A Case Of The Mondays: Vent Your Work Spleen Here

[Cloud9Shopper]

Going to go back to passively job searching now that I have income coming in again and can be more picky about where I go. I’m not putting the new job on my resume until it gets closer to the six months or one year mark there but will be honest if anyone asks what I’m doing right now. I really don’t want to be in customer service/call center too long when I previously earned my way out and I know I can do it again. 

The only thing I’m concerned about this time is interviewing when my work schedule is so strict (assigned breaks and lunch with a fixed amount of time as opposed to me choosing my own lunch and break) and there are days on the calendar when no one is allowed to be off. But that’s why I’ll only apply for jobs I could really see myself doing and not just anything to have a paycheck. I’m also upskilling and teaching myself digital marketing (just started) and can try to find volunteer work with local nonprofits too. I know some employers may pass on interviewing me due to my strict schedule and it will be tough given that job interviews take longer and more rounds these days. I’ll do my best, though, and hopefully my call center days are numbered. 

I have an interview later this afternoon for a marketing apprenticeship (unpaid) that I can set my own schedule for if it works out, so I’m excited to see how it will go. 

[badhaggis]

5 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Going to go back to passively job searching now that I have income coming in again and can be more picky about where I go. I’m not putting the new job on my resume until it gets closer to the six months or one year mark there but will be honest if anyone asks what I’m doing right now. I really don’t want to be in customer service/call center too long when I previously earned my way out and I know I can do it again. 

The only thing I’m concerned about this time is interviewing when my work schedule is so strict (assigned breaks and lunch with a fixed amount of time as opposed to me choosing my own lunch and break) and there are days on the calendar when no one is allowed to be off. But that’s why I’ll only apply for jobs I could really see myself doing and not just anything to have a paycheck. I’m also upskilling and teaching myself digital marketing (just started) and can try to find volunteer work with local nonprofits too. I know some employers may pass on interviewing me due to my strict schedule and it will be tough given that job interviews take longer and more rounds these days. I’ll do my best, though, and hopefully my call center days are numbered. 

I have an interview later this afternoon for a marketing apprenticeship (unpaid) that I can set my own schedule for if it works out, so I’m excited to see how it will go. 

Good luck!!!!!!

[theredhead77]

@Cloud9ShopperI was thinking about you when getting the mail. Did your check show up?

[Cloud9Shopper]

23 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

@Cloud9ShopperI was thinking about you when getting the mail. Did your check show up?

Yes it did! I am upset now though because I need a new car battery (I posted in chit chat…it died three days after I got my check). Luckily I have another check coming the 30th but yes at least I have income again. 

[theredhead77]

2 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Yes it did! I am upset now though because I need a new car battery (I posted in chit chat…it died three days after I got my check). Luckily I have another check coming the 30th but yes at least I have income again. 

Good! I hope you didn't have to go to the trouble of taking out that IRA loan. Sorry to hear about your battery, there will always be "something".

If you decide to start using "You Need A Budget" now that you have income be sure to join their two Facebook groups. One is a general support and one is for singles. They are great resources for setting up buckets and budgets regardless of income or debt.

[magicdog]

I was so mad this morning, I was almost beside myself!

A little background:  Last week there was a story a producer added to her hour of the show about road rage - specifically that Gen Z preferred to show their anger at a bad driver by thumbing them down.  She asked if I had file of people going thumbs down.  I told her no, but I did have road rage file from other reports (not local) we had done over the years.  She liked that idea so I cut it.  It would up getting bumped from the show several times until yesterday morning.

Fast forward to my shift.  I arrive and review my emails and found that Bitcheroo had clutched her pearls at seeing file of road rage incidents* claiming they were "graphic" (they weren't) and disturbing (not really).  She demanded not only my video be deleted from the system (and never to be used again), she demanded the source videos used to build it be deleted too!!  Mind you no one else above Bitcheroo had an issue with the video.

So I ask our executive producer to explain what the hell was going on?  He couldn't even look me in the eye (kept looking everywhere else though!).  He said Bitcheroo just thought it was disturbing and it shouldn't have been used.  I countered that the producer was informed of what the video was and she approved of it.  Since the video was in limbo for nearly a week, anyone could have seen it at any time or asked me specifics if they thought there could be an issue.  He admitted Bitcheroo is a nut and being unreasonable but there was no other choice than to follow her orders.  I informed him why delete the file videos I used to create the video?  After all, we aren't allowed to order video anymore (costs money!!) and all we have is what is in our archive unless we shoot it ourselves (I throw in that we could have spent the past several days shooting thumbs down video if there was a problem!). Sooner or later thee will be a need for that file video (it's cyclical, someone does a special report on road rage or a law related to it and that video is our buffer), and now Bitcheroo just made us lose something potentially useful because SHE alone didn't like it.    

