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Accepting a position you know is dead wrong
Posted Fri, 06/25/2010 - 19:39 by Jobless
I'm a virgin blogger....here goes. My position was eliminated late January. I'm a financial analyst. I recently found a job as a receptionist/secretary. The pay was a fraction of what I made and there were no benefits. Out of fear I accepted the job thinking that I could work until something better came along. My previous employer gave glowing references. In summary, they worked me like a dog and treated me as such. I discovered this position historically is a revolving door. The person I replaced lasted 2 weeks before walking out. As soon as I started I knew it was wrong. I wanted to do the right thing and give notice, however, unemployment guidelines dictate that if you leave your employment benefits cease. I had no choice but to walk out as well. This was not an easy decision but it was truly an abusive environment. My unemployment benefits kicked back in, however, my previous employer communicated they will never recommend me ever again. Has anyone every gone experienced this? I really did try to hang in there but simply could not
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Comments
This is why we need unions
One of the less discussed aspects of the current crisis is that it puts all the cards in the employer's hand. The worker is supposed to be happy with any piece of crap job they can get.
The union is the only way to restore the balance of power, for workers to have a seat at the table. If you have a union backing you, you don't get "worked like a dog and treated as such."
Not being able to get a recommendation from you former employer is a real kick in the teeth. Did you explain the situation to them? I would.
Also make a log of all the abuses when they're still fresh in your mind. Write down every detail you can remember.
When life hands you sh*t, make fertilizer.
Recommendations
I have never heard of a previous employer first giving a glowing reference and then refusing to do it again... that is just plain mean. Someday Karma will get them - and hopefully they will have to walk a mile in your shoes...that will teach them!
What I suggest if you need a reference is to call the people you worked with (does not have to be your manager - could be your customers/employees from other departments, vendors you worked with - even co-workers in your area) and ask if you can use their names as references. I wouldn’t let this bother you too much because there are so many companies that don’t give references because of the liability against the company it won’t be surprising to your next employer. Good Luck! Freckles
I'm surprised you were even
I'm surprised you were even offered a job that you were clearly so over qualified for that there wouldn't be any doubt you'd leave the second something better came along. I've been unemployed and actively seeking a job since December. I'm exhausted of the search, the waiting, the process, everything. I just had a 2nd interview with a company that I know is right for me, but the waiting to hear back is torture and I'm plain sick of it. And I know that I'm going to have to accept the first offer I get, which at this point it seems I'm only in the running at a company that I really want to work for, but if it doesn't work out..well, I don't even want to think about it. And if I pick up the phone one more time only to hear some automated sales message I'm going to throw it out the window. But anyway, what I learned real quick is exactly what Chuck said, in this climate the employer has not only the upper hand but he's in control of the puppet strings as well and they have such an advantage they don't have to put out any effort whatsoever to make us think they actually want us for something. These places keep listings open for months, they end up with hundreds of applicants, if you do move on to the next step you have no idea how long the whole process will take or even how many steps there are, and god forbid you contact them to find out. After applying for 1 position with the current company, filling out a "candidate qualification" form, short phone interview, hour and a half face-to-face interview with 6 staff members, a recommendation from my interviewers that I'd be great for another position as well, applying for that one, another hour & 45 min face-to-face interview with 5 staff members including the manager who told me I'm most interesting...I STILL DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE A JOB WITH THEM! How much longer is this going to go on? I just don't know and I'm definitely at their mercy.
You definitely made the right decision leaving that crap job behind. You'd think before a position becomes a revolving door someone would wise up enough to realize why people are quitting after 2 weeks, but no, they're just stupid. Being taken advantage of at work is bad enough, but by stupid people is too much to handle.
Been there, done that
I accepted a job once that I had turned down previously as a temp position. This was something I was way overqualified more. I got treated like shit, they changed the job from one I accepted and signed a job description for, yet I was still expected to keep up with the work I had formerly been doing. Sure, I had Med and Dental benefits, but so what?
