A Case Of The Mondays: Vent Your Work Spleen Here

[bilgistic]

It's not uncommon here in the South for people to list on their resumes and corporate bios that they are "active in church". It's always read to me as "holier than thou".

[riley702]

21 hours ago, BookWoman56 said:

That's why conventional wisdom now is that if you're over 40, for your resume don't include work history that's more than 10 years old. 

I've worked at the same place for the past 35 years. *big grin*

[BookWoman56]

With the religious affiliation being listed on the resume, it usually hasn't been simply stating that the person attends Church ABC, but something more like "Taught Sunday school at Church ABC" or something similar.  Others have done as @bilgistic noted, and stated they were active in church. The only student who ever went off on me about it, when I inserted a comment on his resume to remove the church reference, was a guy from California who immediately assumed I was giving him that advice based on "political correctness." After I walked him through the notion that a hiring manager who was of a different faith or no faith at all might then show some bias against hiring someone because of that applicant's religious affiliation, he apologized. Still to me, even having grown up in the South, there is no way in hell I would list any church affiliation or activities on a resume, assuming I had any, which my atheist self assuredly does not. Why open the door to possible discrimination? A few years ago my former asshat manager did a formal interview with me for a position while I was still a contractor, which included one of his team leads to participate in the formal interview as well. Then within 24 hours he had called me to ask my religious affiliation. I knew as soon as I got that question that he wasn't going to hire me for that position, and in fact he hired someone he knew from his church, who stayed a grand total of 8 months before moving on to something else entirely. The manager did hire me when I was approaching the 18-month limit for being a contractor, but that was primarily because he needed me to handle a very large project. He made it clear on several occasions that he disapproved of my lack of religious belief. I don't advise anyone to advertise his/her religious affiliation or lack thereof on a resume, as IMO it's not professional, but I was not willing to lie about it to this manager just for the sake of landing a job.

@riley702, congrats on the longevity of your job at one company. The longest I've ever stayed with one company was 8 years, and it was a major shock to me when I began interviewing elsewhere, to get asked, "Why did you stay so long with Company XYZ? Were you not ambitious enough to look around?" I grew up in an era where it was considered a desirable thing to stay with the same company for your entire career, so that attitude was a reality check for me. The first time that issue came up, I blurted out something to the effect that I had stayed because they had promoted me every two years, so I had felt my career was advancing. That job is almost ancient history now, but I did finally come up with a smoother version than "They dangled promotions and higher salaries in front of me every couple of years, and so I caved rather than going elsewhere."

[bilgistic]

This is going to sound super petty and whiny.

My sister has been working for eight years for a bistro/bakery (think Dean & Deluca) in Los Angeles. She lives just outside of Augusta, Georgia, so she works from home. She flies out there to check in and meet up maybe once a quarter. Her role is HR manager, payroll and executive support for the management.

She texted tonight that she is starting to job search. The CFO was fired last week. She said her boss, who is the CEO and GM, I think, sounds like he is one foot out the door, and she knows that if he's gone, she'll lose her job because she's not in L.A. He "brought her with him" from a previous restaurant-management venture.

I doubt she's going to make what she's making now, but I didn't get into it, because there's no need. As I mentioned, she lives just outside of Augusta, which despite the Masters, is pretty inexpensive living. She's been making L.A. wages, more or less.

She's also been at her job eight years, which is a lifetime in today's job market. She's gotten big bonuses and raises.

She worked in restaurants as wait staff in high school and (less than) one year of college, and then worked up to management. She ended up with the first iteration of this management group that went in and set up new restaurants and trained their staff. That morphed into what she does now, which has been overall about 10 years, maybe. She's 40, three years younger than me.

I've struggled to talk with her over the years about my work frustrations because she doesn't fathom what it's like to work in a soul-crushing office, and she talks to me from the point of view of an HR rep.

She said, "Last week was my 8 yr anniversary. It was only recognized by a few of the newer Managers, no one who has been around longer than 6 months. Not that I expected fanfare, but an email or phone call would have been nice." I wanted to say that my three-year anniversary came and went with not so much as a grunt in my direction. On my second, I mentioned it was my anniversary, and I got a nasty retort from my boss. But I didn't.

