A Case Of The Mondays: Vent Your Work Spleen Here

[ABay]

@bilgistic, moving up in this company is definitely not optimum for you, but would at least pay more and get you away from this dick. And, as magicdog points out, piss him off. Heh. It is also fantastic that someone at this place recognized your awesomeness!

Edited August 11, 2019 by ABay

[theredhead77]

10 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Literally yesterday, the interim store manager asked me if I wanted to move up in the company (no) and what I would need (money-wise) to do it (not for any amount). Today this little worm is eating away at my morale.

I don't think this is an opportunity you can turn down. You need the money and moving up may get you away from S (maybe they want to replace S?). 

[bilgistic]

3 hours ago, magicdog said:

While "S" sounds like a dick (what culture is he from that his behavior is acceptable?) that's the wrong attitude.  By doing better than minimum you show initiative and that you care.  Sure, you're not in your dream job (I know I'm not if you've read my "Bitcheroo" stories) but you should do your best until you get out.  My father used to tell me, if you're just a street sweeper, be the best street sweeper there is.

If you move up you might be able to get above "S" and he won't be able to harass you anymore - plus, it'll really tick him off!  Maybe moving up could open new opportunities for you at corporate.

2 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

I don't think this is an opportunity you can turn down. You need the money and moving up may get you away from S (maybe they want to replace S?). 

The interim store manager didn't give an offer or say he would pay me more for moving up; he just asked me my interest in moving up and what I would need to move up to the next position (within the store) and my interest in working in the corporate HQ. To move into corporate would mean moving to a small town in my state where I don't want to live. I also don't want to work long-term for a company that doesn't pay store employees a living wage (me and my coworkers, for example).

I cannot stress enough how badly I want out of the grocery/retail business. I hate people and working with the public absolutely wears me out and keeps my anxiety at an extreme level all day, every day. I want to use my skills and talents in editing/writing, research, graphic design, marketing, etc. I want a quiet place to work. I want benefits. I want so much more for myself than this.

Which is not to say that being a cashier is ignoble. The world needs cashiers. It's just not what I want for myself.

[jenh526]

I work in the public sector which allows me to see salaries online. This past quarter many people got raises. I was one of the ones who didn’t. They don’t give raises based on merit, and I was told that the raise was for people who had been there at least x number of years without a raise. So I went online, did a comparison, and found 2 people who had fewer than x years who got the raise. I went to my manager and presented this (she doesn’t like me since I’m not part of the clique, and also I’m way more educated than anyone there and probably the most productive employee). She claimed not to know anything about the criteria, so I went to her manager who said she’d look into it. I’ve also talked to HR. I kinda feel like I’m getting the runaround, and the HR lady especially seemed pretty wary. I’m wondering if they’re concerned at all about a possible lawsuit since I’m over 50 and female.

I’m actually really torn up about this. I do work hard and try to do everything they ask of me even though they are much more critical of me than anyone else. I know I should get out and I’ve been trying but it is very difficult.

[ginger90]

About a year ago I found out a recent hire was making more than me. I had been there 6 years. I started looking elsewhere immediately. I handed in my resignation in person and was told they were sorry to lose me, I was welcome to return, and they never had any negative feedback from anyone I had (home health care). Wouldn’t that qualify me to make more than a new hire? You would think so. My new job pays more, pays mileage, gives a bonus for working an unscheduled shift. It was easy to look for a job while I was employed. No stress.

My former employer always referred to lack of funding. Well, take care of the people you have. The new one that was hired quit on her first shift. 

[Mindthinkr]

4 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

The new one that was hired quit on her first shift. 

So many people mistakenly think that home health care is an easy babysitting job. It’s not and it requires dedication. I’m happy that you have been able to move on and have better benefits. 

[bilgistic]

I applied to three jobs last week and have already gotten a thanks-but-no-thanks email from one of them. Another one had me answer additional questions after receiving my resume (nothing since then) and the third was a position with the city/county, so I expect to hear from them by October of 2019. Heh.

I'm so discouraged. I'm applying to jobs that seem like a good fit for my personality and skills and still nothing. I've been doing everything "right", and applying for about a year now. There are things on which I won't compromise (workplace atmosphere, type of company) because I have before and been miserable.

