Need Urgent Advice: PIP'd While Mid-Lateral - Any Hope Left?

A VP on my team, for reasons unknown, has it out for me and has been undermining me to the MD. My boss (who supports me) admitted he can’t shield me from this, so I started interviewing internally. I got through all rounds with another IBD team I had a good rapport with, but was told over coffee that although they wanted me, an MD pushed for two female analysts instead. I’ve been 'waitlisted' pending future headcount - but nothing likely for c.6 months.

I figured I could wait it out, avoid the VP, and then move. But a month later, my boss pulled me aside and said I’m being put on a PIP - and not expected to pass. He suggested I start recruiting and offered to help (unclear if genuine or just damage control).

Knowing I likely won’t make it to that original internal move, I’ve started speaking to another IBD team that seems keen. The head of that team recently spoke with my boss, who framed my situation as a function of limited capacity to train juniors (not performance) and said he’d support a move.

So far, multiple seniors on this new team have been supportive and flagged interest to their team head. But now that the head knows I’m on my way out, I’m worried - will this kill my chances? Will they assume it’s performance-related even though it isn’t?

When (and if I still have a shot) I meet the head for coffee, should I align with my boss’s story or be upfront that I’m being pushed out by one asshole VP?

18 Comments
 

Sorry if unclear - the group head has an excellent relationship with the asshole VP (in my view, he sucks up to him big time and acts totally different in front of him than with others). And as a junior, I work mostly with my manager who is also a VP. 

I think the problem is that even though my manager vouched for me, this other guy complained and so as a junior, if a mid-level VP doesn't like you in a small team, it's all over right. 

 

How would I go about this? There is no information in the employee handbook regarding how much leave is allowed etc. Presumably I would need to speak to a doctor and get them to confirm my mental health is troubled?

Also it would certainly kill any chances of an internal lateral move right?

 

Forget the internal move. If they PIPed you; it’s over. Cut your losses; every company has a policy for mental heath leave. Find that out and milk it. They can’t fire you on leave. 

 

I would think that having people think you’re on mental health leave would make you sound like you can’t cut it and are claiming mental issues to get out of work?

 

His existing employer isn’t allowed to disclose details of his leave. He can recruit while on leave and once he lands a job, can resign. Mental health leave can be up to 6 months and employer can’t legally fire him during this time. 

 

It's already official but my manager said he would vouch for me if it did come up, and that at my BB, HR teams just facilitate internal moves. Meaning it's up to the hiring team and the PIP is not something that will block me if they decided they don't mind it given the context and the vouch from my manager. 

My manager already had a chat with the head of the other team about my interest to switch and framed it as product interest / no capacity to train juniors.

Do you think this has killed my chances despite meetings with the new team being very productive so far?

 

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