My point in all this is that she's had it very, very well, and most companies don't give two shits about employees anymore. I do really hope she finds something that will be good for her, but things are likely to change dramatically in her life if/when she has to work in an office. She will very likely no longer be able to pick up her 10-year-old daughter at school in the afternoon.

Yes, I've been very envious of her work situation (if you couldn't tell already). If I had been able to work in an environment in which I was comfortable (home/quiet), perhaps I could've thrived in my previous roles.

I ended up just telling her I was sorry about the job situation and wished her luck in her search.

My feelings are also tied up in my mental health right now and the fact that I can't currently work while I am planning/executing a treatment plan with my doctor(s). Exactly zero-point-zero people in my family have asked me about it. They know the situation. They know I'm alone. I'm veering off-topic.

As I said, I was going to be whiny. I just needed to vent.

[MargeGunderson]

I have an undergraduate degree in religious studies and a master's in theological studies, so no way for me to leave it off of my resume. I've never had anyone ask about it (maybe because I live in a large metro area in the NE) but people have mentioned it after I've been hired. One manager said it was a topic of conversation before I was hired, because the team wondered if I would be a good fit with their irreverent culture. (The funny thing is I'm not religious at all, I was coming at the subject from a philosophical/historical/social perspective.) So, I think it's important to know the audience for your resume when including religious details. 

@BookWoman56, it's great that you are helping your students with resumes and job search. When I taught graduate students who would be moving into a practical field I tried to bring in a lot of real world scenarios to help prepare them. It was kind of funny how often they assumed that people would just automatically do exactly what you told them. We talked a lot about why people wouldn't follow policies, etc. and how to deal with it. Have you recommended Ask A Manager to your students?  I've found good advice about resumes, cover letters, job searches, etc. but also about being new to the workplace. There are so many things that I'm aware of that I take for granted that wouldn't be obvious to people new to the workforce - like why you still need to be at work on time even if you are a salaried employee.

@bilgistic, vent away.  

[emma675]

bilgistic, that's what we're here for.

She's in for a rude awakening. Her job sounds like a dream and I'd be hanging on like grim death until they forced me out. LA salary outside of California?? I'd kill for that.

[Mindthinkr]

@bilgistic Sounds like you are lacking a little empathy in your life. By the sounds of your work History you know all to well that your sister may find a great new job but have to work in a toxic environment. You are caring and at least will be able to “feel” for her situation. It might be that they just don’t understand the day to day of hard things have been for you and that last job really hurt..and set you back a bit. Just please keep going on and doing what is best for you. 

Non-creepy virtual hug

[DeLurker]

6 hours ago, bilgistic said:

She said, "Last week was my 8 yr anniversary. It was only recognized by a few of the newer Managers, no one who has been around longer than 6 months. Not that I expected fanfare, but an email or phone call would have been nice."

Other issues aside and not comparing it to your own experience, this is just an odd notion.  In my experience, 5/10/+ year anniversaries get recognized at a corporate or a direct management level - not globally.  As an HR person, she may be more tied into these anniversary dates, but I can't believe the rest of the operational and administrative departments are in the least.

Vent away!

[GHScorpiosRule]

@bilgistic I FEEL YOUR PAIN. And I'm trying not to feel envious or petty, either. I'm really good at what I do, and it frustrates me to no end, that I haven't been able to find a "home" where I can work and use my skills and love for the field. The last place I worked full-time, out and out LIED about what the job would entail and about the support I would have. Meaning, I, and I alone, would be supporting over 20 attorneys, with no help from anyone else. And I was expected to be perfect and make NO MISTAKES WHATSOEVER. Which is fucking unreasonable.  I try not to whine too much here, because then memories of people/friends telling me I "look for pity and it's not attractive" come rushing back. I think that's why I internalize so much. And when I was diagnosed, decided to use humor as an outlet, you know? But PM me and we can bitch/whine/complain/be petty together.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Well. Guess what? I just received an email from the one firm who I had two phone calls with, and I thought they had jettisoned me, but they want to move to the next step, and asked if I was still interested and willing to interview.

So, can you keep the good vibes coming? 

[theredhead77]

I just got off the call with a team who does what I do but in a different part of the country. We're trying to streamline their processes into ours because ours are much easier. Upon hearing my process the admin and her manager both went on a tangent that one of the steps was ILLEGAL and ILLEGAL and AGAINST THE LAW (it's not).

