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Career Chat V: the Common Ruin of the Contending Classes


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I’ve made an offer to the strongest candidate for the open new role on my team.  I hope she accepts, although her personal life just got up-ended (badly) so she probably needs to figure out how a job change fits in her new situation.  Fingers crossed.  I think this is a very good fit on both sides but I won’t rush her while she comes to grips with everything.

I’ve shut down our team for two weeks and told them all to take a break.  We have unlimited vacation now, so the only limiting factor is our ability to step away.  Having a coordinated shutdown makes that easier.

I’m doing some light work myself over the break because I’m getting pulled upward into some new big initiatives and I need to draft a couple of business plans for those new initiatives and what roles I should play in them; over and above the business plan for my actual day job, which is thankfully already in very good order.

My boss decided to retire at the end of this year — in his mid 50’s.  It’s a feature of my firm’s success that anyone senior who has been here more than a decade can afford to retire whenever they feel like it.  We’re not replacing his role so myself and a peer of mine will just take ownership of the entire group.  That’s separate from the new initiatives mentioned above.  So I’ll definitely have a busy 2022.  But I’ve also built a very high performing team (and delivered promotions, bonuses and raises accordingly), so I think everyone feels good about taking on the challenge even if they’re worried that the new initiatives might take half of my time away from them and my day job — it’s a chance for them to show they can do it mostly by themselves, which was always the development & succession plan.

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I'm less than 4 months away from defending my PhD and starting to browse jobs. Found one that could be a really good fit so I'll be working on that application after Christmas. Also have an application for a really cool fellowship this summer that would really help me bridge from my PhD into a good scicomm role. That's also due early Jan so...haha next week I'll be stressin over these! It's totally crazy to think that in 6 months I have no idea what my job or career will look like. The time in grad school really flew by!

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I also have no idea what my job or career will look like in 6 months.  As a freelancer, I am in a problematic area of the live event industry.  A drastic reduction in live events means few freelance opportunities.  Currently I have a two pronged strategy for making a living in my field.  If those prongs fail, it's either education for a new field or delivering for Amazon.

While I am grateful that extended unemployment and stimulus has allowed me to survive these last two years, I still can't go back to 'normal' life.  Quite possibly my old life is over....which makes me sad, I liked my old life.  That is not to say that a new life might not be better but right now I just have a lot of fear and uncertainty.

Most recently I saw a job posting for which I am both over-qualified and under-qualified.  Over-qualified in knowledge, under-qualified in youth and vigor.  I know my value but does anyone else?

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On 12/24/2021 at 9:47 AM, Iskaral Pust said:

I’ve made an offer to the strongest candidate for the open new role on my team.  I hope she accepts, although her personal life just got up-ended (badly) so she probably needs to figure out how a job change fits in her new situation.  Fingers crossed.  I think this is a very good fit on both sides but I won’t rush her while she comes to grips with everything.

My friend just had her personal life up-ended and just got an offer. You better not be hiring her!

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Sorry @litechick, you’re in a really tough situation.  We have a friend whose career has been in theater production and her career is seriously in question too.  We all want to have theater, concerts and live events again, but it’s really difficult for those professionals to bridge the gap until we can all do that.

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I have a very faint sense of what I might be doing in six months. I finally took my PhD research/writing year from January, so I'm more or less untethered from the University through December 2022. I've got three projects on three continents lined up, but very little sense yet of how this is all going to happen. Meanwhile,bits been weird dead silence from the Very Large Organization on my biggest project with them, to the point that I'm slight worried about my manager (these days, who knows.) I was supposed to spend a few weeks at a related conference and then maybe VLO HQ in the US, bit I'm not sure what's happening with their reopening plans and all that anymore. 

Anyway, I write this from under a tree at a border crossing where they can't get their computer working to issue a visa, so good start to all that.

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the hotel i have taken over has been a challenge to say the least since i came on. 

we are looking at a renovation, rebranding and relaunch of the restaurant and bar. each space having a distinct and different feel and food. all of it coming from my small, outdated and often broken kitchen. 

i have put in the budget for a remodel of the kitchen but when i ask if any of it will happen i am met with deflection. makes me think the answer is no.

to make things more difficult is staffing. already my industry is suffering from a lack of people wanting to get back into the restaurant life since covid. two weeks ago we had to do fresh paperwork for all employees. all but two of my staff do not have work authorization in this country and i have to release them unless they can get work authorization in 8 business days which is absolutely impossible. 

i had hired a very good, attentive, and energetic younger cook who i saw as a potential sous chef. he has been so good to add to the team. well, his background check came back. he has a couple felonies. he will likely have to go as well.

our human resources department is remote. i have to get on a call with people who don't know me other than a file, have no real connection other than contractually with my property and argue why something from 2018 shouldn't keep this guy from continuing to try for a better life.

i am more and more defeated all the time by this job. if i lose this promising cook i may just leave. 

this career has been very good to me, but not in a couple years. covid has really changed how i feel about it all. i miss the ignorant days of just pushing hard, cooking nice food and letting those things being enough to keep me happy. i have no skills besides cooking. how i harness them to make money without the crushing element of working in a restaurant where ultimately nobody ever truly gives a fuck about me or my staff will be a challenge. 

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MC, I hear you. Just remember that you have brains and talent, you can forge a path any way you choose. 

Any chance of getting any of your signature hot sauce?  I don't remember if that was a kickstarter thing or you couldn't source the right ingredients.  Please update.

Maybe you can poach the promising guy and start a food truck or something. :)

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  • 1 month later...