I am sick of my job. Working with the public ratchets up my anxiety higher every day. I'm grateful to be working, but I am not making ends meet and that's a huge source of stress.

I'm just venting. There's no answer to all of this. I just have to keep moving through it and hope beyond hope that something better works out soon.

[ginger90]

42 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I applied to three jobs last week and have already gotten a thanks-but-no-thanks email from one of them. Another one had me answer additional questions after receiving my resume (nothing since then) and the third was a position with the city/county, so I expect to hear from them by October of 2019. Heh.

I'm so discouraged. I'm applying to jobs that seem like a good fit for my personality and skills and still nothing. I've been doing everything "right", and applying for about a year now. There are things on which I won't compromise (workplace atmosphere, type of company) because I have before and been miserable.

I am sick of my job. Working with the public ratchets up my anxiety higher every day. I'm grateful to be working, but I am not making ends meet and that's a huge source of stress.

I'm just venting. There's no answer to all of this. I just have to keep moving through it and hope beyond hope that something better works out soon.

Have you tried a job placement service?

[bilgistic]

Yes, several.

[partofme]

I mentioned a couple months ago that I'm probably losing my job at some point.  My department is being eliminated and our clients have been sold to another company that does the same thing.  Originally they were pushing for a July date, but that's been extended and no information has really been given out as to when it will be happening.  I work for a very large company and dealing with hr about finding a new position has been very frustrating.  When I first met briefly by the elevator with the hr contact she was very nice, gave me good tips on re-writing my resume and then promised to send my resume out to multiple recruiters for positions both within my current company and through out the network that makes up the parent company.  She then set up a follow up meeting for the following Friday, and I came in to work that day despite being sick with a bad cold and almost no voice specifically to meet with her only to find out that she was working from home that day and hadn't bothered to let me know.  When I emailed her to find out if I was supposed to be calling her, she cancelled the meeting.  I then emailed and asked if we could reschedule the meeting for the following week and she told me she had just set the meeting up in case she had news and she would reschedule something when she had more information to tell me.  Well a few weeks pass and I hear nothing from her.  So I send her a follow up email explaining how I'd really like to stay with the company and wanted to see if she had any news about possible positions.  Next thing I know I get a call from the in-house recruiter about a position in the Parsippany, NJ office.  (I work in nyc, don't own a car and don't want to work in Parsippany).  He was telling me that I'd be able to take a train and an Uber to get there.  I told him I thought I had been clear that I need to work in the nyc office and that I'd be open to this position if I could do it from the nyc office.  He told me he'd speak to the hiring manager about it.  I hear nothing back.  So last week I found 2 different positions online within my company in the nyc office that I thought I could possibly be qualified for, one of them was of more interest to me but less directly connected to what I currently do but the hr contact had told me I could go into any field I want so long as I target my resume for it(which I had, I made 2 versions) and I emailed the links to these 2 positions to both my hr contact and the hr recruiter and said I was interested and wanted to know if I'd be a good fit for either.  The recruiter emails me back late the next day, apologizes for the delay but says we can discuss the next day.  I hear nothing from him.  Finally today over a week later, I email them again to follow up.   Next thing I know my hr contact emails me asking if I'm interested in opportunities in NJ.  I'm banging my head against the wall here.   Also my boss who works most of the time out of the NJ office(which makes me very happy) calls me up and asks if I'll go to a training meeting in Chicago in September which I really don't have any interest in going to but feel pressured to in order to seem like a team player, but she did tell me I could get back to her on it.  I don't get overtime and it will mess with my weekend, I hate flying and the way things are going with hr, I will probably not be working for this company much longer and am not sure how much I should really feel like I need to do my boss any favors .  

[shanndee]

There are a lot of changes about to occur in my workplace. More downsizing. I spent the better part of the weekend updating my resume and feeling sad about the content. Then I became scared about my age (and agism). The idea of competing for jobs against people half my age is really disheartening.

Hubby tells me not to borrow trouble. My position might be safe (for now). But it is hard not to read the writing on the wall.

i think I should just go play with the cat for awhile...