What annoys me most is that I was never consulted about this nor my opinion asked.  She probably smiled smugly the whole time knowing it was another dig at me.

 

* The incidents showed a person throwing a rock at a windshield and a car hitting the back bumper of another car twice, and drivers yelling at each other in the street.

[Cloud9Shopper]

This new job is just not going to work for me. I started doing live chats yesterday while shadowing a more experienced rep, and you can be assigned up to three chats at a time and you’re just expected to manage them all. The trainer chatted us yesterday reminding us to make sure all our notes are done, and I found her messages and the constant pings of chats and tons of questions from the customers very stressful. You can also be working on an email but expected to drop it for a call. I don’t really think I can keep up. The only reason I’m in this job is because I couldn’t get hired for a job I would have been more likely to thrive in. Call center work is a nightmare for me, and there are a ton of metrics to meet of course, including a few that get you automatic failure on a call or email even if you do everything else right. 

Luckily I can job search without much consequence since most employers understand that call centers are short-term jobs for a lot of people and not career paths. I know the job market blows right now but I’ll feel better even trying to put out resumes and hopefully I can at least get a few phone screens or something for non-customer service jobs. 

[chocolatine]

I've been bracing myself for a layoff announcement next week, when we were supposed to have the scheduled leadership meeting, and expected to have a say in which of my team members would be let go if it had to come to that. But today at 8am we got a company-wide email from the CEO asking to attend an impromptu all-hands meeting at 8:30am, at which he announced that 15% of employees would be laid off today. We immediately got emails whether we're safe or not, but those of us who are managers or directors were not told if anyone on our teams was affected. I had to beg my department VP via Slack to tell me - turns out three people in my org were let go (out of 18). I asked if I could be part of the HR meetings so I can express my sorrow and gratitude to them in person and was told no, but that their access will remain until the end of day, so I can talk to them in the afternoon. I'm so livid at how this was handled. Two of the three people that are being let go are what I consider "critical talent" but I had zero input into the decision. I'm guessing they were targeted because they've worked at the company for a long time and are in senior roles, i.e. they were expensive, but they were some of the most knowledgeable and productive employees as well.

[theredhead77]

29 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Two of the three people that are being let go are what I consider "critical talent" but I had zero input into the decision.

That's fucked up. 

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Two of the three people that are being let go are what I consider "critical talent" but I had zero input into the decision. I'm guessing they were targeted because they've worked at the company for a long time and are in senior roles, i.e. they were expensive, but they were some of the most knowledgeable and productive employees as well.

Sadly typical; this is what you get when upper management sit around with a spreadsheet and make decisions based on numbers, without consulting the people who can identify those whose termination would most and least impact the company's productivity.  It's awful to have that conversation, naming who you're most willing to say yeah, take their job away from them, and maybe they won't go by your recommendation in the end, but it's even worse not to have that conversation at all.

[meep.meep]

4 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I've been bracing myself for a layoff announcement next week, when we were supposed to have the scheduled leadership meeting, and expected to have a say in which of my team members would be let go if it had to come to that. But today at 8am we got a company-wide email from the CEO asking to attend an impromptu all-hands meeting at 8:30am, at which he announced that 15% of employees would be laid off today. We immediately got emails whether we're safe or not, but those of us who are managers or directors were not told if anyone on our teams was affected. I had to beg my department VP via Slack to tell me - turns out three people in my org were let go (out of 18). I asked if I could be part of the HR meetings so I can express my sorrow and gratitude to them in person and was told no, but that their access will remain until the end of day, so I can talk to them in the afternoon. I'm so livid at how this was handled. Two of the three people that are being let go are what I consider "critical talent" but I had zero input into the decision. I'm guessing they were targeted because they've worked at the company for a long time and are in senior roles, i.e. they were expensive, but they were some of the most knowledgeable and productive employees as well.

What a crappy situation - as a fellow boss, I sympathize with how you feel. You have to lose anyone and especially the key performers.   Often management decides to make the decisions without input to limit exposure for people like you to unlawful termination suits.  That's the rationale in government anyway.

