E-mails From Strategy

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

well, that was unhelpful and discouraging. thanks.what data should I take? what arguments should I make? most of you know my situation, but for those who don't: I'm basically a help desk technician (IT guy that gets called when shit breaks) and teller rolled into one. OES has data on both jobs, and my pay is far, far below what either position brings in my region. furthermore, I know what they're paying per employee bank-wide because that's all public in FDIC filings. it's a starting point, but I need to flesh out my arguments before I show my hand.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

If you want to bring in hard data don't personalize it if you can when you compare your position to others in the bank.For example you might say that the bank pays 80% of the regional average overall but in your case you are only making 60% of the regional average for your position.

[The Ocho 970]

If you want to bring in hard data don't personalize it if you can when you compare your position to others in the bank.For example you might say that the bank pays 80% of the regional average overall but in your case you are only making 60% of the regional average for your position.

Ya, I like this. And sorry strat, I read it wrong. I thought you said you were going to bring up the bank presidents salary from the FDIC filings.

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

I talked about this a month ago--about one or two sentences, tops--with my supervisor on the IT side. he said he'd bring it up in a monthly meeting, which as far as I can tell hasn't happened for about two months now. would have been great to have him making this argument rather than me, but what can you do. I feel like I've pretty much reached the end of my list of things keeping me from taking action.

[mrdannyg 274]

well, that was unhelpful and discouraging. thanks.what data should I take? what arguments should I make? most of you know my situation, but for those who don't: I'm basically a help desk technician (IT guy that gets called when shit breaks) and teller rolled into one. OES has data on both jobs, and my pay is far, far below what either position brings in my region. furthermore, I know what they're paying per employee bank-wide because that's all public in FDIC filings. it's a starting point, but I need to flesh out my arguments before I show my hand.

I thought you meant bringing up the Presidents info too.The OES data seems solid. Especially with the tact that Bob suggests, so he knows you understand that a teller in New York makes more than a teller in Lawrence. By the sounds of it, the FDIC data is not specific enough to be relevant.Fwiw, I think this is a good and a bad thing to do, but overall a smart move:Pros: It might work. Shows the boss you know what's up. Might make you look good for future positions.Bad: Probably won't work. Companies have a salary band for every position, and the best you'll get is a raise that sounds good in percentage, but laughable in dollar amount. I mean, a 25% raise would still be crap. The boss will think you're a dick. Makes you look like a dick for future positions.To be honest, I think the con side is much more likely. Much. More. But without sounding like a help columnist, this is a small regional bank, and if the guy running things look at things the way I suspect he will, there's not much upside at that place anyway. He can't fire you for this, and even a promotion to loans officer or something is still going to be a shit go-nowhere job at that bank, so you aren't costing yourself anything if he looks at things negatively.

[DJ Vu 176]

"+50c, this was apparently decided some time ago without informing me. what is my play? do I tell them I'm job searching, do I ask to be removed from IT duties?"

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

don't waste any thought on that last one. I thought it over for the last bit of my shift, cleared it with my dad... I'm gonna tell them to roll back the raise and find someone else to do IT, but that I will happily continue to teller for them while I'm looking for other employment.

[mrdannyg 274]

don't waste any thought on that last one. I thought it over for the last bit of my shift, cleared it with my dad... I'm gonna tell them to roll back the raise and find someone else to do IT, but that I will happily continue to teller for them while I'm looking for other employment.

I don't understand why you would ask them to do this. Do you hate the IT stuff?Not burning bridges is important, as these guys will be your reference. So just be your normal pleasant and gracious self, and make sure you fully explain why you're doing what you're doing, and try to make sure both sides understand each other positions. You really want things out in the open, because if they think you're leaving unhappy (even though you are), it will effect the quality of your reference.

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

I don't understand why you would ask them to do this. Do you hate the IT stuff?Not burning bridges is important, as these guys will be your reference. So just be your normal pleasant and gracious self, and make sure you fully explain why you're doing what you're doing, and try to make sure both sides understand each other positions. You really want things out in the open, because if they think you're leaving unhappy (even though you are), it will effect the quality of your reference.

no one calls references on entry level jobs. and former employers are terrified of saying much of anything due to legal concerns.I'm not burning bridges, but I'm also not going to work for this rate in this job.

[mrdannyg 274]

no one calls references on entry level jobs. and former employers are terrified of saying much of anything due to legal concerns.I'm not burning bridges, but I'm also not going to work for this rate in this job.

On the first point, I'm not sure about that. I know a couple guys who hire an entry levels and all they do is call the first reference, don't even care about the qualifications. They just want someone to show up and who's reference doesn't have a dog barking in the background.As for the second, I think you're only right in a simplified way. They won't say anything super-negative, but it's pretty easy to get across a 'not positive' reference without saying anything libellous.Don't disagree on the third, for all the reasons I stated above.My Bank is hiring tellers! Pay starts around $13/hour, plus pretty good benefits, and free health insurance. Plus, you're living in a city where you can share an apartment for $300/month (each). I mean, you'll be living in a town that makes Lawrence look like New York, but hey, who needs restaurants right?