[announcergirl]

I haven’t been on this site in awhile. I see a lot is going on and I’ll have to catch up. Frankly, I need a solid employment lawyer. Any help is appreciated. 

[BookWoman56]

@shanndee, until a couple of years ago, I was occasionally teaching business writing online. The textbooks for the course recommended that job applicants limit their resumes to  only the last 10 years or so of work experience. Their reasoning was anything older than that would likely be irrelevant. I disagree somewhat with that rationale, but encourage you to remove anything from your resume that indicates you are over 50. No dates on college degrees, etc. Nothing can completely stop an interviewer from noticing your age in a F2F or video interview, but don’t make it easy for a hiring manager to discount you immediately based on the assumption that you’re “too old” for the job. 

[shanndee]

@BookWoman56  Thank you! I did edit out a lot of my work history to make everything fit into 2 pages. I also (on a whim) took out the dates of my degrees for just that reason. Then I second guessed myself (I had dates on all of my work experience, but no dates on my education).

I will go back and take them out again. 🙂

[BookWoman56]

26 minutes ago, shanndee said:

@BookWoman56  Thank you! I did edit out a lot of my work history to make everything fit into 2 pages. I also (on a whim) took out the dates of my degrees for just that reason. Then I second guessed myself (I had dates on all of my work experience, but no dates on my education).

I will go back and take them out again. 🙂

Good, a lot of people mistakenly assume that a resume has to list every single job you’ve had. List your most recent jobs that are relevant. Also, take a look at what kind of jobs you want to apply for, read those job descriptions and requirements, and make sure your resume aligns with the terminology of the desired jobs. Many companies use software to scan resumes, and the software will automatically reject resumes that lack the proper buzzwords. If that means you create a couple of versions of your resume, tailored for different jobs, that’s fine. 

[announcergirl]

19 hours ago, shanndee said:

There are a lot of changes about to occur in my workplace. More downsizing. I spent the better part of the weekend updating my resume and feeling sad about the content. Then I became scared about my age (and agism). The idea of competing for jobs against people half my age is really disheartening.

Hubby tells me not to borrow trouble. My position might be safe (for now). But it is hard not to read the writing on the wall.

i think I should just go play with the cat for awhile...

I am a career”coach” by profession. The effing irony!! I can send you materials or offer my assistance. 

[BookWoman56]

15 hours ago, announcergirl said:

I haven’t been on this site in awhile. I see a lot is going on and I’ll have to catch up. Frankly, I need a solid employment lawyer. Any help is appreciated. 

Not an employment or any kind of lawyer, but could you describe in general what’s going on with your work situation? Maybe some posters here can share similar experiences, point you in the right direction, or at least empathize. 

[shanndee]

8 hours ago, announcergirl said:

I am a career”coach” by profession. The effing irony!! I can send you materials or offer my assistance. 

Thank you so much! I really, truly hope that I don't need to look for a new job, but I feel like I should be prepared just in case.  If I can get a decent resume prepared I will be ready if the powers that be decide to drop a bomb on the whole place.

If you could send me some links to current trends in resume writing I would really appreciate it!

Thanks again. 🙂

[MargeGunderson]

If you aren’t familiar with Ask a Manager, check it out for resume and cover letter advice. Also, good workplace advice and some crazy stories about managers and coworkers that make me feel better about mine!

[Scout Finch]

I posted this on Facebook yesterday:  "The 'I am silently correcting your grammar' mug I ordered for my desk arrived. I laughed at the idea of holding it up every time there's a grammar mistake when my co-workers are talking. However, I doubt anyone would find it remotely amusing!"

I had customized who could see my post to omit workplace friends but it appears I missed someone (she works outside my department). Her comment: "They probably wouldn't know it's meaning." Yeah.

I haven't taken it to work yet so it's still sitting on the kitchen table next to my laptop. One guess as to what I just did.

Edited September 1, 2019 by Scout Finch

[BookWoman56]

@Scout Finch, a colleague gave me that mug a couple of years ago, because she knew how much time I was spending correcting grammar errors. I work from home, though, so I don’t have to worry about any of my other colleagues being offended by it. Of course, these are people who frequently claim to be “flushing out” the details of their project plans. 

