Re: "Self-Criticism and Ruthless Exposure of Their Own Shortcomings" --- V. I. Lenin Mandated
I was once the victim of entirely made-up performance criteria. I was "let go" along with another colleague (two from a department of four at that point) because I ranked lowest at welding skills. Bear in mind that until I was called into the office to discuss my performance I wasn't even aware a review was under way, nor what the parameters were, also that welding wasn't even in my job description (electronics, computers, electrics), that they had never even *asked* me to weld anything (one of my other colleagues was amazing at welding, could even weld thin Aluminium and leave it looking as good as a machine job) and I had actually done 'ok' at welding (gas & arc) in the mechanics course we took as a one-term option during my electronics degree.
It was a made-up metric that had no bearing on the actual job but meant I could be pushed out as a low performer. There was a lot wrong with that place and aside from the loss of income at a time I really couldn't afford it, I was reasonably happy to get out. My also-pushed-out colleague felt the same. I think he had ranked low on his inability to desolder surface mount components or something equally stupid, given that he was there as an electrician and had two colleagues (myself and another bloke who used to repair TVs for a living) who were more than happy to wield soldering irons.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