[chocolatine]

4 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

What a crappy situation - as a fellow boss, I sympathize with how you feel. You have to lose anyone and especially the key performers.   Often management decides to make the decisions without input to limit exposure for people like you to unlawful termination suits.  That's the rationale in government anyway.

Thank you. Now that I've had a few hours to process the news, part of me is a tiny bit relieved that I didn't have to choose which team members to cut because they're all good people and great at what they do. And it will be easier to maintain good relationships with the remaining team members if they know that I wasn't the one who did this to their beloved coworkers. It's still a terrible thing though.

[theredhead77]

Finished week 2 of my new job and I still love it. It's an adjustment going from no meetings to a wall of meetings. I already have a small gripe and it's the poor meeting culture this organization has.

I forgot how much I despise

• People that book meetings over lunch when there are other times and it isn't critical.
• People who book meetings when you are blocked out.
• Meetings without agendas.

I'm being the change I want to see by proposing new times when it's a small group and working with my direct coworker to start writing agendas for our meetings. My new manager has expressed the same feelings about meetings and I have her support.

Other than that, things are great. Everyone is so nice. I feel wanted and needed and they are eager to get me up-to-speed but won't be setting me loose before I am ready. I not only have to learn about the company, but I also have to learn about the industry.

[chocolatine]

5 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

I'm being the change I want to see by proposing new times when it's a small group and working with my direct coworker to start writing agendas for our meetings. My new manager has expressed the same feelings about meetings and I have her support.

Depending on the calendar software your company uses, you may also be able to set "working hours" during which you're available for meetings. I know Google calendar has this and I started using it after the first few weeks on my current job, because my company has/had a similarly bad meeting culture (it's gotten better since then). I half-joke with people that if they make me miss my lunch, I'll be hangry and they won't get what they need from me in the meeting.

[Cloud9Shopper]

Applied to three jobs today. I just cannot do the call center thing for any longer than necessary. I hate being back at the bottom of the ladder and having a strict schedule and am dreading when I’ll have one-on-ones with coaching and QA scores. And I already cried after two difficult calls (one rude lady and the other was when I couldn’t help a man in his 70s navigate the website). 

This time, since I’m employed, at least I can be choosy and avoid applying for other call center and customer service positions. I just hope someone else will hire me because I know I can do more than answer phones and emails. Unfortunately due to bills and such I can’t afford too much of a pay cut so I need to be within a similar pay range. I just don’t know if I can stay long enough to hope for promotion. Since I’ve done non-call center jobs before, I decided it is best to look in evenings and weekends and try to jump quickly rather than possibly stick around too long and be pigeonholed into customer service or held back from promotion. 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Cloud9Shopper

[theredhead77]

54 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Depending on the calendar software your company uses, you may also be able to set "working hours" during which you're available for meetings. I know Google calendar has this and I started using it after the first few weeks on my current job, because my company has/had a similarly bad meeting culture (it's gotten better since then). I half-joke with people that if they make me miss my lunch, I'll be hangry and they won't get what they need from me in the meeting.

I have them set but the issue is people not looking at the time, or looking for a better time. I actually block out time for lunch (suggested by my manager) and people just think nothing of booking a non-essential meeting over other meetings. It's pretty bad. We work directly with people in India and Australia, sometimes on the same call. Thankfully our meetings are late, like 5pm vs 5am and I knew about that going into it.

My direct coworker thinks with the agendas we start writing and calling for action items ahead of time for our recurring meetings we'll be able to shrink our meeting time and even cancel some of them.

[Bookish Jen]

Well, I had my first week at my temp gig, and I think it went well. There is a lot to learn, and I'm trying my best. The woman training me that if I get hired on permanently there are great benefits, but alas, no room for advancement. I'm just taking it day by day.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 3/22/2023 at 8:04 AM, Cloud9Shopper said:

and you can be assigned up to three chats at a time and you’re just expected to manage them all.

I knew it.  I'm the one who's always typing, "Are you there??"  Or I see "Agent is typing..." and then it goes away, and then "Agent is typing..." shows up again, but no content ever appears.  Miss Pollyanna here thought the agent was helping me.  At least now I know I'm not losing my mind.

On a lighter note, Mr. Outlier has been ordering some computer parts from China.  He got this email message:

Quote

This is Sam, Yao is my team leader, who processed your order last year. For some reason, I will in charge of your inquiries from now on.

