Writing your own job description…
Discussion
I am in an odd situation at work, and am not really sure how to proceed. The company (Company A) I work for is part of a larger group. The parent company (Company Z) is effectively a holding company, they make their 'money' by selling services to the companies that form the group under them.
Company Z are in the process of consolidating all of IT for all of the various companies under them under one umbrella (not unreasonable). They have been, up until now, slowly poaching staff they think are worthy and moving them up (there is a lot more too this, but am trying to be vague).
Company A is a very relaxed, flexible place (due to what it does), whereas Company Z is VERY corporate and from everything I have heard, not brilliant to work for and people do get very pigeonholed.
I am responsible for a certain set of technologies within IT for Company A, have some staff under me and likely have a 50/50 split between Operations work and Architecture work. I set policy for how this technology is used, have a lot of Cloud interaction which is slightly outside of my remit but due to my experience and knowledge, I and my team do things that are related to but not strictly that tech which is nice and means we are very effective (which has been noticed by Company Z on more than one occasion - I have helped them employ other staff and dealt with issues for other companies under Z that are not part of A as they do not have the skillsets).
Company Z have finally come knocking on my door (and a lot of others) to move up. There is a lot historical baggage here that I won't go into, but I have worked for Company A for 11 years or so. I am reasonably happy at Company A, but the writing is on the wall here and to progress etc I likely need to move to Company Z, since my responsibilities, control etc will eventually get sucked up to Z even if I do not move. The CIO from A has assured me though there will always be a role at A for me, if I choose not to move.
Company Z are offering a much more restricted role in largely architecture/solutions type stuff. Specific details have not really been given, largely because the job description (and title) I was shown is fairly junior (I currently have Director in my job title, this new one just had engineer or architect). It was then caveat-ed with - ignore that, just write your own job description. It is also likely I would lose the management responsibilities I do have.
Ideally, I would move up to Company Z and do for them what I do for Company A, just for all of the companies under Z. While Company A definitely has a lot more of the tech I deal with, it is used in all of the others and they do not have centralised management of it in the same way Company A has (IE I have set the standards for how things are done, based on industry standards and best practice whereas the rest are pretty much the 'Wild West'). However, on the 'pitch' from Z on the move, it seems clear this is not their intention.
This process has not been managed well, and most of the companies under Z are pushing back quite heavily since they are losing their best staff while not getting much back and everything made harder. I was initially supposed to just move, but the WW CFO for A pushed back on this so hard (not just because of me, but others as well) that now everyone has to 'apply', although I still need to write my own job description for a role I need to apply for.
This is very long winded, but as you can imagine, I am just not sure what to do. Part of me thinks I should just sort my CV out, stick it up on LinkedIn and see what happens. My main concern with this is I live in Scotland, but still technically work for an office in London and get a London wage, but work from home more or less 100% (and had done so before COVID). Am I likely to find a 100% work from home role, for a similar (or more salary) in that situation? I suspect that is unlikely.
I feel that writing my own JD is likely to be a double edged sword. I could literally just send them my current one and say there you go, but I am reasonably confident that it would not go well. If I move over and give up some of the responsibilities I have now, I feel that would be a step backwards and may harm my ability to find a new role similar to what I do now in the future. Or do I just stay at A and see what happens?
To be clear - I like what I do right now. I strongly feel that what I do should stay in the same role, splitting it out would reduce the effectiveness of it. Granted, I do not get my hands 'dirty' as often as I used to, but I still do on occasion.
Has anyone had to write their own job description before, and how has it gone?
Company Z are in the process of consolidating all of IT for all of the various companies under them under one umbrella (not unreasonable). They have been, up until now, slowly poaching staff they think are worthy and moving them up (there is a lot more too this, but am trying to be vague).
Company A is a very relaxed, flexible place (due to what it does), whereas Company Z is VERY corporate and from everything I have heard, not brilliant to work for and people do get very pigeonholed.
I am responsible for a certain set of technologies within IT for Company A, have some staff under me and likely have a 50/50 split between Operations work and Architecture work. I set policy for how this technology is used, have a lot of Cloud interaction which is slightly outside of my remit but due to my experience and knowledge, I and my team do things that are related to but not strictly that tech which is nice and means we are very effective (which has been noticed by Company Z on more than one occasion - I have helped them employ other staff and dealt with issues for other companies under Z that are not part of A as they do not have the skillsets).