[Scout Finch]

I also ordered one that lists the most common grammar mistakes, which will be sitting right next to the other one on the shelf next to my cubicle's entrance. Of course, "its/it's" is listed! I hate misplaced apostrophes so much that I once snuck over and corrected the handmade printed sign on a McDonald's drive-thru menu that read: "Fish sandwiches for $1 on Friday's."

[auntlada]

2 hours ago, BookWoman56 said:

@Scout Finch, a colleague gave me that mug a couple of years ago, because she knew how much time I was spending correcting grammar errors. I work from home, though, so I don’t have to worry about any of my other colleagues being offended by it. Of course, these are people who frequently claim to be “flushing out” the details of their project plans. 

I have often wanted to flush out the details of other people's project plans.

[Petunia13]

I’m playing catch up as I do love this thread so want to spend time on each post. My post could probably also go under pet peeves as well. But for the love of God could people who go to a restaurant in off hours or a shift change and see its short staffed in general or people in the weeds be patient. Or not be nasty? 

I have a part time job serving and one week it was a slammed festival in front and a 2 top around 2:30 or 3 got mad they had to wait for refills and stiffed me on my tip (the check was $88) while I had like 9 tables and wrote me a nasty note saying I’m “horrible”. Like it’s punishment enough I helped them for free but to call me names. 

Today a woman came at 3 and it was just me and the bartender/also serving and no manager YAY and had a long wait for her wine. I couldn’t like grab it or force him to stop and get it from a cellar. We tip share them automatically for making our shit but if he’s also taking tables he’s helping his people first. Duh. Like I was nagging him. She gave me $2 on 25 check and contacted the manager that I was frazzled and unhappy. Keep in mind she saw I had five other tables that sat simultaneously w her I was hustling for and I literally asked the bartender  in front of her, please get her the Cotes De Rhône for her wine, he knew he’d get my tip share no matter what so it was last of his priorities after his party orders and running his other tables food. Like I get it bad service blows, I 100% agree but if you go in on off hours or at closing what is better people trying to help you or tell you to fuck off? One of the other tables sat simultaneously as her who waited for a Long Island like 20 minutes then later 35 mins for basic, easy food orders tipped me like 23% and were nice AF. It’s weird when people do this btw since if there’s a wait or snag in the food usually I or my boss comp it or give free desert or drinks so it’s not that deep or personal, it doesn’t have to escalate and we all want them to be happy. It would be my pleasure to have given her a piece of pie or cake free after or packed to go. A lot of regulars who are chill get that stuff or more for free, that’s an open secret in the restaurant industry.

[bilgistic]

I got a call back about a job I applied for, but the woman who called has apparently not set up her corporate voice mail! Every time I call, I get a message that says, "Please enter the extension." Come ON, lady! And over a holiday weekend, you haven't set up your voice mail?! And when you know people are going to be calling you back about the job?!?

[BookWoman56]

@Petunia13, I would never be nasty to wait staff. I rarely give a bad tip (less than 20%) unless the service is horrible. But it does annoy me when I go to a restaurant during off hours, which is my preference as I dislike crowds, and the service is outrageously slow. I don’t expect a waiter to be there immediately if that waiter has a lot of tables. But FFS, if I am sitting there for 30 minutes, there’s only 3 occupied tables, and the two waiters are standing just outside the kitchen doing nothing but talking to each other, and I have not yet even been acknowledged by one of them, much less had my order taken, that’s the point at which I will walk out. It doesn’t bother me if wait staff are legitimately too busy to get to me as quickly as I would like, but I am unlikely to feel good about wait staff who can’t be bothered to wait on me because they are too busy socializing with each other. 

[janestclair]

Today a fellow teacher emailed me to ask if I could send her my materials to help her tutor a student in the subject for which I am the AP teacher at our school.   She is tutoring a non-district student and being paid for her time, probably very well.

There is usually only one AP teacher in a given subject in a school, and we make up all our own materials that fit the curricular requirements.  It is not an easy course to prep for.  Even if I use a pre-made worksheet I'm always tweaking it to fit my needs and those of my students. My course is the result of 14 years of careful thought and consideration, that I created for my own use to teach district students.    Even I don't do private tutoring for out of district AP students because it's very difficult.  