That "for some reason" is cracking me up.  It could be a sly commentary on his workplace.  Or a sly commentary on Mr. Outlier's inquiries.  Or just awkward English.  I don't know, but it's been making me laugh for the last hour.

[Cloud9Shopper]

 

15 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I knew it.  I'm the one who's always typing, "Are you there??"  Or I see "Agent is typing..." and then it goes away, and then "Agent is typing..." shows up again, but no content ever appears.  Miss Pollyanna here thought the agent was helping me.  At least now I know I'm not losing my mind.

Nope you’re all good! Even when I am answering an email, if a call comes in my email automatically gets put on hold and I have to take the call. It’s super stressful when I’m looking at an email and need to get that out (since they track email efficiency and handling) but the phone won’t stop ringing. 

I have begun the job search (again) and have an uphill battle but I am just not cut out for call center and frontline customer service and I have paid my dues in that area anyway. Kudos to anyone reading this who enjoys that kind of work. I am hoping to leave quickly but the job market isn’t the best. 

[Bethany]

I think I mentioned my nephew's job search earlier in this thread.  It was a case of "oh there are tons of jobs" in the area he relocated to but none of those jobs offered a decent salary.  Until today!  And typically he got 3 job offers in the space of three days, two of them ones he would really like to have (the other was the usual minimum wage for maximum education and experience type deals).  

Anyway it only took, hmm, 8-9 months, but he's pretty happy right now!

[Cloud9Shopper]

So now that I’m back to applying for HR and recruiting-related jobs, I decided I want to study for and take the test for my aPHR, which is a certification for people new to the HR field. It was tough to choose between that and a SHRM-CP, but since my first (and last) recruiting job was only four months, I decided I’d rather take a general knowledge test for being newer to the field. The SHRM-CP dropped the experience requirements but their test is more focused on HR ops and strategy and I didn’t feel I had the work experience or background of HR for that.

My goal is to leave my call center job by the end of the year. In this job market it will be hard but I felt that giving myself a goal several months out was a better strategy than "must leave ASAP." I wrote down my goals and some positive thoughts about how I deserve and can do better and put them up in my bedroom where I can see them every day. I’ll job search as much as I can and be pickier this time so I don’t end up being disappointed…at least I hope not. 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Cloud9Shopper

[Cloud9Shopper]

Finally got a response from one of my applications on my newest job search, only to find out they want me to take a 40-minute Wonderlic test. I decided this was my limit when I was unemployed (and I did the personality tests at the time because I had no other choice but to put up with it if I wanted income). Now that I’m back at work, there is no way I will be going forward with any application that requires a personality test because I never get to the interview phase when they’re required. 

It’s a bummer too because this is a local company that is one of the better places to be employed because there are so many low-wage jobs around here (lots of restaurants, banks, hotels, etc.). But I refuse to take a personality test for free when there are still ample companies that don’t require them. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

[Cloud9Shopper]

Random question: What are your guys’ thoughts on job hopping in this day and age? I find that it’s hard to explain the generational difference in job tenure to my parents, who are more old fashioned and don’t seem to “get” why I don’t stay at a job for years and years…as a lot of people don’t unless they have a government job or just don’t care to advance and are content working in one place forever. 

My mom, who knows I’m working in a call center again, lectured me yesterday on how I have to stay at this job for a while because “job hopping looks bad.” I roll my eyes that she acts as if I chose to be laid off through no fault of my own or voluntarily stormed off my old job four months in when I had every intention of staying and would still be there had I not been picked for layoffs. Prior to working there, I stayed at my last job for three years and at two prior jobs before that (one of which was a different call center) for just under two. I did try telling her before that call center jobs are generally not careers, lots of people work in one as an in between job while they look for what they want, etc. and she still doesn’t get it and thinks I should stay there for a long time. 

My dad has asked me the same thing…why do I think people don’t stay in jobs? He has been with one company his whole career which is not heard of these days. He kind of got it when I said it’s hard to advance internally and raises just aren’t that great if you sit in one position forever. 

My overall take? I was unemployed and had to take a job I didn’t really want just so I could pay rent and bills and I don’t really have family support. Why when I have other experience should I just shrug and give up to waste years in a customer service job? Just because it will look good on my resume? Yes I could advance but there is no guarantee if my boss is one of those who decides I am too good at my job and refuses to let go of me. That said, I do agree that job hopping willingly every year is excessive and people who do that will eventually have more problems finding work. I just think there’s a middle ground especially in crappy jobs like call centers where there tends to be high turnover. 

