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Hi folks, how is thoughtworks as an organisation?
Asking because I don't know much about it and have received recruiter's call today. Currently I am working in Deloitte. How is thoughtworks hikes, wlb, does it provide any benefits apart from fixed pay? My research gives me a mixed review: some say it's good, some say that thoughtworks is not stable enough like big 4 or other organisations. Pls help Thoughtworks Deloitte
I have an offer from Capco, it was much lower then I expected for the SC level EA at £80k. I'm at a stable role at a bank with a great WLB. My wife is a front line work. So I can take care of the baby, with the next coming soon. My dilemma is, become a consultant or stay where I am at. Consulting looks attractive as I would be speed up my career progression. Though the travel costs and child care does not warrant the base salary Capco Should I take the hit and join capco?
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#1 work with your door closed. That way you only talk to the people you actually want to talk to.
#2 if you really want to add some consistent billables (but don’t have to) add like 2-3 hrs of work on a Saturday or Sunday. It is actually way more enjoyable than working late 1-2 nights per week to me.
#3 don’t go way over billables just to seem like a hero and don’t create work for yourself.
I was also told I seemed unapproachable if I didn’t keep my door open but I am very friendly/personable when I’m in public spaces and always socialize at some point during the day. Also, I kind of don’t care at this point in my career (senior associate) if I seem unapproachable. I get plenty of work.
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I find knocking out a lot of minimal effort billable tasks at the end of the day gives me momentum when my engine stops running for the day. E.g., sending a few emails following up on matters, etc. Sometimes that’s enough to get through the lull.
That said, I relate well to this post and am very interested in input from others. Sometimes you just want to sleep or exercise or do literally anything but work.
Honestly I don’t push it. I’ve always exceeded billables for the month just by working when it is best for me. Sometimes that means half days when I’m not feeling it and sometimes it means billing 12 hours when I’m in the zone. Sometimes it means working weekends when I have down time. Of course sometimes I need to push to work when I don’t want to for deadlines etc but I try to minimize those times.
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A1 your perspective calms me down. I’m trying so hard to let things happen organically. When I don’t have consistent 8 hour days, I panic imagining having to do 12 hour days, but I try to remind myself the flow will flow as it may, and if it’s night time and your not feeling it and there is no deadline to keep you in the zone, then leave!! So thanks for this comment!
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As the years have gone by I realized two things: 1) so many people pad their time. 2) you simply can’t bill 8-10 good non fraudulent hours in a typical day. I try to enter my time as I go and capture almost all of the standard work day with a couple short breaks where I literally tell myself: this is the only time the clock stops. I try to flip switches like that. If you plan it out but not too rigidly, it can work. I also will fill in a couple late nights or early mornings per week. Also a little bit of time on Sunday’s keeps the hours consistently high and the scaries at bay.
Rising Star
“Typical” work day in my mind is 8 hours minus a lunch break. If you worked 7.5-8 and billed 9.2, then you didn’t really work an honest day. That’s all I meant by that sentence. You have to grind out a longer than typical office worker day to hit 8-10. I was explaining how I’ve gotten it done consistently and honestly for over a decade. Folks with families can’t always stay at the office late or get in early due to childcare and other obligations. So there are times when you have to find a way to get the edge during weird hours or eliminate little inefficiencies that inhibit time capture.
Avoiding midday chats is critical. Block time off on your calendar. Guard your work time. Start billing early on the day. Enter your time as you go. Exercise! Just some tips in no particular order.
Settle in for an hour at night in front of the tv after you have dinner, get kids to bed (to the extent that applies), etc. turn on something completely mindless and do simple tasks— calendar deadlines, update closing check lists, prepare exhibits etc. An extra hour a day can make a world of difference, and if you do it this way it’s pretty painless.
I remind myself If I exceed my goal, I can splurge or treat myself to a reward commensurate with an amount approximating my excess billables, like a short staycation.
Close the door or put on visible headphones. Anything that basically signals “in the zone, don’t talk to me”.
Consider working from home 1 day a week to avoid the distractions (if possible).
I work in litigation where trial months are crazy in terms of work and billables. It all works out at the end of the year. If you are getting your work done, I wouldn’t voluntarily do weekend work, that just defeats the purpose of your move to a midsize firm.