So....I have been at my "new" job for about a week now...and guess what?? I HATE IT. The job is NOT what I was led to believe, and I am being underpaid to do it. 50+ hr weeks are the norm. Go in 6 am 'ish.. leave 5:30-6 pm.... They are chronically understaffed, there is no formal training program, the computer system they use is extremely confusing and all this for $10,000 less per year than I made at XYZ Asshole Company. My new company, which will from here on shall be called U.S. Jackass Company, is stupid in a whole OTHER dimension that I never though possible. I found out that almost everyone in the dept is there 5 months to 2 years...you know why??? HIGH TURNOVER...no one wants to deal with their BS for a job that pays peanuts. Lord help me...I need it!!!!I need to hit the lotto...that is the ONLY way out of this mess I am now stuck in. Jobs are so hard to come by..and now I am stuck in a really crappy one. DAMN!
It's kind of strange... for the past 3 months, I have been so unbelieveably focused on getting a job...I did all the things that one should do...and it worked...I got a job. So why am I so sad??Well, there are a few reasons....I am mourning the loss of my unending free time. Today is my "last" free day, being that it's a weekday and I have the time to sit here and blog at my leisure. I went into my new employer's office on Monday to pick up some paperwork and to get the directions for my lovely drug test. I read the handbook with the really seriously stringent dress code. Ugh. I am now stressing out over finding many pairs of plain black slacks so that I know I will always be in compliance with this dress code. I also need shoes...ugh. This is FLORIDA...wearing closed shoes is absolutely STIFLING in the summer- and summer pretty much lasts all year round down here. I guess I am pretty annoyed knowing that someone else will own not only my time for 40+ hours a week, but they also dictate what I can wear. I take exception to this as a creative soul. It bothers me b/c I dress well even in jeans and a top...I never look sloppy. I hate that others ruin it for the whole group. Apparently this stringent dress code went into effect this past Monday in response to people constantly violating it. Idiots! I can't wear jeans on Fridays because some idiots wore dirty or cut off jeans. What pisses me off even more..is that CAPRI PANTS aren't even allowed. Again...this is FLORIDA...they make CAREER looking capris that look pretty professional...but guess what? No one is allowed to wear them. In fact, you can't even wear CROPPED pants at all! If it's more than 3 inches above the ankle, you can't wear them, you will get sent home to change and a black mark goes in your file. Ugh.I haven't even started and I am already annoyed. That is not good at all. I am supposed to be excited to start up a new opportunity...instead I am dreading it. I know I sound like a petulant child, but I can't help it....I waited years to get a new job, and it's not the ideal job for me. Not to mention the pay is $8000 less per year than I was making and the "bonus" that I was enticed with isn't included in my compensation. After I got roped in, I was told that the bonus is an end of the year performance based bonus. Again, I was not given any info on that..I was told that I would be given the detals of that on my first day.I hate to sound so negative about this...but at this point in time I am pretty unhappy with the situation. I feel like I am between a rock and a hard place and I have no choice but to take this job because there is just no jobs out there...I am lucky to have found any job...and it pays better than the local retail job at the mall or grocery store.Ugh.... I am disgusted about this whole thing..... I need to win the lotto already... That's it and that's all...Update: So a little while ago I hear from my new boss, I had some questions regarding the compensation for this job, one of which was about the bonus that was supposed to be attached to it. He assured me that I would be eligible for a performance based bonus at the end of the year, etc, but could not put a dollar amount on it due to the fluid nature of it. So a few minutes after I get off the phone with him, the HR person calls me to follow up on his conversation. She tells me that my new boss was "misinformed" of the terms of the position. That this is an entry level position that is NOT eligible for any bonuses at all. So basically, I am really really screwed. And everyone wonders why I have had such a BAD feeling about this company. They have changed the terms on me now that I am at the hiring stage and it really really makes me uneasy about how this company practices. I was told that this position I am filling is a newly created one and that it has been set by corporate to be at an entry level job grade, and those don't get bonuses. The next job grade up from this one IS eligible for bonuses. I asked her what the terms were with that position, hoping that I had something to work towards. I explained to her that I was told on 2 different occasions that the job is salary plus bonus AND that this position is a huge pay cut from what I was making prior. She said that she felt bad that I was misinformed, and that the guy was not totally in sync with what HR does. She said that is why they do the offer letter, and that things are in writing. She told me that I have to be in this entry level position for 6 months before I can move to any other positions in the company. Of course, when I originally asked about waiting