Do you enjoy your job?

I enjoy my job mostly, you'll never find a job you can do for 40 years and not get wound up at some point, I have worked in public and private sectors. They're both as bad as each other sometimes.

Until I became THE manager of where I work, I was a middle manager, thinking all the time "If I was in charge I'd do this and that". When finally I got to be in charge, all the middle managers think I should do this and that - without considering resources or priorities or strategic targets, or that I've seen it before and know it wont work out as they envisage.

There are other observations I've made about being in charge; you can't please everyone. 3 internal candidates wanting the same job means you're risking ******* off two. Same with many other decisions. The key to managing is actually damage limitation rather than growth which isn't how I want it to be.

Micromanagement is bad but leaving people to **** it up equally bad.

Telling people they've done well is important, praise loudly, criticise softly. But some people want more than praise and some people just cannot take any form of critique.

Being a leader within your role is often far less important to the cause than being a good follower. I dont have time to communicate EVERYTHING so appreciate staff who understand that. Trust and respect need to be given first and then earnt. Not the other way around, thats not real life, sometimes i think I work with 4 year olds.

 

Nah, hate it, but could be worse.

 

To the ones still in their 20s who feel that they are on an inexorable course into a career they hate - change it now. You still have time.

When you are older and have mortgage, no pension, kids etc. things are different, but now, you have the time to completely change your direction. Don't let the career you hate pull you along.

 

What`s your job, out of curiosity?

 

Sales director for a property investment company.

Do I like it? About 8% of the time, yes.

 

Well, left my job with a bang yesterday! All very amicable, until as my very last act (at about 4pm) I decided to email the head of the organisation directly highlighting some deficiencies in a key project. Of course my superiors should have been keeping her up-to-date with all this the last few months, but to cover their backs they hadn't been (as is their way). Anyway, I have heard from former colleagues that what had been goodwill on my departure has now in my absence turned quickly into anger and resentment, almost hatred. I do feel somewhat bad if I've got colleagues into trouble over this, but at least there has been a reaction and maybe the project will be treated with the seriousness it now deserves. For a publicly funded organisation, some things are quite disgraceful, and it amuses me that the fact I had the courage to speak the truth has caused such consternation and anger.

On reflection, maybe I would have been better to let sleeping dogs lie, but I just couldn't resist. This is a perfect example of how to burn your bridges!! I'm now very glad to be moving on.

 

Good for you, Stu! When do you start your new job?

 

The industry I work in is the type where the same people pop up at different companies doing similar jobs all the time. Quite often over the years I've been asked by bosses for my opinion on someone who's CV they've just looked at who worked where I once did. I've warned them off of more than one.

Hopefully Stu you're never going back into the same industry.

 

Start on Monday 20th!

That email has certainly caused a world of pain by all accounts. Just dropped an email to my former boss apologising to him as it certainly wasn't a slight on what he has done at all. It has definitely stirred up a 'hornets' nest (see what I did there?!). One of my remaining contacts there has been messaging me saying some people hate me, and some are just about giving me the benefit of the doubt!!

I am incredulous though that one email, and it wasn't even a strong email at all, has caused so much anger and panic amongst heads of departments and directors. It's incredible really and does say a lot about their incompetence, it just shows what whistle blowing can do, but it always makes the whistle blower into a villain which I am now!

Yes, Diamond, I hope never to go back into something like that again!

 

By publicly funded do you mean tax payer? You did a good thing whislte blowing if that is the case.

 

Yes, indirectly it is. But ultimately the money comes from the public purse.

 

Forum cad, bounder and now grass!:sign15:

 

haha grass, nah not really, just being a project manager updating my superiors on progress....

 

Love my job, and having worked in some jobs that I genuinely despised, I can't speak highly enough for doing something that makes you happy.

Teach US History at a high school in a pretty bad part of town, but the main reason they hired me was to coach soccer. Work mental hours while it's soccer season with the practice schedule, scouting, game film and two games a week but never have to try and find the motivation to show up. Don't mind being in the classroom at all, but that's down to the kids I work with as they've got always got a funny story to tell, or an interesting observation relating to whatever we talk about. Have a lot of kids from terrible situations, but there's a great deal of satisfaction to be found in working with them. Never going to make me rich, but I spend the majority of my day laughing and kicking footballs around, so it'll do.