[ginger90]

I personally think if one doesn’t burn bridges when leaving one job for another, all is well. 🤷🏼‍♀️

 

[supposebly]

3 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Prior to working there, I stayed at my last job for three years and at two prior jobs before that (one of which was a different call center) for just under two. I did try telling her before that call center jobs are generally not careers, lots of people work in one as an in between job while they look for what they want, etc. and she still doesn’t get it and thinks I should stay there for a long time. 

Staying in one job for all your life hasn't been done in a very long time. This is rather the exception than the rule unless you live in a small town and work there because there is nothing else. I know exactly two people who have done that. One is my 81 years old father and the other is a cousin who is now almost 60 years old. I seriously doubt working in a call center for years will look good when you are trying to find a job that has nothing to do with call centers.

I think you shouldn't have to defend your choices and your life to your parents at this point in your life. Things have changed and even if they hadn't, their life is different than yours. Your mother will just have to accept that you will change jobs for one you actually are excited about.

Good luck with your further job search! I hope you'll find a great one this year!

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Why when I have other experience should I just shrug and give up to waste years in a customer service job? Just because it will look good on my resume?

It won't look good on your resume, unless you're looking to make that a career and your resume shows you steadily rose up the ranks, which is not the case.  If those jobs constitute the bulk of your work history and the thing you really want to do looks like a couple of temp gigs, that's going to be the actual problem for you.  This call center job needs to simply be a paycheck, done for the minimum amount of time necessary to find a job equivalent to the one from which you were laid off.

[Cloud9Shopper]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

It won't look good on your resume, unless you're looking to make that a career and your resume shows you steadily rose up the ranks, which is not the case.  If those jobs constitute the bulk of your work history and the thing you really want to do looks like a couple of temp gigs, that's going to be the actual problem for you.  This call center job needs to simply be a paycheck, done for the minimum amount of time necessary to find a job equivalent to the one from which you were laid off.

Oh God no. Not looking to make customer service jobs any kind of career. I’m terrible at it trust me..I’ve already cried two or three times because of stressful calls. I admire people who can do it happily or not take things so personally because I am the worst at it. I’m literally only here because I got laid off and had to pay rent and no other jobs similar to what I was doing would hire me because I ended up with so little tenure at that job. (Which sucks because that’s not my fault but with so many other experienced people looking I guess I get why I’m being ignored…) 

Hopefully things improve soon! I just can’t see myself doing this for too long without breaking. 

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Oh God no. Not looking to make customer service jobs any kind of career. I’m terrible at it trust me..I’ve already cried two or three times because of stressful calls. I admire people who can do it happily or not take things so personally because I am the worst at it. I’m literally only here because I got laid off and had to pay rent and no other jobs similar to what I was doing would hire me because I ended up with so little tenure at that job. (Which sucks because that’s not my fault but with so many other experienced people looking I guess I get why I’m being ignored…) 

Hopefully things improve soon! I just can’t see myself doing this for too long without breaking. 

I think your plan of taking some courses to better your chances of landing an entry-level recruiting job is a good plan. You wouldn't even need to put your current job on your resume, you could say you were laid off (true) and went back to school (also true) to explain the gaps. Between COVID and these recent mass layoffs, companies aren't looking too hard at gaps.

That being said, as you're aware, there have been wide-scale layoffs in recruiting, and breaking into it at this point may be incredibly difficult despite your educational achievements since you will be competing against people coming from FAANG and other massive companies with decades of experience. It may not be a bad idea to have a backup plan. Depending on where you are taking your courses, you may have access to a career center and internships that could help get your foot in the door.

[chocolatine]

15 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Oh God no. Not looking to make customer service jobs any kind of career. I’m terrible at it trust me..I’ve already cried two or three times because of stressful calls. I admire people who can do it happily or not take things so personally because I am the worst at it. I’m literally only here because I got laid off and had to pay rent and no other jobs similar to what I was doing would hire me because I ended up with so little tenure at that job. (Which sucks because that’s not my fault but with so many other experienced people looking I guess I get why I’m being ignored…) 

Hopefully things improve soon! I just can’t see myself doing this for too long without breaking. 