periods, the new boss told me that promotions are done on merit. I am afraid to ask about the pay raise system. I am so confused right now I don't know what to do. The HR person told me to take the day to think about it and call her back to let her know if I still wanted the position. And if I was to still start on Monday, she said to let her know what time I wanted to come in. God how I wish I could just win the lottery this weekend so I don't even HAVE to do this. I feel like I am right back where I was before in the XYZ Asshole Company. I spent too many years being unhappy in a company and a job that I hated. I despise the idea of doing that to myself again- and being paid even LESS on top of it. I seriously wish the earth could swallow me up and make me disappear. I can't allow myself to be taken advantage of again. I just want so badly for things to go my way. I prayed so hard to get this job, and now that I got it...I wish I didn't. It's so not what I expected it to be. I deserve SO much better than this, I really do. The sad thing is, I know that I will still accept the job and show up there on Monday..but the residue of the deception will always linger with me. This blog is the only outlet that I have to say all of this. My family expects me to take the job, my Hubby expects me to take the job. All of my friends expect me to take this job. The market is horrendous and there are no jobs to be found right now. It makes me sad to know that I am devaluing myself by taking this job. Lord help me, I don't know if I will ever be able to be happy again. I think I prefer being unemployed. This is pure torture for me.
Thank you LORD I got the job!!! I got the phone call from my new boss yesterday.... It was a little startling because I did not expect to hear anything until a letter arrived. Apparently, he wanted to let me know so I didn't accept any other job (LOL)- AS IF I had any other prospects...but he didn't know that anyway. I will be receiving some letter of offer with all the details of compensation and benefits that I will have to sign and return. After that, they will do a background check and then I get to do a drug test. I have nothing to hide, so these things will be no problem for me. I told him that I would speak to my hubby and call him back in the morning with my answer. I have yet to make the call...I am waiting until later in the morning to do it. I didn't want to appear over-eager or desperate. Never let them see you sweat...lolThe only thing I was not crazy about was the starting salary. It is a pretty big pay cut..but in these tough financial times I can't be picky. I will prove myself and move up in the company quickly. No matter what, this company is going to be better than XYZ Asshole Company. There is no worse company out there than that one. As a side note..I found out from one of my friends there that my old boss just purchased a new home, and a Porsche to boot. I said that the bastard probably got a bonus equal to my annual salary when they eliminated my position. Whatever..... as of this morning... I am no longer bound to them...I have my fresh start and my new beginning to look forward to.And that's it and that's all I have to say about THAT!!!
Boy has this been an eventful day.... After blogging last week, it took only a day after to get that call from the company that I have been trying to get into all this time.... I was called in for a second interview today. It was a "formality" according to them because they had already interviewed me and they had to have on file that they interviewed me after the job had been actually posted. So far so good. I spoke with both Senior Managers again... and each of them let me know that I was the top candidate for the position. One of them even went as far as to read off to me some of his prior interview notes- he wrote that I was knowledgeable and definitely qualified to do the job. He also told me that my experience was more than their current crop of trainees. This is all good news for me. He also elaborated that he was not allowed to discuss compensation (STILL???) and that he was going to recommend me to be hired. So all that is left is for the VP to sign off on that, and for HR to send the official offer in the mail. I found that to be pretty bizarre, but according to my father in law, it's done that way in some companies...but they usually extend the offer over the phone and then follow up with a letter. The interview ended on a positive note, and he said that he hopes to be speaking to me very soon. I have a very good feeling about this...I am fairly certain that I will get the job. Now I hope that it's good pay and all that...however, I will be taking it regardless because my severance is up this month....Anyway.... that's it and that's all for now... Wish me luck!!!!!
So it's been about a week since my conversation with the Senior Manager regarding the position I am after.... I decided that I have been patient enough and called and left a message asking about the status of the position and my application. The guy's voice mail had an outgoing message from yesterday that stated that on April 1st, he would be in and out of the office and in meetings. He hasn't changed his message to today's date...so I am now wondering if he is even in the office today. Only time will tell I suppose. I figured that I had nothing to lose by blogging about the situation, considering that the last few entries I made preceded some sort of immediate action on the job front. Well..... I am waiting....
To be continued...