It would be different if she was teaching another section of AP and wanted to look at my materials to get a feel for the course, and I would have no problem sharing to get her started.  Or even if she asked for a particular worksheet on a particular topic.  But she asked for access to my teacher drive, which would be all of my materials. 

If she doesn't have materials to tutor the kid, she shouldn't have agreed to tutor them.  Plus, not for  nothing, I don't think she has the content knowlege to do a good job regardless.   

Am I an asshole for thinking that she's an asshole for even asking?  Obviously I said no.  

[bilgistic]

7 hours ago, janestclair said:

Am I an asshole for thinking that she's an asshole for even asking?  Obviously I said no.  

I only trained in college to teach, which included a semester student teaching (I never got certified to teach after college), but I can tell you unequivocally that no, you are not an asshole for thinking she's an asshole. I know it takes A LOT of work and experience to prepare study/learning materials/activities for students, and she should pay you if she wants TO COLLABORATE with you for your expertise, not steal your work.

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, janestclair said:

Am I an asshole for thinking that she's an asshole for even asking?

I thought I posted this earlier, but apparently not (and that was before I settled in for a night of football and drinking since I'm off tomorrow): 

Not at all; she asked for far too much.  If she's going to take money as a private tutor, she needs to use her own materials -- her take on how to best digest, analyze, and communicate the subject in general, tailored towards the course instructor's teaching of the subject.

So if she was tutoring one of your students and asked for your syllabus so she could properly follow along and guide her/him, fine.  If she, in this out-of-district scenario, asked for, as you said, specific guidance on a discrete area of the subject, fine. 

But "Can I have access to all your materials?"  Not fine.  She wants you to give her your work for free, for which she'll turn around and get paid.

[BookWoman56]

I will echo the “No, you’re not an asshole for thinking this other teacher is an asshole” reaction. I no longer teach, but taught as an adjunct occasionally until a couple of years ago. The expectation for any teacher or tutor is that you use any required materials and supplement those as needed with your own materials. If you’re not willing to do that, then don’t take the job. 

I have shared bits and pieces of my own materials with colleagues on request. But these were instructors who also shared resources with me. I can think of only one occasion when a colleague made a large-scale request like you received, and that was someone who was asked on an emergency basis to teach a course she’d never taught before, which started 2 days later. Also, we were all working for the same university, teaching and tutoring students enrolled in that university. 

With your colleague, if she had shared she was going to be tutoring a non-district student in this particular course/topic, and you volunteered to share your materials, that would have been one thing. But for her to presume on you to just hand over materials you’ve spent years and years developing? No way. She can do her own work, which she’s getting paid for, rather than coasting by using your work. 

Edited September 6, 2019 by BookWoman56

[ABay]

Beyond a doubt, she's an asshole.

[janestclair]

Thanks for validating what I thought. I wasn't sure if I was reacting that way because I honestly don't really like her in general. She's always rubbed me the wrong way because she has a very high opinion of herself and tries to show off.   Good to know my perception of her wasn't affecting my reaction that's she's an asshole for asking.  I also asked an AP colleague who knows her and he agreed as well.      

[funky-rat]

Anyone here good with the "buzzword-y" stuff that people want to know in interviews?  I'm putting feelers out and hoping to get some bites, which would result in my first job interviews in almost 20 years.  The stress level is just too much here anymore.  I haven't had more than 2 days off in a row that didn't also involve a holiday (excluding the time I needed emergency surgery) in TEN YEARS.  It's ELEVEN since I took a full week off.  Other employees can take off, but I can't.  I get denied because I'm too busy.

This is the raw of it:

1) Why do I want to leave? 

I'll never go any further than where I am now.  They no longer promote from within, often creating new jobs and telling us about them after someone has already been hired. 

I have an extremely toxic co-worker who is well liked by those who count, but hated by the rest of us.  She likely drinks on the job, and causes trouble for many of us. 

My network of sales reps are a total joke (independent outside reps - thankfully don't have to share space with them) and the old "Garbage In, Garbage Out" addage is true - I get crap to work with from them.  

