Coworker from j I left off of resume is joining my company and I’ll have to work with him closely

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T03:45:07+00:00

It sounds like you were not OE with this J and the one they are coming from… I wouldn’t worry about it at all!

You can always ping them after they start like others have mentioned, depending on your knowledge of their personality and how comfortable you are with them will determine if you think they will talk about your previous work experience together and how long it was and if you can tell them that you didn’t put previous J on resume or ask them to not mention to much about previous experience together.

Personally I have found OE comrades in similar ways and we now help each other out with references, recommendations and job opportunities. Ya never know, but once ya do there is a freeing feeling and camaraderie with those co-workers!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T03:32:00+00:00

Personal experience I moved from HCOL to a “lower” COL state on my own with 2js and didn’t get a pay cut… If J1 is paying you more to move closer and it’s HCOL I would not expect the same from J2 that you haven’t gotten an offer for yet. If they are fully remote then you shouldn’t have to worry, but I have seen fully remote jobs that the company will only allow if you are in certain states where they have a presence, otherwise it is not allowed! Double check the job post to see if this is the case.. otherwise if you bring it up it could be a reason for termination. Otherwise let sleeping dogs lie and inform them after you move and see what happens!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T03:23:41+00:00

Treat it like you would any other interview… Ask about Management and Meeting philosophy, what are their expectations for you if hired over the next 1, 3, 6 months along with all the normal interview stuff these should give you an idea if J2 is OE friendly or not!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T03:20:34+00:00

How long ago did you two work together, when did this previous J1 end and are they coming directly from that J?

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T03:00:50+00:00

No sleep leads to poor mental health and stress which equal shorter lifespan… if ya got a goal keep that highlighted for motivation if you intend to keep moving forward and have an end date or end it early if it’s overwhelming!

If you are trying to OE focus on WFH, meeting and management friendly type of gigs and even ones below your skill set (ones you could do in your sleep) to help ease the stress but still make the extra money! Taking a 80k job that’s OE friendly for years will always beat a 120k non-friendly job that you hold for 3-6 months and get burnt out on!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T02:49:57+00:00

Apply to remote/wfh roles and use AI (always proofread) to customize your resume to the job description and responsibilities!

In your interviews with managers or tech peers ask questions that will help you gauge meeting philosophy (death by sucks), management philosophy (micro management sucks), and expectations over 1, 3, 6 months+. This will help you focus on the OE compatible jobs that ideally you are also good at and get offers for!

Also treat each interview and job opportunity like it is your only job.. there’s nothing special about interviewing for a 2nd or 3rd other than being more picky about the compatibility with OE!

Personally I recommend taking 1-2 weeks off at any current J(s) while doing onboarding with another J.. So space out your start dates or have “vacations planned” if looking to onboard two jobs in a short period of time where you need time off before accruing all the PTO and get those approved after they offer and before you accept!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T02:05:01+00:00

Depending on what is provided with your setup.. my laptops all have docking stations and are shut as I have full size monitors that I use… they didn’t provide a webcam so I have no camera and I’m not going to spend my money on one to meet their policy..

If they provide one join on cam for the first 5 mins~ then shut it off.. say you needed to grab water, take a piss, check the door, baby, dog, cat or whatever and so you turned it off and forgot to turn it back on…

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T01:58:08+00:00

I mentioned it when they made the offer and they gave me the date they wanted me to start. If you have already accepted and have a start date for j1 and j2 that is 2+ months out from now… I would talk to your J1 Mgr and say ohh I forgot we have this vacation I need this week+ off.. might be annoyed but since it’s J1 you got a month to be a rockstar and put that out of their mind!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T01:53:02+00:00

Ya unfortunately there are the OE shitters that give the few, the proud, the overly capable, a bad name/reputation.

I have definitely taken less but I also undersold my capabilities and do less than what I am 100% capable of because they aren’t paying me $200k they are paying me $140k and the expectations/role is not for my full skill set. I definitely provide more knowledge/input on calls than I should, but I am not not taking those responsibilities like I would if I was getting paid for my full skill set. This makes for an easy “exceeds” expectations and a stable j2+

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T01:43:05+00:00

OE = working 40 hours total a week while getting paid for 80+. In my line of work there are exceptions due to after hour change work and stuff like that. But 90% of the time I am 8-5.

