Corporate America kinda’ sucks

I started this week off with full support of my Management Team all the way up to the Director who covers all of North America with two internal Promotion interviews. To quote Ice Cube, It was a good day.

I obtained the right to interview because of my networking abilities which consisted of identifying correct roles, dropping a meeting invite to the hiring manager, and attaching my resume which *Bragging* is pretty dope. Dope enough that they passed my information off the to the recruiters and requested time to speak with their teams I would be working with. The meetings were decided before Hello was muttered from my mouth. The interviews went like this, we regret to inform you that due to Covid and hiring policies we can not even interview you — your pay band is too low for these roles despite having interest from the hiring Manager and their teams. It was not framed as you lack experience. You lack the qualities we are looking for. No, it was we know exactly where you stand in this organization and we will not allow you to attempt to better yourself. As the conversations progressed, I pushed the separate recruiters for answers and I received the same talking points which leads me to believe that they are given briefs on how to deescalate sticky situations. In my quarterly training we call this “Handling a difficult client”. Just last week after our workforce reductions I had the wonderful opportunity to put my trainings to use and “Handle difficult conversations” with clients I picked up from the former PM’s. I managed these situations to positive resolutions because I am awesome — just ask my dog. The conversations with my recruiter “colleagues” ended with that I should be happy with the job I have because other organizations are firing people.

Fuck you. Seriously. Let me tell you why I find this insulting.

In 2009 I went from managing a Global Supply chain with 200k SKU’s that spanned the globe while maximizing efficiencies utilizing Lean Six Sigma methodologies. I was 23 and doing the best I could to ensure our aircraft were flying to prevent more American coffins from being shipped home from Iraq and Afghanistan. I left the Corps thinking I would be hailed as a person that is capable of being able to get shit done. This is something I take pride in. It turns out that all the “Thank you for your service” and the Made in China yellow ribbon magnets stating “Support your Troops” is horse shit. It was and is all lip service. It is just a massive PR campaign to justify killing a few hundred thousand people, expanding the deficit by trillions, and ruining a generation of their innocence. Thank you George Bush, Collin Powell, and the rest of the cohort that allowed for trillions of dollars to be siphoned on a lie. So what does that have to do with me and my current situation? Allow me to explain my perspective because I have fought very hard to get here and I will not be stopped by something as meaningless as a “New Policy”. I will never stop being hungry.

I previously stated I take pride in being competent. I joined the Corps for a good career when I transition(ed) out and I while I was the OKest Marine around I held some respectable roles that transformed workstreams creating high impact solutions. After five years I received my DD-214 and I entered the workforce during the First “Once in a lifetime” economic collapse. I went from managing something I took pride in to being a waiter and serving drinks. This was a real ego check coupled with the huge shift in life situations where my support network evaporated because I made the mistake of moving back home to Philadelphia from California. The career path I set for myself vanished before my eyes and I had no idea how to cope or pivot. I was too busy focusing on the here and now learning Lean Six Sigma, Value Stream Mapping, and reading Macro-economic books that talked a lot about German Printing Presses in books like “The Competitive Advantage of Nations” to take heed in what was happening in the private sector, after all I had a roof over my head and my paychecks were coming in. In my Change Manager role, our small team of 5 increased aircraft readiness rates by nearly 50% saving millions in dollar assets and labor. Additionally, there is a timeline where that A3 Card going into the Prowlers primary IFF was not repaired in time which caused an IED to kill someone due to an asset being grounded. Then I served beers and pizza because no one wanted a resource without a bachelors degree and proven work history in 2009. This was a lesson learned. I did not grow up discussing College but it was something I needed to obtain & FAST.

After University I obtained a role working for City Government where I worked with millions in City and Federal money. The lack of skills was palpable as you walked around those offices. There were Senior Managers that were promoted to Vice President in 18 months time, money was spent without any thought, and political appointees were 3/4ths of the office. My first day on the job I literally had a guy show me a YouTube video of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel recognizing him during a press interview and how he discussed his years of campaign organization and assistance. It was terrifying watching the money be spent the way it was spent and the leadership mirrored the ineffectual leaders that drove me away from the Corps. Leadership in this organization was based around what Mayors administration you were hired in, who your family is, and the metrics that… well metrics… that implies thought. So I took a sizeable paycut to become a Program Manager for a Technology Company. I was able to negotiate a $15/hour pay increase based on my past experiences in Program Management which HR shot down stating to the Sr. Director that they did not budget for my $40/hour. Those emails were heart breaking to watch go back and forth. I decided the risk for long term skill development and career growth was a risk I needed to take. I took the $31k paycut with the promise I would be taken care of so long as I performed as required. You have to risk it to get the biscuit!

