Just started job- Advice in case I need to quit

DesertIsland

I started work last week in a technical IT job. I was hired to replace the only IT person there. Actually the company hired two people, me and another more experienced person, who has not yet actually but is expected to do so mid-October.

Due to various screw-ups with the company's hiring procedure my predecessor had just one week to do a hand-over. This was last week when I started work and there being a bank holiday on Monday it was just four days really. Keep in mind, my predecessor gave in three months' notice.

This Monday a host of problems cropped up caused by software my predecessor developed and put live right before he left... my manager now expects me to solve them. I have little idea about the software, where everything is and equally importantly, how the business is ran. There's noone here to show me really. Also, I have only three years work experience whereas my predecessor had eleven. The person who's supposed to come in later has thirteen.

The point is I can't deliver and although the manager understands the situation she's dropped me in, the pressure to fix the issues is still there, because there are tight deadlines involved.

I'm working out my options and trying to think through the worst case scenario, which would be me quitting immediately with no notice.

First of all, do I have the right to do that? I've read the contract but have delayed signing it because it stipulates a three-month notice period.

Secondly, if I go ahead and quit, would I be elligible to be paid for my time spent?

denla

By working you're already agreeing to the contract's term. You'll need a month's notice if you're paid monthly and a week's notice if paid weekly.

Would spending more time on the system in your spare time help? Or are you positive you don't have the skills to solve the problem so you will get sacked? That's why you shouldn't be bluffing during the interview, claiming you can do this and that and now unable to deliver.

Try getting in contact with the employee who'll start in October. Ask for help in return for some favors you'll be doing him.

Sambucus_Nigra

Can you not learn how to use the software so that you can sort this out?

For an IT person, I'd expect them to sort it to be honest. Just like anyone starting a new job, if you take over from someone you have to sort out past problems.

anamenottaken

denla wrote: »

By working you're already agreeing to the contract's term. Correct. You'll need a month's notice if you're paid monthly and a week's notice if paid weekly. Not so - you have already pointed out that the OP is working to the contract and that says they have to give 3 months' notice. There is no connection in law between payment periods and notice periods.

Would spending more time on the system in your spare time help? Or are you positive you don't have the skills to solve the problem so you will get sacked? That's why you shouldn't be bluffing during the interview, claiming you can do this and that and now unable to deliver. I don't believe the OP "bluffed". It sounds as though they were open about their experience and their manager is aware of the problems.

Try getting in contact with the employee who'll start in October. Ask for help in return for some favors you'll be doing him. It could be for the employer to make contact. Payment rather than "favours" are what is required.

This is a problem for the management of the company, not one for the OP to sort out on their own.

Do not resign or walk away - there has to be a solution and it is for management to provide the wherewithall. Stay calm and analyse the situation as far as you can so that your manager is as best informed as they can be. Work on finding the solution together.

anamenottaken

DesertIsland wrote: »

I started work last week in a technical IT job. I was hired to replace the only IT person there. Actually the company hired two people, me and another more experienced person, who has not yet actually but is expected to do so mid-October.

Due to various screw-ups with the company's hiring procedure my predecessor had just one week to do a hand-over. This was last week when I started work and there being a bank holiday on Monday it was just four days really. Keep in mind, my predecessor gave in three months' notice. (The notice your predecessor gave is irrelevant to sorting out the problem you have now. That's water under the bridge and you need simply to concentrate on what does have to be done.)

This Monday a host of problems cropped up caused by software my predecessor developed and put live right before he left... my manager now expects me to solve them. I have little idea about the software (are you suggesting here that the problem is with coding and that you don't understand SQL or whatever?), where everything is (do you mean how the code is organised or where the files are on the system?) and equally importantly, how the business is ran (why is that so important in this instance?). There's noone here to show me really. (Who is there there who knows anything in relation to the above problems you have identified? At least there must be someone who knows how the business runs.) Also, I have only three years work experience whereas my predecessor had eleven. The person who's supposed to come in later has thirteen. (Years of experience isn't everything. Someone with 11 years experience may have 3 years experience repeated 4 times (OK the maths isn't precise there!))

The point is I can't deliver and although the manager understands the situation she's dropped me in, the pressure to fix the issues is still there, because there are tight deadlines involved. (So she needs to work with you on finding the solution - maybe going higher in the hierarchy if necessary. It will cost them - they may have been trying to save money by delaying the start date of a replacement but now they may well have to pay an equivalent amount for a week's work from someone else compared with the 6 weeks or so they may have saved on the other person's pay).


I'm working out my options and trying to think through the worst case scenario, which would be me quitting immediately with no notice. (Your best option is to continue working on solving the problems with your manager and others. The worse case would indeed to quit without notice - for all sorts of reasons including not having a job, not being able to claim JSA, not getting a reference from this job, not improving your knowledge by working on the problem.)

First of all, do I have the right to do that? (Not by your contract - you have to give 3 months notice, you have said. ) I've read the contract but have delayed signing it because it stipulates a three-month notice period. (You have been notified of the terms, you have been working there, the notice terms apply whether or not you have signed a bit of paper.)

Secondly, if I go ahead and quit, would I be elligible to be paid for my time spent? (Yes, you would be due to be paid for the time you have actually worked there.)

