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7/21/2021 7:06 pm  #1


So... I got a job, finally.

I'm in my second week, so I haven't ben paid yet....  ..... but today I think we all agreed it's going well.

It isn't ideal because -whilst full time- it's possibly seasonal-ish -admin and customer service for an irrigation company who are getting into holiday lighting to cover the off-season, but that gig is in its infancy.  Also, the company is small enough to not be required to offer bennies so no health insurance. I'mm'a have to go through the marketplace which is not giving me the happies, but they say they know how to do it and they'll help me navigate that shit, so slightly less stressful than it could be. 

On the plus side ..... it's absolute heaven compared to the old job, and definitely compared to being unemployed.  I can sit to work, I'm not physically knackered and ready to kill when I get home.  I can use my brain in a way I enjoy..  I'm not dealing with idiots. (much)  I don't have to get up at 4am.  I do have a 20 minute freeway commute vs 8 min local roads, but I can deal... I don't even have to answer the phone ....(just deal with transcribed voicemails) .  Also -like so many similar businesses right now, we have more requests than we can handle so super-asshole clients are not tolerated.   that will probably change, but for now, what bliss

It is a bit awkward...... it's a privately owned company and the office manager (who is competent and lovely and we get along and thing and work the same way) is family.  Then they have another office person who works about 30 hours.  But they have decided they need two competent full timers who can do all tasks.  She can't /won't do some of it, doesn't want to be full time,....had said she wants to leave because she finds it overwhelming...... so they're going to lay her off once I'm up-to-speed, and they've told her that.  awkward.....  She's supposed to be "training" me if I need help.... and yet today, she's already asking me for directions on scheduling, she can't/wont produce the reports we need to work off (I can, they're so easy my cat probably could...)... .. The owner's wife and her sister (the office manager) really don't like her and feel free to tell me that.  I'm not sure she knows.   awkward.

but.... it's employment.  and honestly.... the scheduling aspect is totally in my wheelhouse.  I wrote an AI program to do exactly that kind of scheduling for my final year project for my bachelor's degree.  It's the kind of logic problem I solve for fun in the evenings.  It's easy (for me.  That's the bit cow orker particularly hates.  She likes chatting to the customers in a soothing voice.  Which I don't but ya know, every rose has it's thorn....

So anyway, just thought you lot deserved an update   thanks for being there when it was tough.

Oh wait, I think I hear someone asking which # job application this was after 18 months of hard labor over the resume.....   

After over 50 carefully crafted cover letters.....  I was emailing with the local summer swim league and saying I would be available to marshal championships this year -as I do every year- unless I got a job in the interim and my new employers wouldn't let me, but that i planned to mention championships as a prior commitment that i would like to keep if I was offered a job.  the president of that non-profit is the Operations Manager for this company (non-family but old-time friend, I think....)....... and said "hey we need someone.......".    sigh.  


The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity  Amelia Earhart
 

7/21/2021 8:02 pm  #2


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

holy shit!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Be Just And Fear Not
 

7/21/2021 8:35 pm  #3


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

I guess you won't be needing this now.



 


Be Just And Fear Not
 

7/21/2021 10:31 pm  #4


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

Congrats!!

 

7/22/2021 3:46 am  #5


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

YAY


Living life on the edge.
 

7/22/2021 5:55 am  #6


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

Huzzah! I'm glad it came through your network.


If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis Brandeis
 

7/22/2021 6:56 am  #7


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

That's great news! And yeah, the more life goes on, the more evidence I see for the old, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." Networking is practically the only way anybody gets anywhere.
 

 

7/22/2021 9:05 am  #8


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

This is outstanding news!  Very happy for you.

 

7/22/2021 10:05 am  #9


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

As someone once said 'Didn't you do well!'

 

7/22/2021 2:51 pm  #10


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

What they all said.

Good on ya, Monster.


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7/22/2021 6:12 pm  #11


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

I wasn't even actively networking -I tred that like the careers people told me to two years ago and got nowhere.... I had no idea what this guy did for a living, but he figured if I can organize several hundred swimmers aged 4-8, a dozen irrigation techs should be a breeze :D


The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity  Amelia Earhart
     Thread Starter
 

7/23/2021 1:59 pm  #12


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

again and again I am reminded that it's not WHAT you know... It's WHO you know.
The more people you know, the better your chances for opportunities.  Been telling my son that for years. 

Congrats, M.  I think you'll make yourself invaluable in short time, and will not be laid off.  They'll wonder how they got along before you.

 

7/23/2021 6:54 pm  #13


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

thanks

today was "interesting".......

(well yesterday was weird too, but I'll come back to that)

The person I will be replacing addressed the issue of that happening as soon as the owner's wife stepped out to get lunch.  Just blurted out "You know they're letting me go?"  I said "yes, I'm sorry...."  There she launched into a tirade about how horrible they are and hate her (kinda fair, I do feel awkward when they discuss her with me, they are not her biggest fans.....) and how they never trained her how to do things.... but that doesn't seem fair -they've been fine answering all my questions and showing me stuff, and tbh she really doesn't understand the basics of spreadsheety things and doesn't ask questions, just does stuff with voicemail and paper and then tries to mesh it with the shared online files.... yeah.   I mean FFS she didn't know how to search for a term in the main spreadsheet they are using to log and process all customer phonecalls.  She asked me, I told her.  but learned that in the first 5 minutes and they're been using this system for a month.... ????