Zero work/life balance.  We can't work from home if there's an emergency but we're expected to put in overtime, work weekends, and check our e-mails if we're out.  We get 6 paid holidays a year.  They will give other departments more, because they have partial unemployment claims open, and they'll tell us we can have off too, but we won't get paid.  I often work both weekend days in some capacity.  Three weeks vacation (never any more), zero sick or personal leave.  We're severly restricted as to when we can take it, and even then, you can be turned down.

Mostly crappy benefits.  Our health insurance deductible is so high that we'll never reach it, leaving me with bills I can't pay.  Also doesn't cover prescriptions.  I take some that are $1000 a month, and thankfully get some patient assistance from some drug companies.

Wage is in line with other area employers in terms of job title, but not when compared to the amount of work I do, and they keep heaping on more.  I cannot support my husband and I both on what I make alone (it's not a ton short per month, but it's not enough), and we have very little debt.

I am concerned for the future of the company.  Spending money hand over fist in mind boggling ways, major turn over in management coming (flipping ownership to younger generation), consultants have been in to look at things.

2)  What's good about my current job?

Family owned, and the owners do care when it comes to things like illness, weddings, graduations, etc.

Good retirement plan with large employer contribution.

Good when you have an emergency.  Time off needed for emergencies can be made up.

Will loan you money or allow you to cash out vacation when there are emergencies.

Some decent co-workers.

Very generous bonuses at times based on overall company performance (not guaranteed).

3)  Biggest challenges?

Poor communication between departments.

Pass the buck mentality with inside and outside staff.  So much "It's not my job" stuff.

I've been harassed (not sexually - mostly about being overweight) by two employees in the past, and I don't feel that anything was done about it.  Management apologized, but both employees remained (although they eventually did leave).  ***I'd likely leave this out of any interview, but I figured I'd mention it here***

I get an occasional "Good Job", but for the most part, I feel very underappreciated for the sheer volume of work I handle.  I have tremendous responsibility on my shoulders, and when things go wrong, I get blamed, even if I can prove it's not my fault - they'll just tell me I should have done more to make sure things didn't go wrong.  I feel that no one has my back.

Not being offered any promotions or new job opportunities.  We're now very top-heavy with upper level employees who don't have anywhere near the time in, and aren't super familiar with our challenges, etc.

Having to play nice with people who talk crap about you behind your back, etc.  No one is a team player.  **Again, would llikely leave this out, but figured I'd mention it**

If anyone has any other questions that might help, I'll be happy to provide info.  They don't know I'm looking, so I have to keep it hush-hush.

[ABay]

Buzzwords vary by profession but I can offer a little bit of advice as someone who just served on a search committee: emphasize that you're looking for the opportunities the new place offers for you for professional growth and how your current skills are what they need. Do not speak badly about your current place of employment, including the toxic co-workers. You're running to the other place, not away from where you are. And you never know who knows who.

[MargeGunderson]

@funky-rat, I find Ask a Manager to be really helpful. She has advice on resumes, cover letters, how to prepare for an interview, and answers to tough questions. Good luck!

ETA - I swear I don’t have any connection to Ask a Manager. I thought I was in the Counting On small talk forum, not this one. It’s been a long week....

Edited September 7, 2019 by MargeGunderson

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, ABay said:

I can offer a little bit of advice as someone who just served on a search committee: emphasize that you're looking for the opportunities the new place offers for you for professional growth and how your current skills are what they need. Do not speak badly about your current place of employment, including the toxic co-workers. You're running to the other place, not away from where you are. And you never know who knows who.

@funky-rat, I second this.  Of all the negatives you listed here, the only two I'd bring up in an interview are that there is no opportunity for you to advance any further than your current position and that significant recent and upcoming changes make the company's future uncertain.  That explains why you'd leave a company after 20 years, and with that out of the way you move on to all you'll bring to the new company on day one and how you want to continue learning and growing from there.

[magicdog]

12 hours ago, funky-rat said:

1) Why do I want to leave? 

I feel like I've gone about as far as I could go in that job and I'm looking for a new challenge in my career.

Quote

 2)  What's good about my current job?