When I asked for a source she sent me a link to Wikipedia.

::headdesk:::

[GHScorpiosRule]

5 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

I just got off the call with a team who does what I do but in a different part of the country. We're trying to streamline their processes into ours because ours are much easier. Upon hearing my process the admin and her manager both went on a tangent that one of the steps was ILLEGAL and ILLEGAL and AGAINST THE LAW (it's not).

When I asked for a source she sent me a link to Wikipedia.

::headdesk:::

      

[theredhead77]

21 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Well. Guess what? I just received an email from the one firm who I had two phone calls with, and I thought they had jettisoned me, but they want to move to the next step, and asked if I was still interested and willing to interview.

So, can you keep the good vibes coming? 

WAHOOO!!!!!!!!!

[emma675]

Go, GHScorpiosRule, go!!

[GHScorpiosRule]

46 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

WAHOOO!!!!!!!!!

I know, right?

37 minutes ago, emma675 said:

Go, GHScorpiosRule, go!!

And now I'm waiting for an email with dates and times. All I got back after saying yes, still interested, was "thank you." BAH!

Yes, yes, I shouldn't be impatient. But it's HARD. But I'm not depending on this one, either. Still looking and applying, applying, applying.

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Well. Guess what? I just received an email from the one firm who I had two phone calls with, and I thought they had jettisoned me, but they want to move to the next step, and asked if I was still interested and willing to interview.

So, can you keep the good vibes coming? 

Excellent!  I hope it works out the way you want.

In my search, I had a couple of interviews a few weeks ago on a position with a large financial services organization.  The position was similar to what I used to do, but in a different area of the company.  Had a call with HR, then with the hiring manager a couple of days later.  It seemed to go well, but they ended up passing, as they had a couple of candidates with more relevant experience.  The HR lady did say they are looking to add a large number of jobs in the next few months, so I should keep an eye on their listings.  I was supposed to have a call today (right now, in fact) with another financial services place.  Sounds similar to what I've been doing, but I think it is a lower level than where I have been.  He e-mailed to see if we could move it to tomorrow afternoon, but I'm off to Florida first thing in the morning, not back until Monday night.  I'll see what he comes back with.  I'm not sure it's really a position I want, but I'm glad to be getting some calls - when I was out of work in 2008+, it was rare to even get an acknowledgement of an application, never mind an interview.

[DeLurker]

19 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

when I was out of work in 2008+, it was rare to even get an acknowledgement of an application, never mind an interview.

That was a horrible period of time to be looking for work - my brother tried to talk his son who graduated from college in 2008 to apply to grad school just because the entire job market was doing so poorly.

For those of you looking, best of luck!

[BookWoman56]

5 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

@BookWoman56, it's great that you are helping your students with resumes and job search. When I taught graduate students who would be moving into a practical field I tried to bring in a lot of real world scenarios to help prepare them. It was kind of funny how often they assumed that people would just automatically do exactly what you told them. We talked a lot about why people wouldn't follow policies, etc. and how to deal with it. Have you recommended Ask A Manager to your students?  I've found good advice about resumes, cover letters, job searches, etc. but also about being new to the workplace. There are so many things that I'm aware of that I take for granted that wouldn't be obvious to people new to the workforce - like why you still need to be at work on time even if you are a salaried employee.  

To clarify, I'm not helping with resumes and job search on my own time; the online course I teach is for effective workplace writing, and includes a week in which the students have to write a resume, cover letter, and follow-up letter. So giving constructive feedback on the resume is part of my job. That said, I've been told by both students and classroom observers that I provide much more detailed feedback on written assignments than most instructors do. The rest of the course is focused on the types of writing they would typically have to do in the workplace, such as emails, reports, short proposals, etc. I enjoy it because the students can clearly see the benefits of learning how to write different types of materials. 

Of course, there are the head-banging moments. In the assignment that includes a cover letter, one student spent most of the cover letter emphasizing his attendance record and punctuality, with zero discussion of the skills he presumably had that would be used in the position he was seeking.  I gave him feedback on that problem, noting that focusing on attendance and punctuality made it seem as if that would be the only thing he would bring to the table. He messaged me to say,  "Wow, that's exactly what my manager told me when I was applying for a promotion, that I needed to explain what my skills were and how I could use them in a higher position, instead of just talking about how I had never missed a day. I didn't get the promotion." And I'm thinking to myself, "Okay, you got this feedback from your own manager and didn't get the promotion you wanted because you approached it the wrong way, but you still did this assignment using an approach you had already been told was problematic IRL. Glad the light bulb finally turned on for you."

