Put Your Parachutes on NOW!
As I sit here on Friday morning watching the market prepare to crash a few suggestions come to mind.
I fully expect Kimley to be only 1/2 of its size by the end of next year. Since we have been told they are still going to pay bonuses this year (in spite of the lack of incoming cash) they will have even less cash to cover staffing costs.
I have always been a believer in "those that can do; those that can't ...teach " and I would like to add " if you cant teach...there is always the government". However in these very trying economic times it may be time to re-examine the positives of government employment. These are usually SAFE jobs....once you are in...you are in for life.
It is predicted that the government is going to start a massive infrastructure building plan to try to jump-start the economy. (How many of you remember hearing from your parents about these types of projects during The Great Depression?) At the same time tax revenues will be down so that agencies will be more likely to do more of the planning on these infrastructure projects in-house.
If you are currently employed... start talking to your friends at state/local/federal agencies. Salaries are awful but much much better than nothing. Any pension is better than none...just take a look at the balance on your 401k. Finally, when the economy does start to turn around....having had the inside experience and made the contacts within the multitude of public sector agecies, you will be poised to open your own firm or be employed as a 'fixer' by a large development company.
Posted at 08:53AM Oct 24, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[4]
COVER YOUR ASS.....an editorial about current reports from KHA
First, when we googled "Kimley Layoffs" today we came up as number 3 on the list.....somebody must be linking to us!! THANK YOU!
We started this blog first and foremost to help other ex-KHA Employees in their transition since the KHA provided assistance was a joke. We also hoped that it would embarrass Kimley into becoming a responsible employer. Little did we realize what a sh*t storm it would produce. We have learned that Kimley is very very vindictive. KHA likes to brag about being among the best places to work......obviously the people responsible for these polls never talked to an ex-KHA'er.
As these layoffs continue, I thought it would be a good time to do a little editorializing about practices that are reported as
being common at KHA.
It seems clear that your chance of being laid off is highest if you are a P-4 or P-5 and over 45 years old. Other strong factors
apprear to be sex and whether or not you are an engineer.
Please remember that first and foremost Kimley is an engineering company. I am of an age and sex that corresponds to senior managemnt (Male, 45+) and well remember my first day of basic engineering mechanics class(1968). FUlly 1/2 of our first class period was devoted to the fact that if you were going to be an engineer you should dress and act like one. "Oh and by the way if you are female you have no place in this field and we will gladly sign your class drop slip." Times have changed, but when you have been brought up with this indoctrination, it does have an effect on your thinking.
(P.S. Kimley monitors...this should wreck some of your pre-conceived notions of who is responsible for the management of this site....)
We are hearing more and more about "banned" practices being forced upon employees. We have all been told by supervisory personnel to bill time to General Office because the budget is blown....in many cases because the PM did a poor job of estimating. We are not ignoring the fact ( especially now with all the new hires) that some of blown jobs are due to lack of experience or a failure in supervision.
Since this directly affects your UT% we have heard of instances of this being used as a factor of justifying termination. This appears to put the employee into an untenable position. If you refuse to bill to G/O you will be thought of as being uncooperative. If you go along you are slitting your own throat by driving your UT down..
The best suggestion I have is to document it. Write yourself a memo and copy it to your home email address each time you are asked to do this. Add another memo to yourself detailing the amount of time you ended up having to charge to G/O. It is also a very good idea to keep copies of all your time sheets off site as well as any requests from a supervisor to change your time sheet. You can always charge it to the job and then let the manager change it....then you will have proof.....you can always tell the PM it was an accident....There have also been some reports that hint that KHA is threatening to fight unemployment claims. You will need this documentation to fight for your rights. (Whether you know it or not...it is a way of KHA saving money to successfully fight your unemployment claim...to claim you were fired for cause).
More scary are the stories we are hearing about employees being told to bill time on one job to another or even worse....to another customer. This is illegal. If Kimley gets caught doing this....you could be guilty as well. If the amount is such that it is a felony...think of what this could do to your professional license and ask yourself if it is worth it. Kimley really needs to have a anonymous contact system within the company to report this behaviour. If they dont catch it and correct it there is the very real possibility that it could be the end of the company. As a last resort....maybe report it to the customer being charged anonymously. Be very careful that you have it documented....if you do and your allegations are true there are laws to protect you as a whistleblower. Bear in mind though that these types of action are very messy and can take years to resolve.
I apologize about the need to couch a lot of these accusations in such weak terms (we have heard...it is said...). We do have people reporting all kinds of information to us...much of which we are afraid to use because it could be too directly attributable to a specific person. I have personally seen how vindictive KHA can be and do not wish to subject anyone to this. We do not use items unless they have been heard from more than one person or are from Kimley documents that have been shown to us.
One last item....we were forwarded an announcement that claimed that
there would be no more layoffs thru the end of January 2009. Also it
was noted that the year end bonuses were going to be substantially
smaller this year. Those of you that have been there a year or
more....you have heard the "no more layoffs contemplated" last year...