Speak positively about the job.  Tell them how as much as you learned from your previous employers it was a fulfilling experience.  **NEVER** badmouth past employers or coworkers - no matter how much they suck!  Be the one who takes the high road.

12 hours ago, funky-rat said:

3)  Biggest challenges?

To learn something new, push myself to my limit, see how far I can climb.

My preferred answer to when they ask, "What do you think are your biggest weaknesses?" I usually respond thus:

"I push myself a bit too hard sometimes"

"I'm a perfectionist - I like to get things right the first time"

"I tend to see everything a a challenge"

[Browncoat]

I'll offer this advice as well -- do not rely on spell check for your cover letter, resume, application, or anything written you send in.  Proofread, proofread, proofread.  "Costumer service" is not the same thing as "Customer service" (true thing I just got on an application, repeated on the person's resume three additional times!). 

Also be professional with your cover letter.  You can be professional and chatty, but don't be too familiar and casual.  Another one I recently read said things like, "Hey, I'm really good with llama fur spinning, but you wanna go to the barn?  I'm great with llama grooming, too!  I'm all about the hoof trimming and stall cleaning!"  (I may have changed some words, but the general tone and use of exclamation points are true -- and makes me not want to move forward with that applicant regardless of experience.)

[funky-rat]

Thanks everyone.  Yeah, I know better than to badmouth - this is a small area - and I went through this with my husband more times than I care to think about in the last 2 years, after he lost his good, long-term job at a company that became highly toxic in short order after bringing a new abusive manager onboard.  Knocking wood until my knuckles are bloody that he's done with the search for a good long time.

I was looking for ways to "positively spin" the reasons I wanted out, and was already leaning toward "No room for advancement/growth" but wanted to be sure I wasn't missing out on anything that might help.

I will check out the "Ask A Manager" site as well.  Thanks again!  Hopefully onward and upward.

[auntlada]

I also recommend the book, "60 Seconds and You're Hired."

[Nordly Beaumont]

6 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I'll offer this advice as well -- do not rely on spell check for your cover letter, resume, application, or anything written you send in.  Proofread, proofread, proofread.  "Costumer service" is not the same thing as "Customer service" (true thing I just got on an application, repeated on the person's resume three additional times!). 

I once saw a resume that said - "Great attention to deatail" -- still makes me laugh. A friend of mine had me proofread his resume - he had his phone number wrong! So yeah, you can't have to many proofreaders.

[BookWoman56]

My general advice for a cover letter and interview is to focus as much as possible on how your skills and experience align with the new position, and how you can provide a benefit to them. If they ask why you are looking, spin it as you are ready to take on new challenges. This may sound cynical, but hiring managers do not give a flying fuck about what the new job will do for you; they care about what you can do for them. When they ask why you’re in the job market, all they care about is that you not bash your current or previous employer and that you don’t reveal yourself to be job-shopping for what they perceive as non-legit reasons (boredom, tension with colleagues, etc.). 

What may seem to you as neutral comments about your current situation can be perceived the wrong way. For example, when I recently hired someone, we had a panel interview. My preferred candidate mentioned that one reason she was looking was that she had been in a senior role, with another senior person and a junior person. The other senior person retired and the junior person was out on an extended medical leave, but management had decided to switch the open senior position to a different role entirely, and not to bring in a contract person for the junior role out on a leave of at least 6 months. I appreciated her candor but had to defend her to the other interviewers, who interpreted her comments as bashing her manager. So, I had to remind them that she did not in fact criticize her manager but instead stated that as a result of the situation, she was now the sole person handling the workload that had previously been divided among 3 people. I did hire this candidate and she’s doing great, but at least one of the other interviewers would have dropped her from consideration just because of those remarks. 

[Bastet]

This reminds me of that old "Dear Sir or Madman?" commercial, which I am annoyed that I cannot find online.  The actor's line delivery when the wife reads her husband's error was perfect.

Make sure the person/people you ask to proofread your resume(s) and cover letter(s) once you think they're ready to go have the grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills to actually help you; it's no use to, for example, hand it to your husband because he's closest to you, if having your phone number wrong is the only kind of error he'd catch.