Well my current job isn’t really a career. It’s just something I’m doing to make some money. But at least I earned PTO time!

I’m now off for 10 days and headed for Hawaii tomorrow. Wish me luck in catching a tuna!

Edit: There isn’t a vacation thread :dunno:.

 

Edited by A True Kaniggit
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I submitted two applications for posts at a big teaching hospital closer to where I live this week. One is a bit below where I currently am (but more money and less responsibility), the other is slightly higher than where I am now (but much more money and some more responsibility). The lower one is in my discipline (microbiology) but the higher one is in cellular path. The role (quality management/health and safety management) becomes generic at that senior grade and you don't need the bench experience as it's a management role. Fingers crossed to shortlist for both of these.

Also interviewed for an 18 month secondment post in my department yesterday. It's a bit more money and a little bit more responsibility (I'm already doing much of the role as I've been acting up FOR FREE since November). At the end of the interview my final question was 'why have you chosen this job title?' because the new role title is a synonym for the job title I have now (had this title since 2014). The interview panel went off and had a 50 minute wash up then called me back to suggest a different title, which while not what I wanted is better than what they originally wrote. I'm just waiting for the official offer in writing now but I guess I got promoted. :dunno:

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1 hour ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

I am finding that the CFO has a bro-mance with Boy Wonder, FP&A Boi. FP&A Boi has been here all of 2 months and yet he has received a promotion and those two are Best Buds.

Meanwhile, I am doing a 10-K and Proxy filing from scratch, cover to cover, starting with a blank page, and running the auditor liaison role.

Our “new” (he’s been there 7 months) corporate controller is useless. He has gone ON A CRUISE and December is not yet closed and it is Feb 10.

I have pushed for another adjustment to my comp, yet CFO says that compensation committee has to approve…yet, when we discussed bonus, he said that the comp committee only cares about CEO and CFO, so there’s a big disconnect.

As with much of life, quality of work is often trumped by penile ownership.

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Feeling simultaneously very hopeful for the future whilst also pretty stressed and frequently miserable about the present. I love where I work, I love the people. The place. The office building itself is horrid though and I think it’s making me sick all the time. 
 

the job is 2 jobs, crushed into one, as is the habit in the cultural sector. So workload is always high and I always feel a bit like I’m scrambling and not doing my best for a place I love. 
 

but having said that I think I’m making a good name for myself in the local sector,  and working on some really rewarding projects and bits of work. 
 

being a grownup is weird isn’t it. For the most part, I’m really proud of all the work I’ve put in to get where I am but now have to figure out priorities and money and my own worth. 
 

bloody love the sector I work in but it’s also underpaid, overworked and relies a lot on peoples passion for what they’re doing. 
 

is what it is though. 

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7 minutes ago, Theda Baratheon said:

Feeling simultaneously very hopeful for the future whilst also pretty stressed and frequently miserable about the present. I love where I work, I love the people. The place. The office building itself is horrid though and I think it’s making me sick all the time. 
 

the job is 2 jobs, crushed into one, as is the habit in the cultural sector. So workload is always high and I always feel a bit like I’m scrambling and not doing my best for a place I love. 
 

but having said that I think I’m making a good name for myself in the local sector,  and working on some really rewarding projects and bits of work. 
 

being a grownup is weird isn’t it. For the most part, I’m really proud of all the work I’ve put in to get where I am but now have to figure out priorities and money and my own worth. 
 

bloody love the sector I work in but it’s also underpaid, overworked and relies a lot on peoples passion for what they’re doing. 
 

is what it is though. 

First of all I am glad to hear you are OK. I struggled,while young, to find meaningful work that I enjoyed also. When you do, if is a great feeling. Stay strong.

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My job is getting nothing out of me at the minute. I'm permantely exhausted due to evil non sleeping children, and utterly demotivated. 

My back of a fag packet maths shows from 2008 (when pay freezes came in) until I'm 80, I'm about 750-800 grand worse off in salary, benefits and pension. 

I don't do a bad job, but I do exactly what they are entitled to expect of me and no more. I can't leave because my current role and hours really suit my work life balance.  

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On 2/16/2022 at 12:52 PM, BigFatCoward said:

I don't do a bad job, but I do exactly what they are entitled to expect of me and no more. I can't leave because my current role and hours really suit my work life balance.  

That's the whole point of work : life balance isn't it? You balance stuff apart from money that you value, eg flexible hours etc. 

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On 2/17/2022 at 9:11 PM, BigFatCoward said:

I think I'm just feeling maudlin because I get my long service medal on Tuesday (20 years). 

That's long? I did 20 years in my current post last October. Literally nobody said a word to me about it at work. Nothing.

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3 hours ago, Isis said:

That's long? I did 20 years in my current post last October. Literally nobody said a word to me about it at work. Nothing.

One of my team members had her 20th anniversary at the firm at the start of this year.  We spent a few weeks beforehand collecting well-wishes and anecdotes from her past colleagues to use in a company-wide acknowledgment/celebration email, we bought her a very nice gift, and we planned a big party for her and her family and a guest list of 50.  Unfortunately the party got deferred because of Omicron, but it will take place instead in April or May as we return to the office.

There isn’t some magical celebration fairy who arrives at night and delivers all of this.  It takes effort and planning, and most of all it takes a culture where people make that effort for each other and they appreciate when others do it for them too.  We make sure to celebrate birthdays and any big life events too, like champagne and flowers for engagements.

Working twenty years at the same firm with a rotating cast of colleagues and teammates is absolutely a big deal, and it’s a milestone that should be acknowledged.

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