Give me that god damn biscuit, look out, Kevin Bailey is here to play ball. I take pride in my work and that is why today I have my Management team Championing for my promotions, giving me teams to develop, and Fortune 50 clients to manage.

When I first began applying to these roles internally I sent my resume to the hiring managers who sent my information to HR for interviews. Sadly, business will always business. The front line employees are too busy tactically working on their book of business and making their numbers that strategic vision is lost because going the extra mile is not rewarded. This is why I firmly believe the phrase which is commonly repeated around the offices of “You need to leave and come back to get what you deserve”. Despite having hiring managers and management backing, I am unable to even interview for a role I am interested in and qualified for because the organization knows where I currently stand and creating exceptions internally does not generate revenue so why should we create extra work?

When I pushed for answers to why I could not interview I started off with my elevator speech. “I absolutely would be a good fit. I am an internal candidate who is the Team lead working as a Peer with tenured employees tackling the largest challenges our teams face whether it is Merger, Client, or technology related. The Marine Corps taught me to act with intent where inaction or incorrect choices meant lives lost and I learned from my time at the Tuck School of Business that we need to take strategic perspectives to solve our business issues. With my ten years of Program Management I bring order to chaos in the complex and ambiguous environments successfully. The tribal knowledge I bring to this role and the relationships I have fostered over the years position us for a smooth transition and productivity from day one.” Wow, an Ivy Educated Marine with a half dozen professional certifications under his belt is sexy on paper. Sadly, the organization knows I am an I-6. Previous experience need not apply once you have been brought on. Lesson learned.

Both Dell Recruiters told me that we are in unprecedented times. Oh boy, the second “Once in a lifetime” economic collapse I have heard this one before and that other organizations are laying off people and I should be grateful I have a job. The two recruiters had the same talking points. I was quick to notice that no one said I was incapable of doing the job. In fact, in both roles I met all requirements, education, work experience, and various experiences with the an understanding of the technology. In fact I even hit all the preferred requirements. Is this why I should be grateful for a job? I rightly chose an in demand skillset to pursue and I should be grateful? Should I be grateful I have consistently volunteered to take on extra work and responsibilities for no pay in the hopes of “Being taken care of in 6–9 months”?

My team was hit with a workforce reduction. I earned my seat at the table and the Team Lead role. I earned my education. Do not tell me “Thank you for your Service” and in the next breath say “You are not eligible because the policy says so.” That is an excuse for you to not do what is right for me or the organization.

When my clients are upset with my work they can escalate. In fact, my closest and largest client called Michael Dell himself and that was an uncomfortable few weeks as we dealt with the technology problems of a product missing its QA cycles. Whoops. So why should I be grateful for my job HR? Because I joined the Marines and spent my late teens and early 20s in some shithole country for career aspects only to come home to nothing? I created my career and grew my skills to be marketable so that we can put forth our best quarter like we have consistently been having. I create my value and you are limiting my ability to better my life because of some policy which only benefits the guy who bought an 11,000 square foot condo in NYC for $100 million dollars?

This is the world we live in. This is the world where we can expect an economic collapse every decade. We can expect more bad news than good and we are conditioned to accept this because that is the way it is?

We create the companies that generate the revenue. We create the policy that run these multinational organizations. Why do we abstain from our responsibilities of doing what is right by pointing to an email absolving us from our morale responsibility to do best for those around us? This is society? If HR is here to support me then why am I facing such flippant attitudes for my progression within this organization? I immediately scheduled multiple meetings with decision makers on how to overcome these ridiculous obstacles with the backing of my management. However, and I hate to say this, but I am not optimistic because I am a resource after all; not a person. Will we create a policy exception to support the end customer that is named Kevin Bailey in this instance or will we blanket statement policy before talent development?

What do I know though, I am only a Sr. Analayst and to quote my former Manager — “We don’t need to listen to him, he's just an analyst.”