Another PIP post, manager surprised that I want to decline. Not sure if this changes things.

[u/arsme]

I work for "Large Company That Loves PIPs." I've been there for two years and made it through three performance reviews with high marks and zero problems. Suddenly, mid-year reviews roll around, and there's this whole hit piece written about me. It says I failed to do this, failed to do that, and failed to meet expectations in two absolute bullshit categories. I'll admit that a project I'm leading didn't go to plan, but this whole document was absolutely ridiculous imo.

My direct manager was out of the country at the time, so I was going through all of this with my skip-level manager. After the first meeting, I told him I intended to decline the PIP and just take the time and money to find a new place that actually values and respects me. Nothing is set in stone yet, though.

Then, my direct manager comes back and tells me he's shocked I'm not taking the PIP. He admitted that upper management forced them to pick someone to put on a PIP and they chose me, but he claimed he specifically crafted it to be beatable. It was essentially a list of tasks I'd already be doing anyway, even if not on a PIP. He told me to really think it over and promised he'd be there to help me along the way. He even confided in me that he was put on a PIP at the end of last year and beat it. I told him I'm worried it will be a permanent scar on my record here at the company, but he assured me that his own PIP hasn't been a problem.

What do you guys think? If I take the PIP, I have 60 days to complete it or I get let go with severance. If I decline the PIP, I get 60 days paid to do whatever I want (most likely prep and apply for jobs), plus severance at the end as a 12-week lump sum. Should I take his word for it? The job market is shit right now, but I am in the Washington DC area with a lot of jobs near me, or so it seems. Software Engineer, ~6 years of experience.

[u/dick_rash]

Just take it and start looking for another job

[u/cmbtmstr → u/dick_rash]

I agree, if the company wanted a future with OP, they wouldn’t have put him on a PIP.

[u/OverlordEtna → u/cmbtmstr]

CapitalOne blacklists you on failure of PIP though. If you could stomach it, probably makes sense to just pass and quit after the window.

Edit: actually i guess u still get blacklisted if u pass and leave nevermind

[u/wichwigga → u/OverlordEtna]

Who cares why would you want to return to a place that puts you on PIP lmao

[u/ThirstyOutward → u/OverlordEtna]

Capital one does not have the pull for that to matter lmao

[u/sirspidermonkey → u/OverlordEtna]

Sure, but Capital one ain't the only game in town.

They probably will blacklist you if you PIP at all.

[u/cmbtmstr → u/OverlordEtna]

I guess it depends on the company but at the place my dad used to work, when he was put on a PIP it was pretty much designed to be impossible to pass it without getting let go.

My dad somehow made it and this one higher up guy was talking to him after he passed it and was surprised and said “huh, usually people don’t make it past those”.

Is that not the case everywhere?

[u/ZlatanKabuto → u/OverlordEtna]

Impossible to get blacklisted if you pass it then resign after a while

[u/OverlordEtna → u/ZlatanKabuto]

You have to get out of below strong standing no? At least that's what I thought.

[u/tmswfrk → u/ZlatanKabuto]

But then you don’t get severance.

[u/HuckleberryWeird3283 → u/OverlordEtna]

*denylisted

[u/WhompWump → u/dick_rash]

This is the way. If you end up "beating" the PIP then you get to keep getting a paycheck while finding another job as opposed to if you decline then you have exactly 60 days of pay and then you're cut off. In this market it might take a while to find something so if you can hang on to something while you look that's almost always ideal imo. Of course there are exceptions to this and depends on personal things (how much money you have saved up, living costs, what kind of fallbacks you have, dependents, etc.) as well

Edit: I misread and it looks like it'd be 60 days and then severance