Then she launched into the warning about how horrible and stressful the job was and I'll find out.... and how the 4 people before me left because of it (story flip-flopped on whether they were fired or walked out....)    I have a fair take on the characters of the sisters.  (turns out they are actually stepsisters, not an amazing shock apart from them getting on so well..... )   I think I'll be fine, I can see why she isn't.  She likes easy, fears change and doesn't want to work a full time job.  But I feel bad for her, she seems a nice person.  I think when she told them that the amount of work they were giving her and they changes to the way they want her to do it were too stressful for her and she was thinking about leaving, she thought they'd back off and go back to the old way, but that's not how it works 

So I just kept on cringing and apologizing and getting shit done....

Today she also asked me several other things about how to use the spreadsheets, like creating filters.  Also new to me last Monday :/  Why didn't she just ask them?  Why didn't they tell her? but then ...why didn't she ask them when she knew they hadn't told her?   ugh.

Anyhoo, back to yesterday.... after asking me some basic spreadsheet stuff and weirdly deferring to me on a few thingstwo days ago regarding scheduling and reports..... yesterday, she suddenly decided to conquer the world.  I think it maybe never occurred to her before that she could go ahead and create the report she needed, or at least offer to or ask to be taught ...idk...... so she suddenly started doing it to a certain extent.  But for some reason she decided to try and work from  the online version instead of a paper version which is actually the better way to go in this instance,,, and got a few things muddled up.

I feel bad.  Maybe she finally realized what was really needed of her, Maybe the reality of not having this job hit her (but I honestly think she'll be fine in a more customer-facing, less scheduling role, she loves talking to people and there are a lot of those kind of jobs out there rn....)  .... IDK but that fire was gone today and turned to bitterness -not directed at me, personally, but it was a tough day from that perspective.

Otherwise still good....5 hours overtime requested of me to ensure as much got done as poss (because I hit 40 around noon)..... but I'm not going to consider this a victory until I see my first paycheck hit my account next week.  .....when I'll be working a truncated week rolling in early afternoon evey day because it's swim championships... so still up early for 5+ unpaid hours at the pool followed by as much as I can handle in the office   

I still prefer it to my unemployed existence.


From mostly overheard snippets I have learned this week the boss and the sisters all had covid last year (and boss family).  Worker I am replacing isn't vaccinated because it's experimental medicine and dangerous........  but ya know......being as careful as I can...... I knew before I started which side of town I'm working on and it might not be a bad idea to keep my liberal-ass wisecracks to myself ;)

Last edited by monster (7/23/2021 6:54 pm)


The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity  Amelia Earhart
     Thread Starter
 

7/23/2021 8:06 pm  #14


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

lumberjim wrote:

again and again I am reminded that it's not WHAT you know... It's WHO you know.
The more people you know, the better your chances for opportunities.  Been telling my son that for years. 

Congrats, M.  I think you'll make yourself invaluable in short time, and will not be laid off.  They'll wonder how they got along before you.

but I had no idea what this guy did. And we've never really chatted outside of dealing with swim championships once a year.    .....so I'd say it's about what you do, too.  I knew I was good at the Swim Champs gig, and i knew people knew but ... by the time you get into the big money area of swimming, athletes can sort themselves out....  So it's maybe about being visible?  Anyhoo, whatever happens with this when sprinkler season is over, at least I'll have doubled the real jobs on my resume
 

Last edited by monster (7/23/2021 8:08 pm)


The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity  Amelia Earhart
     Thread Starter
 

7/26/2021 6:18 pm  #15


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

Knowing people you know well enough to say hello in public is enough, you don't have to know what they do or a whole lot about them. If they recognize you that could be a help somewhere down the line, it may make the difference between a yea or nay sometime. That's why the more people you know and at least know of you, the better chance of a favorable outcome.


 Freedom is just another word for nothin' left to lose.
 
 

8/03/2021 7:33 pm  #16


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

They let the person I am replacing go last night.  She came in for her stuff today.  She timed it perfectly, I had just gone to the bathroom.... and I stayed in there until she was gone because she brought a huge dog off leash 

Last edited by monster (8/03/2021 7:34 pm)


The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity  Amelia Earhart
     Thread Starter
 

8/03/2021 7:50 pm  #17


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

no bites==victory


Be Just And Fear Not
 

8/03/2021 9:45 pm  #18


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

I thought so.  From either visitor


The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity  Amelia Earhart
     Thread Starter
 

8/04/2021 3:41 am  #19


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

That'll make things a whole lot better.


Living life on the edge.
 

8/04/2021 5:52 am  #20


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

Fiefdom secure!


If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis Brandeis
 

8/04/2021 12:31 pm  #21


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

I do feel bad though


The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity  Amelia Earhart
     Thread Starter
 

8/04/2021 3:48 pm  #22


Re: So... I got a job, finally.

Empathy. You've got it.  You're a good egg.
 

 

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