I was unhappy, I was miserable. So I quit and went back to doing temp work. I didn't have benefits for steady employment, but I was no longer unhappy.
Moral of the story: listen to inner voice. If it tells you that you shouldn't take a job, don't.
Oh, and though it would have qualified for a union, this company was 100% anti union, and you got threatened for just talking about it.
If you think you can't do it you may be right
I'm in a job like that now.
I'm in a job like that now. This was supposed to be a "getting back on my feet job", until I find something better. I thought that they might be grateful for someone with an extensive work history and education. But nope, I probably get treated worse than someone who barely qualifies for this job (like my b-o-s-s). And I'm stuck cleaning up the mess made by those who barely qualify. I'm worried that my self-esteem is taking a hit, and I need that to be able to look for other work.
There is light
Hi, everyone. I used to post here a lot last summer when I was unemployed. Last August, I accepted a temp position in an in-bound call center that was supposed to be a 6 month gig. Like you, I was way overqualified, but I needed the job. I got hired as full time permanent in April.
It's miserable, we're tethered to a headset getting screamed at most of the time by people who apparently can't read, with our movements tracked down to the seconds (no joke) and I had been trying to figure out how to leave it. Like jenh526, my self esteem, my nerves and my physical health were being affected, but I can't just up and quit.
But yesterday, I got a call from a place I interviewed with 3 times over the past year, asking if I was still interested in working there. I am very interested (it's a local college) and I now have an interview set for next week.
I'm not religious, but I had been praying, asking God, or god, or the universe to please help. I put little notes up in my cube: "I am not a sponge. I do not absorb negative energy.", and the like. It helps a little to see that after a particularly bad call and think, "Hell, yeah, i'm better than all that. I can take this."
I believe, for the most part, that things happen when they are meant to happen. I know that's scant comfort when you're hip-deep in the hoopla, but is's something to hang on to.
I hope, hope, hope for everyone going thru this - unemployed, under-employed or badly employed - that some wonderful breaks are coming to us all soon, and that we are all wise enough to recognize them when they do happen.
Take care, all.
Thanks so much!
I'm really glad to hear that things are turning around for you! Thanks for reporting back. Please let us know if the gig with the college becomes a reality.
As for your cruddy job, I would say just be grateful for the paycheck until you get something better. Gratitude is so very important. Not to say that we should be satisfied with the overall situation, just that we should be grateful for the good things. In my life, I've noticed that the minute I lose gratitude is usually the minute things start to fall apart.
When life hands you sh*t, make fertilizer.
Hi celiamck! I remember you
Hi celiamck! I remember you from last year. I am sorry for the abuse - hey, let's call it what it is - that you've suffered in your job. I don't think I will ever understand why people can't make an effort (and really, should it be that much of one?) to be decent to one another.
Thank you for checking back with your offers of hope for all of us. Likewise, I hope the same for you, and wish you the best on your interview.
Don't worry about that
I know exactly what you feel like because I was stuck in a horrible job that I felt was "beneath me" for 18 months or so. Eventually I started to feel like the job wasn't beneath me, that I was just a piece of garbage who was getting what he deserved.
Then I lost the job, thank goddess. Looking back on it, the whole experience wasn't such a bad thing on net; it humbled me, giving me exactly what I needed in the grand scheme of things.
Your job doesn't sound so horrible. You're an adjunct or something, right? Believe me, there are worse jobs. You can hold your head high. Make fun of your boss (in your head) if it helps and take it as an opportunity to find the perfect balance between confidence and humility.
When life hands you sh*t, make fertilizer.
I *was* an adjunct (for one
I *was* an adjunct (for one semester). Then I got a permanent job. It's more clerical in nature. I'm not even making enough to break even every month, and I just discovered they are withholding more from my paycheck starting this month (yay!). But (similar to celiamck's experience), a job I'd interviewed for earlier this year has been re-posted. I'm applying again, and hoping, hoping, hoping...