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

always great when ben bernanke pops in to make everyone money with negative commentsBATS' CEO is talking on bloomberg right now, probably one of the best IPOs I've seen in a long time despite the news from the other dayhttp://www.bloomberg.com/tv/I'm pretty sad that they pulled it.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

Interesting article on how The Fed creates "money" and what it really means.Henry will hate it.http://www.economonitor.com/lrwray/2012/04...rce=twitterfeed

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

the thing is, all-powerful though the fed is, you have to have investor confidence for this game to work. investors can and will eventually punish us if we don't get our shit together after the employment situation improves. correct me if I'm wrong here, but it doesn't really matter what the fed does with rates if no one's bidding on our debt...I see the value in what we're doing right now, but it doesn't sound like this guy appreciates that it's temporary/stopgap in nature.

[hblask 1]

Interesting article on how The Fed creates "money" and what it really means.Henry will hate it.http://www.economonitor.com/lrwray/2012/04...rce=twitterfeed

The harm from this fake money is inevitable. The Fed seems to be betting that they will eventually be able to dole out this harm slowly enough that there will not be riots in the streets and economic destruction. This is typical bureaucratic hubris. But either way, the harm will occur, the only question is who will bear the brunt of it. The Fed's plan is to dole it out slowly to the poor and politically powerless, rather than just let the rich take the lumps they deserve in the first place.Some people think that is a moral way to act.

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

“What you’re seeing is this push back on all these petty and arbitrary restrictions on everyday life,” Gillespie said by telephone. “You don’t get to run every detail of my life if you can’t balance the budget. Suddenly things like regulating the size of barbers’ waste baskets in Michigan don’t make sense.”

deregulation / government shortfallsnot sure why anyone wants to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, but OK, I guess. I'm all for clearing needless regulations, but for the stuff that obviously won't have much impact on the budget, why did we wait until now? why is it only suddenly politically possible?the article is trash. I just really enjoyed the moron's quote.

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

paul v krugmansome choice quotes from ron paul in here. "if I'm wrong, ok who cares, but just allow me to cripple government revenues by getting rid of most taxes." paraphrased of course. I'm sorry, it's embarrassing.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

paul v krugmansome choice quotes from ron paul in here. "if I'm wrong, ok who cares, but just allow me to cripple government revenues by getting rid of most taxes." paraphrased of course. I'm sorry, it's embarrassing.

Having a cranky voice out there talking about wasteful government spending is a good thing but Paul's view of how economies work and especially what Money is are so wrong that his policies would be a total disaster but there is zero chance of them coming about.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

On the Uselessness of Debates

Think about it: you approach what is, in the end, a somewhat technical subject in a format in which no data can be presented, in which there’s no opportunity to check facts (everything Paul said about growth after World War II was wrong, but who will ever call him on it?). So people react based on their prejudices. If Ron Paul got on TV and said “Gah gah goo goo debasement! theft!” — which is a rough summary of what he actually did say — his supporters would say that he won the debate hands down; I don’t think my supporters are quite the same, but opinions may differ.So why did I do it? Because I’m trying to publicize my book, which does have lots of data and facts — but those data and facts don’t matter unless I get enough people to read it.

[Balloon guy 158]

[hblask 1]

paul v krugmansome choice quotes from ron paul in here. "if I'm wrong, ok who cares, but just allow me to cripple government revenues by getting rid of most taxes." paraphrased of course. I'm sorry, it's embarrassing.

I know, Krugman has been backpedaling and spinning ever since trying to not look like such a total fool. It's funny to see him try to wriggle out of his flagrant errors.

[hblask 1]

On the Uselessness of Debates

"Blah blah blah debates aren't important and I'm not saying that because I was embarrassed on national TV by a politician blah blah blah...."

So why did I do it? Because I’m trying to publicize my book,

Well, at least he admits he's an attention whore with no intellectual integrity....

[FCP Bob 1,312]

It's funny how differerent people have different perspectives.People who have studied economics would say that Paul said nothing of substance and the Paul Kool Aid drinkers would have a different opinion.

[brvheart 1,752]

It's funny how differerent people have different perspectives.People who have studied economics would say that Paul said nothing of substance and the Paul Kool Aid drinkers would have a different opinion.

haha. All of them? Are you sure?

[FCP Bob 1,312]

haha. All of them? Are you sure?

I understand the appeal of Paul. When he talks about Free Markets and a smaller government being desireable he isn't wrong. He's wrong in the degree that he wants to blow things up and he especially is wrong about the role of money.I understant why people don't like Krugman. He can be a strident partisan but if you read his economic analysis it's usually very balanced and his critics almost never are able to refute it using economic theory so they just break out comments like Henry did above.Edit: My comment above was harsher than it should have been but I've read many comments today from Paul supporters that mimic Henry's and I guess I'm getting annoyed a bit by by people seeming so sure of everything but they can't refute the economic analysis that Krugman does.

[hblask 1]

It's funny how differerent people have different perspectives.People who have studied economics before 1945 would say that Paul said nothing of substance and the Paul Kool Aid drinkers would have a different opinion.

FYP