Stay calm and use this as a learning experience.

colino

You really have to take a breath and think about this, what you appear to be doing is saying you are about to give up this career for good. Unless you work out a plan for either you to execute or with the assistance of someone else how to keep this business moving forward you are history.
I realise its an old cliche, but give your boss solutions, not problems. They have employed you so get creative and approach the problems with a more positive outlook.

DesertIsland

anamenottaken wrote: »

Stay calm and use this as a learning experience.

Thanks for your replies anamenottaken, I really appreciate them very much.

As you've suspected, yes, I'm a coder, and yes, the problems lie with software the predecessor wrote. It's a case of diving into the code to find out where thing went wrong, although there are also problems with the databases as well. The data are figures and obviously relate to the business. Since I don't know how the business operates, my context is severely limited. The manager has provided some help on that front.

The software is not a simple self-contained program. There are dozens of different specialised programs written over several years by different people (some of them contractors, who just came in, did their thing and left), running over different frameworks and servers.

During the handover period, we only had a look at a couple of them. Progress is made every day but it is slow and very stressful. I didn't sex up or fudge anything in my CV, as a matter of fact I haven't worked for two years and in my previous job I was part of a much larger team- being alone in this sort of role is a very new experience.

As you can tell, it's been a steep learning curve. Progress is happening, but it is slow and very stressful, which to be honest, is something I didn't expect.

Hence I've been evaluating all options and just thinking what would happen if worse comes to worst and I would either have to quit immediately or fired.

To be fair to the company, every one of them realise how idiotic the situation is. The manager even said exactly what you said, that it's their problem to sort out and not mine.

heretolearn_2

It sounds to me like a confidence crisis rather than your not being capable of the job. After all, if the problem is that you are new and don't understand the company, and that you are having to work on a hodge-podge of specialist programs written by numerous people, don't you think the other new IT person with 13 years experience is going to have EXACTLY the same issues. They won't understand the company or the programs either when they start.

So stick with it. I'm sure your company isn't expecting instant results. Ask for a formal induction/training on the company operations, which departments use which programs and for what, what problems/issues/requests they have, what they need, and take your time in learning your new job. Liasising with the different users gives you a chance to review the entire system. Maybe what's there isn't doing what it really needs to do? Maybe the whole thing needs an overhaul? Treating this like a review/analysis project and then going to your manager with recommendations and an action plan would be a very good way for you to learn your way round. and from your employers point of view it shows initiative and someone who really wants to make things work better, not just bung sticking plasters on problems.

pinkshoes

They're not going to fire you! SOMEONE is better than no one.

Just take a deep breath, write down the problem, what it requires to fix it, and which bits you CAN and can't do. For the bits you can't do, point out to your boss that this is beyond your experience, so you recommend getting in a contractor until other person starts.

getmore4less

This is a great opportunity.

They will realise very quickly that sacking you will not solve the problems thye have to work with you to get things done.

You probably need a stratagy, shut down stuff that does not work, so it does no more damage,

Can you revert back to before this mess was put in place and start again with a proper plan for implimentation including testing the stuff.
(remember future projects need a backout/recovery plan)


First don't bust a gut you can't do everything in a day, work on thing methodicaly, bang for buck, as above identify the bits you will struggle with and try to get someone in.

Also look at the proceses this was an avoidable mess.
(caused most likely by management.)

you can get a lot from code walkthrough and reverse engineering of well documented code but often you need more.

Where are the requirement docs for the software projects what are they suposed to be doing.
Where are the specifcations of the implimentations.

Were the users involved in reviewing any of this and any of the testing(if any)

The business needs to learn to do things properly if it wants to stop these things happening again.


Did you ask the guy that left WHY?

DesertIsland

getmore4less wrote: »

This is a great opportunity.

They will realise very quickly that sacking you will not solve the problems thye have to work with you to get things done.

You probably need a stratagy, shut down stuff that does not work, so it does no more damage,

Can you revert back to before this mess was put in place and start again with a proper plan for implimentation including testing the stuff.
(remember future projects need a backout/recovery plan)


First don't bust a gut you can't do everything in a day, work on thing methodicaly, bang for buck, as above identify the bits you will struggle with and try to get someone in.

Also look at the proceses this was an avoidable mess.
(caused most likely by management.)

you can get a lot from code walkthrough and reverse engineering of well documented code but often you need more.

Where are the requirement docs for the software projects what are they suposed to be doing.
Where are the specifcations of the implimentations.

Were the users involved in reviewing any of this and any of the testing(if any)

The business needs to learn to do things properly if it wants to stop these things happening again.


Did you ask the guy that left WHY?

Yes, I asked him at the interview. He became a bit uncomfortable and said it was time to move on, which was a diplomatic answer.

A few days ago the system administrator told me (out of management earshot) that the guy left because the workload was getting too much.

As to the jobs the software does, it automates stuff they used to do manually. Management said they could do it manually again if we get close to the deadline and the software is not fixed- however, they would rather not to.

Documentation is minimal and the code in this particular area is quite a mess (the predecessor told me so himself). It was clearly written under pressure, which management confirmed and it wasn't written to be pretty, maintenable or extensible, it was written to get the job done.