Contract Turned into a Nightmare

[cojak]

Thanks for all the support on here. To give you context it’s a PE company in the financial services industry. The board are very short term and money motivated, which I understand, but it does drive a toxic environment. You learn something in every contract, for me, PE is not for me I guess.

One thing I’ve found is that it’s such a small world in my field, so much as I’d like to shout back and storm out of this one, the market isn’t great and I don’t think I have enough to last a long gap, but more importantly for me, my reputation has been hard fought for over many years. Wouldn’t take much for this MD to put the word out and destroy that.

That said, I really have no choice but to endure for the next 2/3 months and then not renew, but hope another opportunity presents in the meantime.

Good for you The Grass Is Greener.

You'll find that with this internal decision made, the next 2-3 months will be a bit easier for you as you can see a light at the end of tunnel.

Sit down over the weekend (with a glass of wine!) and plan out your strategy for the next 8-12 weeks (see? that sounds better already!). Both with the work and how you are going to deal with the MD/situation. Preparation helps you physically and mentally.

You are a Director, now direct yourself to a dignified exit strategy - you can do it!

[edison]

Thanks for all the support on here. To give you context it’s a PE company in the financial services industry. The board are very short term and money motivated, which I understand, but it does drive a toxic environment. You learn something in every contract, for me, PE is not for me I guess.

One thing I’ve found is that it’s such a small world in my field, so much as I’d like to shout back and storm out of this one, the market isn’t great and I don’t think I have enough to last a long gap, but more importantly for me, my reputation has been hard fought for over many years. Wouldn’t take much for this MD to put the word out and destroy that.

That said, I really have no choice but to endure for the next 2/3 months and then not renew, but hope another opportunity presents in the meantime.

I think you've partly answered your own question there. Private Equity and Financial Services is unlikely to be a forgiving combination. Given you're reporting to the MD in a PE venture, I assume you've come in as an interim on a day rate of £800-1000 plus?

Unfortunately if you're in a very niche area then as you're implying, your reputation could be easily trashed by the MD. Also, looking at it from the MD's side, if you were to leave now, it could take them a while to find a replacement. Think about some of the strategies suggested above to mitigate the short term pain.

I'm aware of several interim providers who do a lot of PE work and from what I can tell it's one of the brighter spots in the market (not saying much.) Maybe avoid PE next time?

[Snooky]

One thing you could try is to ask for a very short meeting with the MD to review your progress.

If he has genuine issues which are surfacing in these public putdowns, it gives you the opportunity to discuss them and come to some type of plan for resolution. If says he's completely happy with what you're doing, you can say "That's great to hear, I asked for the meeting because I was concerned I wasn't meeting your needs as you sometimes criticise me in meetings (or whatever)".

Most likely he's just not a very diplomatic person, everyone else also recognises it and takes his putdowns with a very large pinch of salt. Or possibly, you're not doing what he wants but he's no good at actually telling you that. Either way, a brief status review may help to get to the bottom of it and you relationship may improve after that bout of honesty.

The third option is that he's just a pr*ck, in which case you start looking for something else while you smile sweetly and keep invoicing.

[WordIsBond]

In two weeks, likely, we'll know if Brexit is happening or delayed. Chances are that within three weeks people will start hiring to the new reality, whatever it is, and opportunities start to open up. Your horizon is not three months, forget that. You need to stick this out for 2-3 weeks and then look around to see what's available.

Remember, your three remaining months could drop you into January with a new Brexit deadline impending and no one looking to take on a contractor. So stick it out until November, and then make a move. I don't think it makes sense to just live with it, from what you've said.

As far as what move you make, I see three options:
1. Find a new contract, and leave.
2. Leave without a new contract.
3. Ask for a meeting with the guy and say, 'I'm getting the sense from things you say that you aren't happy with my work. If you want me to give notice, I will.' If you do this, it may change things. He may say, 'Yes, go,' or he may say, 'No, you are fine.'

If you just ask him to be nicer, it's probably not in his makeup to do that. If you offer to go and he says he wants you to stay, he may be nicer because he may respect you for it. But he might be just as horrible as he has been all along, even if he says he wants you to stay. If that happens it will be easier to live with it because you'll know it is just him.

If you offer to go and he says yes, and you offer to help with handover, he's not all that likely to damage your reputation. You might be over-worrying on that point, though. If you've built a good reputation, and one guy says bad things about you, and he's the type of person you say he is, he may not have a lot of credibility in the industry. People get indications, even if they don't work for someone.

But other than keeping your eyes open for a new contract, I wouldn't do anything right now. Stick it out for a few weeks to get past the Brexit noise. There are quite a few people in your industry quite concerned about that. Whatever happens, they'll adjust and be looking forward again in 3 weeks.

The advantage to waiting is that A) you can live with a lot if it is just three weeks and B) after three weeks, you'll only be risking a couple months of revenue if you leave or offer to.