I worked at a call center once for a few months after I dropped out of a PhD program and was figuring out my next steps. Granted, it was almost two decades ago, but even then nobody who worked there treated is as a "career" and management fully expected us to jump ship as soon as we found better jobs. For me, knowing that the job was temporary really helped me feel better on those days when I had terrible calls with unreasonable customers. I was doing tech support for a well-known software, and was often berated about certain features (or lack thereof) as if I had written the software myself. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

Thanks everyone. I decided to ignore my mom and am continuing to job search. I’m not going to stay here long term because something (eg a promotion) could happen at some undetermined point in time. If I do get promoted at some point, well…yay! But I’m not going to just not job search and bank on it either. 

Unfortunately because the job market is so brutal right now I don’t have even one interview invite from the 20something applications I’ve sent. It’s hard to go from consistent interviews in my last two job searches to nothing this time around, and my resume hasn’t changed that drastically. I got laid off at the worst possible time and it just feels like no one cares. None of my friends and family have been hit by layoffs and my old boss kept her job so I feel still somewhat alone. 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Cloud9Shopper

[EtheltoTillie]

Just want to salute you call center folks.  I know it's hard to take the abuse that's meant for the product. 

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Thanks everyone. I decided to ignore my mom and am continuing to job search. I’m not going to stay here long term because something (eg a promotion) could happen at some undetermined point in time. If I do get promoted at some point, well…yay! But I’m not going to just not job search and bank on it either. 

Unfortunately because the job market is so brutal right now I don’t have even one interview invite from the 20something applications I’ve sent. It’s hard to go from consistent interviews in my last two job searches to nothing this time around, and my resume hasn’t changed that drastically. I got laid off at the worst possible time and it just feels like no one cares. None of my friends and family have been hit by layoffs and my old boss kept her job so I feel still somewhat alone. 

Just keep looking forward. Dwelling on the layoff keeps you in a negative headspace which will shine through at work and during interviews. Layoffs are business, not personal. Most of us have been there. Does your company offer an EAP? Perhaps a couple of calls with a therapist who specializes in your situation can help pull you out of the weeds.

Did you check in with the other companies that extended offers back when you were deciding? Maybe they have another opening.

[Cloud9Shopper]

27 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

Just keep looking forward. Dwelling on the layoff keeps you in a negative headspace which will shine through at work and during interviews. Layoffs are business, not personal. Most of us have been there. Does your company offer an EAP? Perhaps a couple of calls with a therapist who specializes in your situation can help pull you out of the weeds.

Did you check in with the other companies that extended offers back when you were deciding? Maybe they have another opening.

One of the companies that offered me a job…I did not like the sound of the work environment and the hours were awful. I don’t want to consider them for a position again. 

The other company seemed like a good fit but we could not come to terms on work hours and they were paying less. I will check back with them to see if they have something open with more standard working hours and pay that matches my goals. Now that I’m employed, even in a crap job, I want to make sure I’m taking a position that will be an improvement over where I am now and is in line with what I want career and salary-wise. So, no leaving customer service for customer service. 

I just am nervous that if I don’t find something quickly that companies will see me as good for nothing but customer service. It’s just not my talent or desired career path. Even if the job were, say, working customer support in tech and helping business users I’d probably still be bad at it. 

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

It’s hard to go from consistent interviews in my last two job searches to nothing this time around, and my resume hasn’t changed that drastically.

Does the resume you're shopping around now have this current call center job on it?  If so, I'd take it off. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

50 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Does the resume you're shopping around now have this current call center job on it?  If so, I'd take it off. 

It doesn’t. It has the job I got laid off from as the most recent job, and I do lisr it as Firm XYZ, the job responsibilities and then I have a note that I was laid off.

I can’t take off the job I got laid off from because then it will look like I have not worked in almost a year. I voluntarily resigned the job before Firm XYZ so don’t want anyone to think I haven’t worked in nine months . 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I can’t take off the job I got laid off from

Of course not.  I was just making sure you don't have the call center down as your current employer, and you're on top of that.  Good luck in your search.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 4/9/2023 at 7:48 AM, Cloud9Shopper said:

Random question: What are your guys’ thoughts

Can I suggest "y'all's" if "your" isn't an acceptable option? 