@bilgistic, your sister is probably in for a rude awakening, but if she interviews at some places with obviously bad hiring managers, she might get a little insight into why you were so unhappy in your previous workplace hell.

[riley702]

4 hours ago, DeLurker said:

In my experience, 5/10/+ year anniversaries get recognized at a corporate or a direct management level - not globally. 

Ditto. We get a couple-page catalog on our 5 yr anniversaries to select a gift. Most are cheap. There are a lot of watches, clocks, and jewelry with an added tag with the company logo - umm, hell no, I'm not doing free advertising for you! For my 35 year catalog, one of my choices was a trolling motor for a boat, which made me laugh and laugh. They also had a lot of kitchen appliances, which, if you've worked there that long, you already have. So, no, I don't need a toaster, hand mixer or slow cooker. I finally just got a new Kindle.

Edited March 14, 2018 by riley702

[theredhead77]

My former boss liked to find excuses to go out to lunch on the company dime so he acknowledged my 1 and 2 year anniversary so we could go to lunch. It was a department of me, so it really wasn't anything that would hit someone's radar. Other managers would have celebrations with cake, balloons and a certificate every year. Their dept morale was super low and that was her way of trying to raise it.

 My new boss sent me a certificate and a company branded coffee travel mug (that is sitting on my bookcase). I don't know if that's standard for every year or if he was trying to make me feel extra appreciated since my transition was a bit bumpy.

The shitty company with the shitty boss I worked for prior to this job did the catalog thing for anniversaries. My shitty boss had it sitting on his desk for nearly a month, I knew it was there but didn't say anything. One day his boss stopped by to ask me what I decided on and I said I had no idea what he was talking about. About an hour later my shitty boss comes by and literally drops  it on my desk with a grumbly happy anniversary, thank you for your service. I did pick out a nice set of OXO Pop storage containers I still use.

[JTMacc99]

2 hours ago, riley702 said:

Ditto. We get a couple-page catalog on our 5 yr anniversaries to select a gift. Most are cheap.

We get a little 5 year award a $100 Amex gift card. Nothing for 10 and then like a $500 watch at 15 years. 

[DeLurker]

2 hours ago, riley702 said:

We get a couple-page catalog on our 5 yr anniversaries to select a gift

I picked the Gerber Multi-tool with sheath.  It is actually pretty awesome.  I keep it handy in the kitchen and always in my glove box when traveling by car.  Plus you got an extra week of paid vacation for every 5 years.  That was pretty sweet.

[auntlada]

We got a choice of stuff like plaques or pens or something, I don't even remember what, but they were all relatively inexpensive ($30, maybe) and nothing I wanted. So I told HR I didn't want anything and to save the money, since we are in a budget crunch anyway.

[bilgistic]

Thanks, y'all. ♥️

[bilgistic]

6 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

I just got off the call with a team who does what I do but in a different part of the country. We're trying to streamline their processes into ours because ours are much easier. Upon hearing my process the admin and her manager both went on a tangent that one of the steps was ILLEGAL and ILLEGAL and AGAINST THE LAW (it's not).

When I asked for a source she sent me a link to Wikipedia.

::headdesk:::

The last two people I worked for think it's just fine to use Wikipedia 1) as a source and 2) to plagiarize from it.

It's almost like research doesn't exist.

[Hero]

My manager got on my last nerve today. She always makes me feel so stupid when I don't do something correctly right away, when it is my first time doing it  

[emma675]

My previous job had a similar catalog for 5, 10, 15 year anniversaries. I once seriously considered asking for the cash equivalent, but everything to choose from was so crappy I probably only would have gotten $5 at most.

[SuprSuprElevated]

9 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Well. Guess what? I just received an email from the one firm who I had two phone calls with, and I thought they had jettisoned me, but they want to move to the next step, and asked if I was still interested and willing to interview.

So, can you keep the good vibes coming? 