Company Z have finally come knocking on my door (and a lot of others) to move up. There is a lot historical baggage here that I won't go into, but I have worked for Company A for 11 years or so. I am reasonably happy at Company A, but the writing is on the wall here and to progress etc I likely need to move to Company Z, since my responsibilities, control etc will eventually get sucked up to Z even if I do not move. The CIO from A has assured me though there will always be a role at A for me, if I choose not to move.
Company Z are offering a much more restricted role in largely architecture/solutions type stuff. Specific details have not really been given, largely because the job description (and title) I was shown is fairly junior (I currently have Director in my job title, this new one just had engineer or architect). It was then caveat-ed with - ignore that, just write your own job description. It is also likely I would lose the management responsibilities I do have.
Ideally, I would move up to Company Z and do for them what I do for Company A, just for all of the companies under Z. While Company A definitely has a lot more of the tech I deal with, it is used in all of the others and they do not have centralised management of it in the same way Company A has (IE I have set the standards for how things are done, based on industry standards and best practice whereas the rest are pretty much the 'Wild West'). However, on the 'pitch' from Z on the move, it seems clear this is not their intention.
This process has not been managed well, and most of the companies under Z are pushing back quite heavily since they are losing their best staff while not getting much back and everything made harder. I was initially supposed to just move, but the WW CFO for A pushed back on this so hard (not just because of me, but others as well) that now everyone has to 'apply', although I still need to write my own job description for a role I need to apply for.
This is very long winded, but as you can imagine, I am just not sure what to do. Part of me thinks I should just sort my CV out, stick it up on LinkedIn and see what happens. My main concern with this is I live in Scotland, but still technically work for an office in London and get a London wage, but work from home more or less 100% (and had done so before COVID). Am I likely to find a 100% work from home role, for a similar (or more salary) in that situation? I suspect that is unlikely.
I feel that writing my own JD is likely to be a double edged sword. I could literally just send them my current one and say there you go, but I am reasonably confident that it would not go well. If I move over and give up some of the responsibilities I have now, I feel that would be a step backwards and may harm my ability to find a new role similar to what I do now in the future. Or do I just stay at A and see what happens?
To be clear - I like what I do right now. I strongly feel that what I do should stay in the same role, splitting it out would reduce the effectiveness of it. Granted, I do not get my hands 'dirty' as often as I used to, but I still do on occasion.
Has anyone had to write their own job description before, and how has it gone?
My advice (for what it’s worth) would be to write up what you want to do/currently do, rather than what you think they want you to do. If they don’t like it, that’s fine - view this as a negotiation, and see how things work out.
Either they really mean “write your own JD”, in which case they should be fine with anything, or they don’t in which case any feedback will give you a clear idea of what they really see the role as - this will allow you to decide if it’s something that interests you or not. Use it to argue your case if the role is too much of a step down / not in your wheelhouse.
Worst case you remain at A as the CIO likes what you do, and (if needed) take the time to shop your CV around if you need to progress and can’t where you are.
Either they really mean “write your own JD”, in which case they should be fine with anything, or they don’t in which case any feedback will give you a clear idea of what they really see the role as - this will allow you to decide if it’s something that interests you or not. Use it to argue your case if the role is too much of a step down / not in your wheelhouse.
Worst case you remain at A as the CIO likes what you do, and (if needed) take the time to shop your CV around if you need to progress and can’t where you are.
Thanks. That was what I was leaning towards, but it is an odd place to be in. While I have had high level discussions about this with a C-Level in Z, I haven't spoken to who I would be directly reporting to (this person reports to the C-Level I have had discussions with) and that is also something I am trying to arrange.
obvious statement.
if you're writing up your own JD - put in the 'This role can be performed 100% WFH' if that is what you do now.
For what its worth, the sort of work you do you'd be snapped up in a heartbeat on a WFH role elsewhere, there will be other opportunities.
If the phrases 'AWS' 'Automation' 'Architecture', 'Leadership' and 'Digital Transformation' go into you're CV, I'd bet you'll have a role sorted that you'll be very happy with that is fully remote within a month. If that.
if you're writing up your own JD - put in the 'This role can be performed 100% WFH' if that is what you do now.
For what its worth, the sort of work you do you'd be snapped up in a heartbeat on a WFH role elsewhere, there will be other opportunities.
If the phrases 'AWS' 'Automation' 'Architecture', 'Leadership' and 'Digital Transformation' go into you're CV, I'd bet you'll have a role sorted that you'll be very happy with that is fully remote within a month. If that.
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