Posted at 09:27PM Oct 20, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[2]
Recently Seen in the Florida Region
Posted at 11:22AM Oct 13, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[4]
I HAD to Laugh
Remember the 'Survivor' tee-shirts that the Florida region of KHA gave out at one of it's annual kick-off meetings a couple of years ago? Well, I happened to be down south the other day and I saw one of those shirts on a homeless guy who was panhandling in front of a Starbucks. I lost it. I was laughing so hard I had to lean up against the light pole just to catch my breath. Can you say irony????
Posted at 11:16AM Oct 08, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[1]
Kimley and their Joke memo on Best Places to Work
We just got copied on Kimley's memo explaining that they aren't in the CE News "Best Places to Work" list because of their false modesty.
Message to believers: WE HAVE A BRIDGE IN NYC WE WOULD LIKE TO TURN INTO CONDOS.....BRING THIS SITE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT INTO YOUR OFFICE!!!!!!!!! CONTACT US BEFORE WE TALK TO PBS&J!!!!!!!!
Although traffic is building as word gets around about this site...we don't claim that our post on how to contact the people involved in these (best places) selection committees had anything to do with it.....However if you haven't made your voice heard....add to the clamor!
Posted at 08:26AM Oct 03, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[0]
Be Prepared - Lunchtime meetings are timebombs
We have gotten word that an "informal" lunchtime meeting is in reality a "mid-year CDR" that will be used as ammunition against you if you have been earmarked for termination. If your supervisor requests such a lunchtime meeting, perhaps you should bring an advocate, (or an attorney!) or at the very least, bring a voice activated tape recorder. There is anecdotal evidence that the conversation is 'doctored' and put into written form to be placed in your 'permanent' file then used against you when it comes time for another round of lay-offs. Be smart, do not admit any fault, point out poor project management practices and generally protect your integrity. We don't know if this tactic is being used firmwide or just in certain offices, but it is wrong no matter what.
Posted at 10:01AM Sep 30, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[0]
New Round of Lay-offs
It appears more lay-offs are afoot. Keep an eye on this site for details as they emerge. We have heard that slightly less than 2 dozen people are targeted to be let go in just one region. If you are part of this round of "downsizing" we wish you the best, and if we can be of any assistance, please post a question. We will do our best to find an answer. We hear that these lay-offs are being staged on a round robin basis with an attempt made to let one or two people per office per week or so go, so as to minimize the appearance of it being another major downsizing. However with the numbers we are hearing......KHA is not even coming close to meeting it's target on new job starts in one of its larger regions. And this is after the target has been drastically lowered in recent times.
All of this seems to be affecting morale...one major recruiter says that applications from current Kimley employees are at an all time high....200-300% above normal And much much higher than any other comparable firm.
We further notice that KHA does not seem to have any Federal DOT contracts active for either 2007 or 2008. (go to this web page for full details:
Make what you will of this information.
Posted at 08:09AM Sep 17, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[13]
Job Seach Engine
If you haven't yet used www.indeed.com, give it a shot. It is a very comprehensive job search engine. You can define your search and sign up for daily or weekly updates. You can also specify salary range and so on. Highly recommended.
Posted at 07:57AM Jul 03, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[0]
Heard On Rumor wire......New Cuts At KHA; Walmart Dissatisfied
In rumors that have reached me from both within and without KHA there are at least some new job cuts. Additionally there are rumors circulating that more and more Walmart is diverting work to other firms because of the quality of service it is receiving from KHA. If you are currently employed on a Walmart team....pay very very close attention to any more slowdowns....Considering KHA' corporate policy toward severance or any other transition help it may be time to jump ship. The job market is slow....and searching now may provide you with the soft landing you will need in this horrible economy. GOOD LUCK!!!!
Posted at 05:52AM Jun 24, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[7]
Recruiter - Agency
If you want to register with a recruiter, here is one that has nationwide job listings in technical fields, including LA, Engineering, etc.
Posted at 08:01AM Jun 01, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[0]
AECOM family of companies: International Presence has Openings
This is a company with a global presence in architecture, engineering, project management, landscape architecture, environmental sciences, survey and related professional services. They have openings world-wide, and look very interesting. They bought the company that had originally purchased LBFH, a local FL engineering firm. CHECK THEM OUT!!!
http://www.aecom.com/index.html
Posted at 12:14PM May 27, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[0]
State Jobs Web Site
If you haven't looked here yet, you can search for Florida State Jobs at the following location:
https://peoplefirst.myflorida.com/logon.htm
Posted at 12:46PM May 22, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[0]
Company in MD / VA area
If you are in this area or are willing to relocate, check out Bowman Consulting at www.bowmanconsulting.com.
They are a multi-discipline firm, with engineering, planning, surveying and environmental sciences divisions. A small but fast growing company with advertised opportunities. Looks like a winner to me.
Posted at 06:06AM May 20, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[0]
Success!! New Job From this site.
A recent CAD layoff has found a job through a link published on this site. Congratulations1
Posted at 08:20AM May 19, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[2]
HNTB is hiring CE Planners LA
They have a nationwide presence with a lot of high profile jobs.
Like KHA you get points for recruiting so please contact a friend at:
Posted at 08:57AM May 16, 2008 by mis'tree in General | Comments[1]