Good luck!

[backformore]

On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 1:31 PM, BookWoman56 said:

Yes, if you actively volunteer in some worthy cause, it's okay to list it, but most hiring managers are going to care more about whether you have the skill set to do the job than about which charitable organizations you volunteer for. Okay, I will now climb back down from my "Stuff not to put on your resume" soapbox.

My sons are both Eagle Scouts.   They were told, by the Eagle Scout organization, that including it on a resume was a good idea, so they did.  When my oldest was graduating college, his advisor laughed at the idea and told him to take it off, that it was juvenile.  He left it on anyway, and his brother did the same when he was job hunting.  Both boys, when interviewing for jobs, got positive comments about it from people who knew what an accomplishment it was. (only 1% of boys entering scouts end up with Eagle rank, and it shows a high level of leadership skills).  Though I imagine it might look pertinent only when you're looking for your first job out of college. 

[BookWoman56]

@backformore, yes, when you're first getting out of college, something like being an Eagle Scout can be useful on a resume to help make you stand out from the other recent college grads, but at the same time, a hiring manager who is not familiar with what's required to become an Eagle Scout would probably not care about it.  Other activities, awards, and so forth can also be useful on the resume, but as the person advances in his/her career, the nature of those awards would likely change. For example, my daughter is still in college, but she's getting some resume fodder with a few leadership positions in academic groups/clubs, so when she goes into the job market after graduating, her resume shows that she's had leadership experience. But after the first one or two jobs post-college, that sort of thing would need to be updated to awards/accomplishments received on the job. That is, receiving an innovation award for some good idea  you developed at work a couple of years ago is much more relevant to most hiring managers than having been president of the college historical society five or six years ago. 

[backformore]

And I will NOT put the date I graduated college, or the year I got my master's degree.   All I need is for the person reading my resume to think, "damn!  she graduated the year I was born!"  

[JTMacc99]

5 hours ago, backformore said:

And I will NOT put the date I graduated college, or the year I got my master's degree.   All I need is for the person reading my resume to think, "damn!  she graduated the year I was born!"  

I took those dates off of my resume as well. Of course I forget that a quick look at LinkedIn will reveal those dates to anyone with a tiny bit of initiative. 

I forgot to mention that my company also gives us a $35 gift card to the cafeteria in our building for our birthday every year. Us February people should be getting ours any day now. 

[riley702]

I get the occasional parent who will ask me how long I've worked at the hospital and then say, Wow! I wasn't even born then!" I usually sigh and shake my head and say something like, "Yep, older than dirt." Most will then apologize. We do get the occasional teen parent who will snottily ask how long we've been doing this, and we've all admitted wanting to snot right back, "Longer than you've been alive, missy!" One coworker looked at her watch, then did a fake double-take and said, "Oh! You didn't mean just today?" Fortunately, the family thought that was funny,

[theredhead77]

Instead of a vending machine our break room vending is like a small market place with a kiosk to pay at (it's not nearly as big as it sounds). You can create an account that you fund, use a card or pay cash. I won't create an account and I try not to use my card for small purchases, so I go to pay cash for a candy bar. It's $1.07 for a Twix. My issue isn't that a candy bar is a buck, whatever, I'll pay that if I really want it. The machine doesn't give change. Thanks for saving me 250 calories sketchy vending company.

[bilgistic]

Wait, so if you have two dollar bills, it won't give you back $0.93? But I assume it takes change since the price is $1.07?

[announcergirl]

On 8/24/2015 at 6:57 PM, Proclone said:

 

I just want to make it clear, that the being called "girl," and being asked to fix IT issues are really two separate issues for me.  Patients are really the only ones who have ever referred to me as "girl."  It's usually older patients (and both men and woman do it), but when they're with it enough to know better it still irks me.  I did get called a "good girl," once by a (female) co-worker.  She got a death glare and told not to call me a girl in response.  I unfortunately can't do that with patients.

 

I actually think the assumption that I know something about IT issues, actually stems not from my sex, but rather from my age.  I'm younger than most of co-workers, so they assume I know how to work/fix computers.  But you are right, it's not really a matter at this point of wanting or not wanting to helpful to my co-workers.  I do very much want to help my co-workers and if I am not busy doing my actual job I am still willing to help them.  The co-worker I mentioned in my post picked the busiest time of day to ask me (and he knew it).  He expected me to drop everything to help him because he needed help.  Giving me a token "I know you're not a secretary anymore..." doesn't change the fact that he thought his issue with the computer was more important than what I was doing.