 

Interesting. I have a nephew (mum English, dad German), best possible (UK) quals and grades in gaming graphics looking for his first job in the field that isn't an internship (of which he's been offered loads). Currently he's with a firm of civil engineers that pay him enough to pay off his student bank loans and very little else because unfortunately Germany don't have a generous borrow now pay in 50 years scheme (not to study abroad anyway) and he really can't survive on dust alone.

Unfortunately I can't seem to PM you but if you have any good advice or even good contacts then maybe you could PM me.

 

Really hating it now and actively looking for a new job. Anyone want to employ me!?

 

I have carved a niche which has given me a pretty free reign in my place to do everything apart from my day job and learn a lot in the process, however that has involved me doing work that is well above my pay so I'm perpetually in an internal argument of comfort vs money

 

I'm an office boy. Photo copying. Sending out parcels. Answering the telephone. Making the tea. Correcting the boss's childish spelling and grammar in outgoing correspondence. That sort of thing.

On minimum wage.

I don't hate it. It's reasonably benign I suppose. I've had worse. The bosses tend to leave me in peace pretty much and I come top of the class in all my annual appraisals.

I've been there 3 years and 6 months now. It's way better than the zero hours cleaning job I had before, although I can't listen to podcasts on my earphones or pretend to not understand English whilst working now.

 

Hate my long hours. Been finishing at 5 all week as my wife has been away so needed to pick the kids up and it's been lovely. Seriously considering doing something else

 

Ultimately he did what was best for the company, and if the person hiring is senior enough, then thats the sort of person you want?

 

Had the interview from hell Friday just gone, to sum it up, as I was leaving, the lady who I thought was seeing me out the building had stopped and put out her hand to shake....I had already carried on walking another 10 metres to the stairs before realising that she was in fact just going to let me make my own way out and was just standing there with her hand out. I walked back, smiled and apologised in which she responded with ' Hands are made for shaking '. Lovely person eh?

 

[Cue 15 minute diatribe from Panel member B who informed me that a) She really worked hard on hers; b) Hers was definitely her greatest achievment - AND POSSIBLY THE GREATEST EVER IN MANKIND'S HISTORY and c) I had obviously done no work during my doctoral studies.]

Spoiler

I didn't get the position.

 

I love my job as a rich layabout. It's not all easy though. Forcing myself to get out of bed before midday can sometimes be hard work.

 

Starting a new job at the beginning of May. Training at HQ in London for a few days, then off to South America for a month!

 

Had an interview last week at a job i'd absolutely love. Found out today that the girl I work with has an interview on Wednesday for the same job. She doesn't know I interviewed for it. We do the exact same job and it'll very clear to the interviewees straight away and I know she has a tendency to lie/exaggerate, so I wouldn't be surprised if she says she does all the work that i've already said I do. We were both just contacted out of the blue by recruiters, but I didn't want work people to know i'd interviewed either. FFS!

 

I've handed in my notice at my current place, absolutely despised it after some quick progression from what originally was a holiday job between the summer at uni. Originally graduated back in July 2015, but couldn't find a job so a further promotion fit quite nicely to tick me over, but a year later and no progression opportunities I'm sick to the back teeth of it, as well as being treated horrendously, probably unlawfully, by one particular line manager. I'm still young enough to be able to go out and change career paths, but I'm ****ting bricks about having nothing to go to.

Any advice for when my notice period expires in a few weeks?

 

Hmm, my advice would have been that unless you unhappiness at your current place is leading to some mental health issues you would have been better off not handing in your notice until you had something lined up.

 

How did it go in the end? What did they say?

 

Worked out quite nicely! My workmate got a different job that she really wanted, and I got this new job handing in my notice tomorrow!

 

No I don't.

 

Congrats! I hope the exit process with your current employer goes nice and smoothly. I am also starting a new job v soon, can't wait!

 

Cheers El - good luck with yours too

 

My boss is being a nob. I have 2 weeks holiday that I wanted to use before I left. She's refusing to let me take it in my notice period. I have no work to do, so I have 4 weeks of sitting at my desk twiddling my thumbs.