6 hours ago, funky-rat said:

I was looking for ways to "positively spin" the reasons I wanted out, and was already leaning toward "No room for advancement/growth" but wanted to be sure I wasn't missing out on anything that might help.

That's going to be a pretty short part of the interview; prospective employers want to know why you're looking to leave, especially when you've been with the company a long time, but they want something simple; they just want to see it's not a "wrong" reason for leaving and you don't sit there and criticize you boss and co-workers.  It's more a test to see what you don't say rather than there being much importance placed on what you do say.

[funky-rat]

18 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

I once saw a resume that said - "Great attention to deatail" -- still makes me laugh. A friend of mine had me proofread his resume - he had his phone number wrong! So yeah, you can't have to many proofreaders.

When I did my husband's resume, I put "Attention To Detail" at the top, on a "punchlist" of his skills (becasue of certain challenges, he has a non-traditional resume - this was recommended by his counselors at OVR and Unemployment).  The bad thing is that I put it on there twice.  A number of people got that resume before I noticed it.....

[ParadoxLost]

The finance people at my company have no understanding that doing something isn't as easy as moving something into a different column in a spreadsheet.

[BookWoman56]

There is a special place in the hell I don’t believe in for people who set up work meetings for first thing in the morning, with essentially no notice. I normally start work at 8:30, give or take 5 minutes. I always check my calendar just before I log off for the day, just to make sure I don’t have any early meetings that might require me to start work a little earlier than normal. Yesterday I was last online for work around 10pm, and my first meeting for today was scheduled for 11:30am. This morning I logged in right at 8:30, to discover I was supposed to be in a meeting with someone who had sent the meeting invite at 6:30am today.  This person then proceeded to be in a snit because I was “late” for her meeting. On top of that, the reason we’re meeting at all is because this person needs to be bailed out on a project for which she and her colleagues are seriously behind schedule. Fortunately most of the people I work with are not like this, but this behavior is typical of this person. I have talked to my manager about the situation as a whole, and post-project there will be some serious discussion about how this particular person and team need to get their shit together. 

[magicdog]

 Something happened to me at work last night and i'd like your opinions as to whether or not I'm making an emotional mountain out of a molehill:

I came into work at the usual time and ran into a co-worker (a reporter) who was on his way out of the office as his shift just ended.  We had discussed previously a story idea I had suggested a few weeks ago but hadn't heard back about it.  I casually asked if he was still interested in it.  He said (paraphrasing), "Look, it's been a lousy day, I've been on the job for 12 hours and I just want to go home."  

Honestly, I felt hurt and thought it was rather rude of him.  I wasn't asking for a meeting or anything - if he was in such a hurry to go home all he had to say was, "Shoot me an e-mail and I'll try pitching it at the next meeting." and I would have been fine with that.

I don't blame people for wanting to go home after work - even if you've had a good day at work.  What is it with the rudeness of people today?  Worse still this happened in front of another co-worker (another reporter on the same shift - she was waiting to walk out with him and just stood there).  

The whole thing left me with a cloud over my head the whole night.  Yes, I've  been treated poorly before, but this really got to me.  Heaven knows how many times I've been stopped on my way out of the office and asked about something but I never behaved that way.  I took the time to listen and answer.

Edited September 10, 2019 by magicdog

[theredhead77]

@magicdog if you've never had a negative encounter with this person or they're generally not a jerk I would try not to take it personally (easier said than done, I know). He could have gotten some really bad news, or got written up, or something you're not privy to that obviously put him in a seriously bad mood.

If you're on otherwise good terms with him a friendly check-in to see if everything is OK in a few days would open the door for him to apologize and for you to follow up.

I'm sorry that happened, it would have put a damper on my night and bummed me out, too.

[ParadoxLost]

I don't like to vent about work.  It just makes it harder to clear my mind.

I was going to leave you all a compilation video of animals screaming to vent my frustration.  Beavers, goats, cats, rabbits, frogs.

But then I got to the end and the video panned down from the second to last animal and I realized it was turtle porn.

I'm assuming turtle porn is against some kind of rule.  So no video for you.

My mind is clear of work frustration now.

[theredhead77]

2 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

My mind is clear of work frustration now.

Because of turtle porn?