That's it and that's all....
HALLELUJAH!!
So after blogging about my most recent exasperations this morning...guess what? I hear from that company that I have been waiting for an answer..... So.... the VP guy isn't the one who calls me back, but one of the Senior Managers that I actually interviewed with already.... He let me know that they hadn't made a decision yet (good) and that they had a lot of applications to wade through (ok, good) and not to be surprised if they call me back again next week for a second interview (fantastic!). He then proceeds to tell me that they have 2 internal candidates that they are looking at (ut oh) and they are trying to determine who would be the best candidate. (it's me! it's me!) So I told him that was totally understandable, and I asked when they anticipate making a hiring decision, and he said that they are anxious to get the show on the road and make the decision by the end of next week. He also said that I can call him to follow up on the job, and I asked for his direct number and he gave that to me. So far so good, right?I'm a little anxious about the 2 internal candidates that they are considering. At the time of my interview (by the way, he did tell me that he has still not interviewed anyone else yet- I'm the only one) I was told that there were no appropriate internal candidates for the job because they wanted someone with experience and did not want to start from scratch. I am hoping that I have the edge here. Most companies do promote from within, however, I am at a point in my career that to start over in an entry level job it would not be in my best interests. So I am keeping my fingers crossed once more ...It's funny how this keeps happening....I blog..and then the phone rings.....I am going to test this one.... I wanna win the lotto at the next drawing. The lotto needs to come up with my numbers. I have been waiting to hear my numbers for at least 10 years that I have had the same ones. I think I deserve my numbers to come up this week.How's that? Maybe that's all it really takes is to put my wildest wishes out on Blogspot.Let's see how THIS one pans out!That's it and that's all!!!!!
It's safe to say that I am fully exasperated with my job search. I have been pounding the internet for hours a day, seven days a week for over 2 months now. So far that has yielded me only 3 face to face interviews, and one phone screen. The job market SUCKS. Employers SUCK. You can't seem to get past the computer screen outs that filter resumes, and no one will return a phone call either.The most promising job lead that I had came thru a relative in a company that I have tried to get into for the past year. I had a GREAT interview...it looked really promising...and then they told me that the job wasn't actually available yet, and they weren't sure when it would be available. Fast forward a week and a half, and I see that job posted on the internet. I called and left a message to follow up on my application. I rec'd no call back. I give this guy the benefit of the doubt and think...ok, he may have been off from work that Good Friday...maybe he took a long weekend. Finally, on Wednesday of this week, I call again... I left ANOTHER message asking about the status of my application, and let him know that I was aware that the job was now posted....could he please return my call at his earliest convenience??? NOTHING. No phone call yet. It's now Thursday and I feel like my hands are tied. I have done my part as a job seeker...I sent that thank you note THE SAME DAY after the interview (which would mean he'd get it the next day), I followed up a week and a half later, and then made one more call after that. I don't know what else I am supposed to do in order to get my name in the running for this job that I want SO badly. I was as professional, poised and cool as a cucumber as I am able to be. I did not show desperation- I did not stumble on words. I had a great feeling about that interview- which for the record lasted over an hour and a half.... I really thought that I had a good shot this time. I really did. And now I am more than confused....I am totally confounded.Is there anyone out there reading this? I am putting this out there in the hopes that someone can give me a point of view that I am not seeing. I am trying to be as open minded as possible, and trying NOT to be negative or take this personally- but it is getting much harder to keep that attitude as the weeks fly by and I am still not gainfully employed.I cannot think of one other thing that I can do to find a job that was the level that I was at (or better.) I apply online to jobs that correspond with my vision, I registered my with some agencies and a couple of recruiters that I have spoken with. So far not one lead from those contacts. I have networked with everyone I know... What else can I do? It's getting to the point where I will have to take a job for $8 and hour in order to have employment.... I made 3 times that in my previous position. Is there a point where it's acceptable to take such a step down? It's more than just ego- I really can't afford to work for $8 and hour- my bills are too high to do that...BUT I can't live on unemployment.... $275 a week just won't cut it ($6.87/hr...ouch!) I don't want it to hurt me to take a lower paying job just to be employed..and have that be my most recent job history and salary history for a potential employer to go by. It's a real issue for me...and I am not sure what to do anymore.I'm putting this out there - I need some guidance... someone comment...PLEASE!!!That's it and that's all.....
