couple of if you make a couple of Moves Like a corporate cowboy you’re you’re already working for somebody else it’s up to you to wake up and realize that you could be working with them you could be exerting influence on them instead of
Being the one that’s constantly influenced and scared of this word called at will where you see at will I see opportunity I see opportunity traditionally at will was reserved for entry-level employees but I already mentioned before everyone is entry level forever nobody escapes death I’m seriously that’s that’s the absolute moral
Of that phrase everybody’s entry level forever nobody escapes that let me read a couple of these uh a couple of these comments here because maybe they might list some pros and some cons that are more to your uh are more to your liking right if you are blue pilled
I didn’t even give you a red pill answer it was more gray pill that’s what I strive to be like to operate in a gray appear in your brain otherwise as a red pill I what I would be like oh get more money and that’s it no no
You gotta you have to do it moving you have to be creative for your own sake not because it’s the contrarian thing to do nah I know in today’s day and age folks want to Buck the system but they don’t know how to and they don’t know that asserting
Yourself professionally is not so much bucking the system as it is informing it as it is shaping it as it is creating Better Business you’re creating the system you become the Creator by asserting yourself and and committing yourself to developing professionally the first comment here says at will basically means they can fire
You or you can leave at any point no questions asked or Reason needed yeah basically that’s at will they gave it to you they’re pretty cut and dry notice how I said well it’s an opportunity you work there while you want you work there while you can
You work there while you are stable you presents that illusion of stability I mean you’ve got to recognize it’s an illusion first right this this idea of job security isn’t so much tangible as it is you being secure that your job is there for you
Right and how do you do that how do you secure that how do you guarantee that by making yourself indispensable making yourself valuable in a consummate professional knows where they stand in relation to the companies they work with the next comment here says uh it is totally normal it just means
That you can quit when you want and they can fire you without explaining why they did so it doesn’t suggest any kind of instability in the job you see I highlighted that it doesn’t mean that it’s unstable you provide the stability right at will just means that if you
[ __ ] up on the job and you don’t have any cover for it anything to back up your reputation with you can be let go without notice without any reason they could be like yo Alex you really [ __ ] up this account pack your [ __ ] and get out
What am I gonna say if I’ve got nothing to back it up with right they’re well within their right to let me go it says it doesn’t suggest any kind of instability in the job for whatever legal reasons the company feels they need to speak it out in their contract
They need to write it out right yeah they maybe for legal reasons they ought to put in there that it isn’t at will position right to advertise it as such but many places of employment have that and it’s not in bold size 24 font right no no it’s it’s not like that
I said previously I bet this person a dollar that the agreements they’re working under currently the one they believe to be stable for them is also when that will position but for whatever reason now that they might be recruited or they’re applying to a different role these terms at will
Pop out at them so it says they may work across multiple jurisdictions and in one or more of them they may have to make the employment contract say that that’s right that’s right I said that those uh those those employment terms are typically valid in most all jurisdictions in the
U.S some places in the U.S uh claim or state that you need justifiable cause some type of reasonable cause and notice to let go of somebody to terminate their employment but for the most part it’s at will for the most part and like I mentioned before if corporate wants
You gone you’re [ __ ] gone even if you’re in a state that supposedly doesn’t do at will this next comment here says this is what common three recommet four this will be the last one [ __ ] it it says pretty sure this has to do with the state’s employment laws
Nothing to do with the company’s stability so don’t worry about that okay yeah so just the repetition of what I said previously really was that having at will advertised in bold print might just be a requirement for that job listing but in every sense of the word it’s
About as stable as the current job you have the job you view as stable the job you view as stable in the job you view as unstable might in truth both be as stable as one another what’s that dependent on it’s dependent on your performance as a professional providing that value
Creating that sense of dependability reliability for the company to view your position as stable otherwise you’ll be at will you’ll be working there at their will even if you want to continue working there right I guess that’s the uh the inverse to that is that you can’t just work there
If they don’t want you there and in that sense they can’t keep you there if you don’t want to be there so how do you make it work are working together by building yourself arming yourself and learning to work with corporate and not just for it we want you to become corporate Cowboys
I’ll catch you next time
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