It's pretty common knowledge that young people not staying with one company for their entire career almost never happens any more, and job hopping is far more prevalent than it is/was among your parents and their peers

I heard a story on NPR the other day about how companies are becoming more interested in hiring people in their 60s, for a variety of reasons.  One of the traditional disadvantages of hiring people that age was that they obviously won't stay with that company for the very long term, but it was noted that this is no longer a big deal because things have changed such that even young people don't stay in a job for a long period of time. 

So...your parents are wrong, and you can tell them I said so.

 

[theredhead77]

3 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I'm just am nervous that if I don’t find something quickly that companies will see me as good for nothing but customer service. It’s just not my talent or desired career path. Even if the job were, say, working customer support in tech and helping business users I’d probably still be bad at it.

You won't have to if you go back to school. You can explain the gap with "school". Did your plans to take some courses or a program to grow your skills and prepare you for a different field change?

Edited April 10, 2023 by theredhead77

[Cloud9Shopper]

No. I finished a continuing education certificate last year before I switched jobs. The hiring manager was happy to see I had an interest in training and professional development, which was the other portion of the job, although the certificate was not a requirement by any means. She did seem interested in it and asked me some questions about my classes and projects. 

Right now I am looking to take a more specific HR certification. There are two certificates for entry-level HR people. One is the aPHR, which is newer and more knowledge based. The other is the SHRM-CP which used to have more specific work experience requirements but they were dropped within the last year or so. They recommend basic HR knowledge and the test is more focused on  operational HR work. I think the aPHR is better for me but I did take some practice SHRM-CP questions and got about half of them right even with only four months at my last job.

I don’t want to take a master’s right now. I want to wait until I can get a more appropriate job, especially given the debt load I’d be taking on. Would love to find a company that would pay for it but I know that’s rare. 

[theredhead77]

44 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Right now I am looking to take a more specific HR certification. There are two certificates for entry-level HR people. One is the aPHR, which is newer and more knowledge based. The other is the SHRM-CP which used to have more specific work experience requirements but they were dropped within the last year or so. They recommend basic HR knowledge and the test is more focused on  operational HR work. I think the aPHR is better for me but I did take some practice SHRM-CP questions and got about half of them right even with only four months at my last job.

This is what I was referring to. You don't have to put your current position on your resume. You can explain the gap with "school" while you keep this call center job for income until you find something else. Any new position doesn't need to know about this 'get by' position at all. It doesn't need to go on your resume or any applications. 
Just use the course name and year when you get to the education part.
When does the program start?

Edited April 11, 2023 by theredhead77

[Cloud9Shopper]

There is no set start date for any kind of program or classes. You just prep on your own time for the certification and book the test when you’re ready and there’s a test date. That’s pretty much it. I’m hoping to get an aPHR book soon but I’m having a super busy month so I can’t make the time right now. 

[theredhead77]

11 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

There is no set start date for any kind of program or classes. You just prep on your own time for the certification and book the test when you’re ready and there’s a test date. That’s pretty much it. I’m hoping to get an aPHR book soon but I’m having a super busy month so I can’t make the time right now. 

Oh, I see. I took a digital marketing course like that. Easy enough to spin as a break where you attended school for 6 months or however long it takes to complete the program. 

[EtheltoTillie]

I may be raising the unpopular opinion, but I am troubled by the idea of leaving off a current job and trying to cast the time as going to school when it is not a full-time program for a degree.

I am very old school.  I have not had to apply for a job in many years, and I work for myself, but I have had to hire people in recent years.  I must say I am not as well versed as some may be in current hiring practices.  But I can't see this as good practice.  I don't like misleading information on a resume, and I still think a potential employer would rather see a current job with a statement that you are attending a part-time program at the same time hoping to switch back to the other field.

YMMV. 

[Bastet]

Not every job has to be included (on a resume; on an application, yes) -- irrelevant jobs done temporarily solely to bring in some income during the job hunt being omitted is common.

While I only occasionally hire people now, I recruited (for a variety of positions) for a time.  Somebody looking to fill an HR position glancing through a pile of resumes seeing a call center as current employer may very well just keep going.  Whereas if the most recent thing is the recruiting job she got laid off from, it may catch their eye. 

If she had a long HR history, it wouldn't be as big a deal, might even indicate gumption that she went ahead and took a call center gig to keep working.  But she's got a mishmash of job types, so this would be yet another one.

If enough time passes, it may reach the point the call center job being at the top of her resume is a better option than a gap of that length, but right now I think she's wise not to include it.  (But it would be fine to mention in an interview.)