 

To be honest this was an issue I knew was coming when I decided to stay at my current hospital as a nurse.  It's going to take sometime until my co-workers stop seeing me as their secretary and start seeing me as a fellow nurse.

I think you are perfectly within your rights to feel frustrated with both these issues. I also understand why. The IT thing is a no-no. Fix your own damn computer. Figure it out dude or dudette!

[announcergirl]

On 1/30/2018 at 7:50 PM, Petunia13 said:

Thanks guys! It's a totally different field so I hope I like the work and the people! 

At my job I'm leaving I mentioned my assistant is rude, lazy, insubordinate, ect. It started immediately and I thought some it may have been jealousy I have a higher title and pay though I'm younger and have been with the organization less time. Also she seems a bit irrational in general (sometimes has outbursts or even may drink). However she hangs out with the one girl gossiping and whispering on the job and goofing off. This girl works in a dept tangential to ours. One day they said to me "No offense, but you don't look white." I explained well I'm not. 

During the holidays whenever I made a request about Hanukkah or Kwanza displays and merchandise they'd smirk or say a weird remark like they forgot to do it "being white girls" (um wtf?) or giggling "who cares?" I was annoyed but didn't think anything deeper. But recently, without me bringing it up, some people in other departments (meat, produce) that are black or Latino mentioned them staring at them creepily or "ewww" faces at them or making dicey comments like to one that "they all look the same" 

This crap really grosses me out. 

Going through issues with subordinate now. I’m not white either and I’m female. Obviously this is no bueno. I’m Black. Unfortunately he has my supervisors snowed. After two and a half years there busting my ass to be great, they are listening to this guy. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

So I got an email this morning. Two of the group's attorney's aren't available to meet with me, but am I available to talk with one of the partners/Manager of the practice group this Thursday? OF COURSE I AM! But I respond professionally, yes I am. Just got the confirmation, and the recruiting manager asks if I have any questions.

My initial reaction is no. But then I pause and think. So I ask: if there will be other interviews, face-to-face with the two that weren't available this week? He responds that if Partner/Manager thinks I should "move forward," then yes, I will meet with the whole team.

Progress.

I've read his profile on LinkedIn, but I know what I need to do: convince him they need not look any further, and that I am the best person for this job. Fingers crossed. And I'll be doing some additional due diligence and refreshing my memory of what they're looking for.

[emma675]

You got this, GHScorpiosRule! As someone who's recently done a boatload of interviews, your preparation plan sounds good.

[theredhead77]

On 3/15/2018 at 10:24 PM, bilgistic said:

Wait, so if you have two dollar bills, it won't give you back $0.93? But I assume it takes change since the price is $1.07?

I looked, it doesn't even take change! I need to Google this company and see what their angle is. Clearly there is a reason they have such odd change numbers and it I can't imagine it's just to steal from for people who pay cash.

[bilgistic]

6 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

I looked, it doesn't even take change! I need to Google this company and see what their angle is. Clearly there is a reason they have such odd change numbers and it I can't imagine it's just to steal from for people who pay cash.

I'm invested in this and need to know the outcome. Please report back with the results of your research.

[biakbiak]

10 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

it I can't imagine it's just to steal from for people who pay cash.

I can; however it's most likely to just strongly discorage using cash because it is more expensive and time consuming for thwm to process than using a card or creating an account.

Edited March 19, 2018 by biakbiak

[GHScorpiosRule]

Just finished my telephone interview and it went very well; the partner just had one question really--to explain the bad luck I've had with keeping jobs, and he said the reasons I provided (all beyond my control) were reasonable and the answers I provided helped. And he basically said  this could have happened to anyone. And he left it as the next step is to meet with the team. so FINGERS CROSSED! He still said "next steps." So that's good, right?

He asked if I had any questions, and I asked what a typical day was like in that particular practice group--not that there is any typical day for paralegals who work in litigation. He's the Partner--team leader I guess you could say, but he couldn't describe one! Then I said that if the firm decided to bring me in for interview (not making any assumptions just because he was satisfied with the answers I provided) with the rest of the team, they could probably be more specific, but that I typically find, any questions I may have, with respect to the work, tend to come up after being hired. That's when you get a sense of the job. But I ended with basically marketing myself.

