Thread regarding Chevron Corp. layoffs

My best decision ever was to leave ETC. What a hot mess of poor management & old school boys club. There are good jobs out there for good engineers. Don’t believe Chevron is the only place to work.

The 12 points by anonymous are great, and I am sure they are in some "improve yourself at work" book somewhere, but if you have an a–hole supervisor, and his boss is too weak or scared to do anything, then it doesn't matter what you do - you are doomed. And that is - or hopefully was - ETC all over for you.

I, I don’t care if they, if they lay me off either, because I, I told Bill that if he moves my desk one more time, then I’m quitting. I’m going to quit. And I told Dom too because they’ve moved my desk four times. I used to be by the window, where I could see the squirrels and they were merry. But then they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline. They have my staples for the Boston and I kept the staples from the Swingline stapler.

Look, I already said Peter won.
There are no second place finishes.

No one wants to hear someone pontificate on how to secure a long career at Chevron, because they really don't have a clue. Truth be told, it isn't up to us.
So instead, direct yourself to embrace the timeless classic Office Space and share some stellar dialogue to get your mind right.

Build lasting relationships with senior leaders, period. You don’t need to perform and deliver- just go with the flow and motion. This is the sad reality in Chevron- people who get things done, but are quiet and with little visibility to senior leaders, are not rewarded or selected.

The more intelligent view is that long careers will be replaced by shorter contractual periods of employment with successive employers. This means an active worker needs to be flexible, adaptive and versatile. Those who aren’t can rely on universal basic income and become a couch potato.

So can I get you gentlemen something more to drink, or maybe something to nibble on? Some pizza shooters, shrimp poppers or extreme fajitas.

We fixed the glitch.

Excuse me. Excuse me, Senor. May I speak to you please? I asked for a mai tai, a margarita, and a pina colada. I asked for no salt, no salt in the margarita. But it had salt in it. If you do that again, I won’t be leaving a tip. I won’t be putting one down. Sir? I could check into a competing resort...

Oh and remember, next Friday is Hawaiian shirt day.

So, you know, if you want to, go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans.

Peter is the winner!!
Thanks to the rest of you for playing.

Peter is the winner!!
Thanks to the rest of you for playing.

Peter is the winner!!
Thanks to the rest of you for playing.

Office space movie. No one caught that.

Just be reasonably intelligent, self aware, play the game when you have to, build friends and allies along the way, identify dead weight that no one likes and throw them under the buss every now and then, move around every few years. and don’t strive so high that you burn up like Ikarus and get demoted out of a leadership role that you should have never accepted ( no one forgets that)

Nice words @1jrn. But remember you’re working at Chevron and wake up. What you just said is like “the taller you are, the harder you fall”. Wise words for working elsewhere, but not at Chevron. You’ll be disappointed after years following that wisdom, just to be canned because you made $1 more and 1 year over the limit.

@1jrn: Sound advice. Its good to be introspective and try to make an honest assesment of yourself from time to time. I did so as I read that, so thanks.

Here is my strategy for success:
1) Do your job well, absolutely master your everyday responsibilities. Strive to excel in all areas that you are charged with.
2) Keep unpopular opinions to yourself unless that opinion has potential to make a significant positive impact on a project or other work activity. Consider risk vs. reward before speaking.
3) Be nice to your supervisor, listen to what they feel is important and ensure you prioritize their focus items as your own focus.
4) Solve problems, be an effective contributor on challenging projects, help to make things better.
5) Avoid being too chummy to coworkers, gossip pedaling or being in the cool kids click. Be likable but don't go out of your way to be liked by all. Avoid being fake or trying too hard to be part of the in-crowd.
6) Get your work done on time, be organized and deliver as or more then expected. Under promise and over deliver.
7) Try very hard to consistently perform in all areas, if at all possible never mess up in a big way, check your work and review it again before sending it out. Be reliably proficient.
8) Write an email; pause, read it again, spell check and then revise to say only what you need to say; don't elaborate too much; short and sweet, the less in writing the better. Written communication is important. (excluding this post, ha).
9) Keep your personal life private to a significant degree; share good things with others, keep your dirty laundry at home. Realize that people only know what you share. Dirt spreads around and is hard to wash off.
10) Acknowledge that the workplace is a competitive environment and that you are exchanging your time for pay. These people are not your family and most will not stick their neck out for you or pass up a promotion so that you can have it. Look out for yourself and your loved ones first.
11) Self promote, not in any over the top way but toot your own horn from time to time. Many people are too timid when pursuing growth opportunities. Ask for promotions, seek challenging opportunities and be willing to pay the price for success. Work is work and by applying yourself earnestly you can accomplish much over your years on the job. Success is earned.
12) Lastly, have a little faith in yourself and in a higher power. You are not alone, we are never truly alone. When things get tough, persevere and keep moving forward. You can succeed, commit to your own goals sincerely and in time you will achieve them.

Piss off will ya?

Wow. What a deep and profound statement! Can we let MW know to start looking over his shoulder because you are obviously on a fast track to the very top of CVX?