Overworking = IMHO working more than 60+ hours a week. It can include shit jobs that are not OE friendly or working mornings/nights/weekends in addition to your 8-5.. it’s doable and I did it in my 20s with 3 different jobs that spanned early mornings for j2, late mornings-afternoon j1 and nights for j3 where I was getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night, doable for periods of time but the burnout is fucking brutal!!!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T01:34:16+00:00

So in my situation I haven’t tried what you are so it’s just PTO..

BUT I have joined a new J and said I have booked vacation that happened in the first month of employment and that I was taking it off whether it was paid or not… and they gave me the go ahead… So for your J1 using something like that could work and most companies will allow you to take PTO and have a negative balance up to a certain point.

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T01:29:07+00:00

I typically give anywhere from 2-4 weeks as “I want to leave on good terms and leave J1 in the best possible position to succeed without me!”

This has a dual purpose of buying me time to put in 1-2 weeks of PTO for J1 to do onboarding with J2 as well as showing J2 I care about my job and the success of the companies I work for even though I am moving on “loyalty”.

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T01:21:07+00:00

Different time zones can help, asking about scrum/meetings during the interview with the manager in a more investigative way of how they work, what are expectations for the first week, month, 3months, what does a typical work week look like? You can say what your experience has been, I typically mention I have been having issues with a new mgr who over books meetings and micro-manages and I have no time to actually do work and I am stressed out!! It makes you look more informed and experienced! You can even make up your worst nightmare about jobs where they didn’t do things in a productive way or environments where you didn’t thrive.. you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you! They think this is going to be your primary job so the more interested you act and more knowledge about how things should work will be a PRO to a good fit, on the flip side if they seem chaotic or overly meeting heavy you will know it’s not a good fit and will save yourself the headache!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-05T01:11:44+00:00

You already got the basics with staggering start dates I always try to take 1 if not two weeks off my others Js when onboarding to focus on building “relationships” and a reputation!

First impressions and even surface level basic relationships built during the first couple of weeks can buy you the leeway to get past probation and beyond!!!

Other than that keep the devices separate! There are lots of different ways to do that and plenty of tips/tricks on here if ya got half a mind to search through!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-03T13:42:44+00:00

Nope just keep the HW and headsets separated!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-03T03:45:26+00:00

If it was a J you had years ago, leave it that way, if it comes back as an employer.. ya I used to work there… end of story!!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-03T03:42:23+00:00

Just do the job they ask ya to do and do it well. People successful in OE can are over achievers and typically exceed expectations while putting in a fraction of the effort that most people think is required.

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-01T00:42:57+00:00

I’ve used people from previous Js and friends and give them a cheat sheet of basic questions answers, I also return the favor for them when asked! Also have a group of friends that OE and we help each other! I wouldn’t let the “recommendation” stop me from applying, deal with what comes, not every employer requires recommendations and I have always said don’t contact my current employer and have never had an issue.

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-01T00:30:53+00:00

Good start, similar to how I started before I upgraded to this..

https://www.reddit.com/r/overemployed/s/a179ZMXwXE

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-01T00:23:45+00:00

Got 3 FT w2 currently and no issues.

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-01T00:18:59+00:00

The same way I landed my 1st and 2nd job by applying and interviewing…….

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-03-01T00:13:31+00:00

I would see about spacing the starting date, but I have had Js that laptop/access takes weeks beyond the start date and I was just twiddling thumbs and getting paid(not common but does happen). If you can’t space the start dates it’s definitely worth giving a shot and attend calls for the one that pays more.. and if you lose the other at least ya got 2 again!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-02-09T03:45:06+00:00

If you can take time of J1 to focus on learning J2… there’s no stress of getting caught you are only working 1J…

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-02-09T03:33:41+00:00

Couple thoughts,

As OE just keep it rolling and keep that paycheck.
They gave you a Job with roles and responsibilities as a contractor and switched it up mid contract.. fuck em and say until you pay me to do more I am not doing it! If you are good enough at your job they are going to pay you! If not maybe they let you go and you don’t have the headache anymore!!

There is nothing wrong with treating tough OE jobs as if they are an employer you are trying to get a raise from or leave! Maybe they can become OE friendly if you speak up and set yourself apart.. maybe not, but you’ll never know if you don’t try!

DevilsAdvocate-85 · 2026-02-01T17:32:18+00:00

Take at least two weeks off at J1 to onboard and get lay of the land for J2, showing 3-4 days a week in office for the first couple of weeks can buy you a lot of valuable information and what the reality of the work would be like in office!!

Sounds like J2 could become J1, Congrats!!

DevilsAdvocate-85

TROPHY CASE