On another note, I got an email from the one staffing agency that...well "ghosted" me, and when I conducted a survey two weeks ago, where they asked how I felt about them, I went all SCORCHED EARTH (but maintained professionalism) and revealed how the DC office has treated me for the past year--that none of the recruiters I'd spoken with could bother to return a phone call or email, yet kept posting jobs on LinkedIn, and when I would apply, wouldn't even get responses to that. I also said the PREVIOUS two recruiters who used to work there, but no longer do, made sure I interviewed consistently and marketed me aggressively.  Color me shocked that someone reached out to me about that, and informed me someone would get in touch.

So, when I got the most recent email, it wasn't about that, but about a new career opportunity to actually work for this agency, but as a consultant with this guy. I didn't respond because it sounded like I would be a recruiter now? And that's NOT what I want at all. It's not; it's something different, and I'd still be able to utilize and apply my paralegal skills. I'm meeting with him tomorrow to discuss this in more depth.

And THEN I had a conversation with lazy ass recruiter at my present contract, and told him it's coming upon a year and he needs to talk with the GC to find out IF they want to make me permanent or keep as a permanent CONTRACTOR.  He knows I'd like to make it permanent. The GC knows this; the people I work with are wondering WHY I haven't been made permanent.  This came about due to the snow storm yesterday. I didn't get any emails from lazy ass or the GC at the company NOT to come in, so yes, I came down to DC. And then got a voicemail from lazy ass, who said he spoke with GC, who said I could work from home. How? the laptop's in the office; I don't get to take it home with me. How would I work from home, if I needed to access files saved on my laptop's C drive? So I worked a half day; but also got to take home this laptop, which is cumbersome and HEAVY and work the remaining hours from there.

I think sometimes GC forgets I'm not permanent, when she thinks I can work from home! We had a conversation last Friday, that I leave the laptop in the office and the company email is not synced to my phone, and maybe I should be able to bring laptop home on Fridays, since that's when the CFO and/or Counsel for the company needs something ASAP, and I don't have to trudge back to the city to do it.

Edited March 22, 2018 by GHScorpiosRule

[hoosier80]

Just so pissed off right now.  The Dip has done it again.  They had another less than stellar annual review from what they told me - which - stupid, don't share with others!  My review was a piece of cake, valued member of team, provides guidance and leadership, etc.   Boss asking me about new initiative, not much about me tbh.   So Dip says oh well I was to do this and that, because I was told I'm the senior member of the team.  Say what?  Bitch, please  Have a seat.  Have a stadium full of seats.  

Every time there's an urgent, critical issue, people come to MY desk to ask ME for help.  They do NOT come to you, and if they mistakenly assume you would know, you fucking ask me.  Then she said well if I'm to be supervisor of xxxx, again - say what?   Supervisor of what exactly?  Not knowing a damned thing?  

Then today, average, run of the mill request comes into our work queue.  I assigned it to myself.  I started work on it, only to go - wtf, someone was updating as I was trying to update.  Keep in mind it was assigned to me.  I finally was like WTF and stopped doing anything.  It still shows under my name.  Yep, Dip reassigned it to herself, didn't tell me a fucking thing.  I finally emailed people asking who in the hell (nicely) had worked on it while it was assigned to me.  Dip is scooping up every request, trying to say oh look how hard I work.  No, it's really look how I hardly work, honey.  Picks up easy shit or if it's not, has to ask me.  Then I get to repeat and repeat and repeat how to do it.

We had a call yesterday and Dip said oh xyz could maybe be added to this process.  No, it cannot, and I stated why.  Well, we could add to list.  Why?  It's not anything that could be streamlined as it's a research/quality review process.  It's basically checking a file by running a query, then comparing.  If anything falls out as a discrepancy, then the BA has to research why any differences.  The legwork cannot be streamlined any more than it is.  It's still looking at products to see why not included or why one is included.   Shows again that Dip does shit and has zero clue what they're doing, just does step 1, 2, 3 but has no clue what the overall process is to accomplish.

So absolutely pissed off.  Stupid bitch.  