Edited April 11, 2023 by Bastet

[Angeltoes]

I have been in the working world for forty years.  Everywhere that I've worked, you get a review once a year and a pay raise at that time.  I now work in a t-shirt warehouse.  One of the young'uns whined to me that she couldn't understand why she wasn't getting a raise every couple of months.  At her old job (a weed farm somewhere up north) she got raises all the time.  I had to gently explain to her that our company's way of doing it was more the norm.  She was flabbergasted.  Let's keep in mind that she was no work whiz and called out sick more than she was there.  She finally quit when she got wind that the company might boot her for her attendance record. 

Then we had two 19-year-olds who were best friends.  One of them told off a supervisor because he wouldn't let them work next to each other.   Friend A was working at the table next to me and was worried because Friend B (who was working across the room with five others and still in view) was going to be so lonely with nobody to talk to.  Friend A would often disappear for long periods of time and I figured out that she was hiding in a bathroom stall and watching tiktok videos.  Friend B's car was on the fritz so they had to take an uber to work at 5AM at $30/pop.  They get their first paychecks and you'd think they'd put that toward getting the car fixed.  Nope, they got their eyelashes done and the lashes were so long that they looked like a couple of camels.  Friend B got angry with an older coworker and was heard saying,"I'm 19 and I have my whole life ahead of me!  What are you...50?  You're old and you'll be dead soon!"  A & B got fired for poor attendance and nobody cried when they left.

[EtheltoTillie]

15 minutes ago, Angeltoes said:

 

Then we had two 19-year-olds who were best friends.  One of them told off a supervisor because he wouldn't let them work next to each other.   Friend A was working at the table next to me and was worried because Friend B (who was working across the room with five others and still in view) was going to be so lonely with nobody to talk to.  Friend A would often disappear for long periods of time and I figured out that she was hiding in a bathroom stall and watching tiktok videos.  Friend B's car was on the fritz so they had to take an uber to work at 5AM at $30/pop.  They get their first paychecks and you'd think they'd put that toward getting the car fixed.  Nope, they got their eyelashes done and the lashes were so long that they looked like a couple of camels.  Friend B got angry with an older coworker and was heard saying,"I'm 19 and I have my whole life ahead of me!  What are you...50?  You're old and you'll be dead soon!"  A & B got fired for poor attendance and nobody cried when they left.

You hear some crazy stories.  My friend hires for his small medical practice.  Lately people show up, work a short time, and then disappear.  Another recently brought her cat to work and was resentful that Dr. A said, no you can't bring your cat to work.  Then all the employees starting gossiping about how awful it was that he wasn't allowing the cat.  Cat owner quit, but the others continued to carry on about this great injustice.  And I say this knowing that many of us on here are cat lovers. 

[chocolatine]

18 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I may be raising the unpopular opinion, but I am troubled by the idea of leaving off a current job and trying to cast the time as going to school when it is not a full-time program for a degree.

I am very old school.  I have not had to apply for a job in many years, and I work for myself, but I have had to hire people in recent years.  I must say I am not as well versed as some may be in current hiring practices.  But I can't see this as good practice.  I don't like misleading information on a resume, and I still think a potential employer would rather see a current job with a statement that you are attending a part-time program at the same time hoping to switch back to the other field.

YMMV. 

I wonder if this is something that comes up as an inconsistency in a background check that usually happens during the offer stage. I as a hiring manager have never heard any details about the background check, just that it cleared or didn't clear, so I'm not sure what exactly happens there.

[theredhead77]

21 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I may be raising the unpopular opinion, but I am troubled by the idea of leaving off a current job and trying to cast the time as going to school when it is not a full-time program for a degree.

What is the difference in how time is spent if it is spent achieving education to further their career?

 

[theredhead77]

4 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I wonder if this is something that comes up as an inconsistency in a background check that usually happens during the offer stage. I as a hiring manager have never heard any details about the background check, just that it cleared or didn't clear, so I'm not sure what exactly happens there.

I just had a background check and opted in to see the results. When you complete the information you have to add everything for the last 10 years. They didn't even have my most recent position listed even though I had been in it for 5 years.

Omitting a short term gig from your resume that is casually mentioned during the interview process is fine. You can add it to the background check paperwork.

According to my recruiter friends they're looking for criminal activity, evictions, and anything that will make you vulnerable to being exploited by a bad actor, or could lead you to steal from the company.