[NutMeg]

I'm sill working freelance, which has many perks, but maybe it's time to change.

A friend of mine who's a CV whiz offered to look at mine. I haven't worked on a CV in ages, having been headhunted then going freelance after clients liked my work. I just realised that I never used my CV to get a job, really. Initially, my MBA and where I got it from were all it took to get my feet in the door, and later word of mouth. Now that I want to look into possibly going back to the corporate work, for the first time ever, I'll need that resumé - and I need it to be as solid as it can, which is why I'm deeply amazed at how thoughtful my friend is for her offer.     

[announcergirl]

6 hours ago, hoosier80 said:

Just so pissed off right now.  The Dip has done it again.  They had another less than stellar annual review from what they told me - which - stupid, don't share with others!  My review was a piece of cake, valued member of team, provides guidance and leadership, etc.   Boss asking me about new initiative, not much about me tbh.   So Dip says oh well I was to do this and that, because I was told I'm the senior member of the team.  Say what?  Bitch, please  Have a seat.  Have a stadium full of seats.  

Every time there's an urgent, critical issue, people come to MY desk to ask ME for help.  They do NOT come to you, and if they mistakenly assume you would know, you fucking ask me.  Then she said well if I'm to be supervisor of xxxx, again - say what?   Supervisor of what exactly?  Not knowing a damned thing?  

Then today, average, run of the mill request comes into our work queue.  I assigned it to myself.  I started work on it, only to go - wtf, someone was updating as I was trying to update.  Keep in mind it was assigned to me.  I finally was like WTF and stopped doing anything.  It still shows under my name.  Yep, Dip reassigned it to herself, didn't tell me a fucking thing.  I finally emailed people asking who in the hell (nicely) had worked on it while it was assigned to me.  Dip is scooping up every request, trying to say oh look how hard I work.  No, it's really look how I hardly work, honey.  Picks up easy shit or if it's not, has to ask me.  Then I get to repeat and repeat and repeat how to do it.

We had a call yesterday and Dip said oh xyz could maybe be added to this process.  No, it cannot, and I stated why.  Well, we could add to list.  Why?  It's not anything that could be streamlined as it's a research/quality review process.  It's basically checking a file by running a query, then comparing.  If anything falls out as a discrepancy, then the BA has to research why any differences.  The legwork cannot be streamlined any more than it is.  It's still looking at products to see why not included or why one is included.   Shows again that Dip does shit and has zero clue what they're doing, just does step 1, 2, 3 but has no clue what the overall process is to accomplish.

So absolutely pissed off.  Stupid bitch.  

So what happened once you mentioned she was working in your file?

[announcergirl]

On 12/7/2015 at 8:03 AM, DeLurker said:

My Dad always said "We all rise to our own level of incompetence".

The Peter Principle. A book.

[Bastet]

17 hours ago, announcergirl said:

The Peter Principle. A book.

Yep, and, coincidentally, also the subject of a clue on Jeopardy! this week.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Bastet

[backformore]

I'm going to vent here.

A co-worker, one I haven't known very long did something that bugged me. It was our down time, I was packing up to leave, she was waiting for an appointment.  She said she wanted me to listen to a song. Whatever.  She was very insistent, so I said sure. She's saying "isn't this a pretty song, oh I love this song so much, it's so sad. I know you lost your mom, this song is so special."

WTF.  She knows my mother died, but she knows nothing about my relationship with my mom.  she's got me cornered, listening to a song about a guy whose mother died!  I said, yeah cool, whatever, kept doing my thing. She kept up with, oh I love this part, and singing along with the lyrics.   A sad song, with some religious slant, all about the guy's dead mom being an angel. Very sad,  kind of religious.

She may have had good intentions. But dammit, I felt emotionally manipulated, like she was trying to get me weepy, like we were going to bond over this sad song.  It's like SHE decided that this was what I needed at that time, that I needed to be in that grieving state because she heard a song about death.  I resisted, didn't want that mindset.  OK, yeah, got to go, have a great night, bye!  It ended up ruining my mood for the next few hours, driving home, having dinner. 

I get that music helps us process our emotions.  But don't force it on people!  Especially at work.

Edited March 24, 2018 by backformore

[bilgistic]

That's really weird and must've been so awkward!