When Good Jobs Go Bad

 When Good Jobs Go Bad. 

Or when a bad supervisor takes over the whole of the dept and pushes their Bad Ideas that no one likes onto everyone and then they can't figure out why everyone is leave the dept like a sinking ship.

This is not the first time, and sadly this will not be the last time.

I fully admit to having hoped that the supervisor that is literally driving all the good people away from my department was going to jump ship. I had been hoping. I knew it was almost impossible because they have such a death grip in our department.

This person is a micromanager and is very good and not having anything they say written down so you can not use it to defend yourself. The only thing good about them is that when they really want to have your back, they do in fact have your back. They also support the work from home for now.

But they also pick favorites and when they set their sights on you you are pretty much done for.

I am fairly cirtian that they have been trying to get me into their department for a little while. 

They are also fully aware that I refuse to be in their department.

Right now myself and another are being used as tests for learning the stuff in the other department because the plan is to merge them. This is extremely stressful because I hate and refused to be apart of this particular department.

I have a feeling that they are trying this so that when this idea doesn't work, and it's won't, that oh look! the two of you are already trained so you have new jobs now!

I will go to HR if they try that because I did not and will not ever apply for that job and they technically can not force me to move to it because they couldn't keep my department fully staffed before the pandemic and they have shown that they still can't do it now.

I also think that they are setting the new supervisor up as a fall guy. They did it to all the others with varying degrees of success.

I, perhaps, should have tried for the harder butt kissing department were the supervisor that I like moved to. 

There is another department I wouldn't mind looking into but the hours are horrendous. The person I knew that did work there got out as fast as possible but they had no life at all until they did.

I currently have a very good plan because I am not faking how long this new crap takes me to do. It's overly confusing and doing extra work for another department. If I mess up I mess up because that was the only other reason I wanted nothing to do with it. Outside of the supervisor.

If this person wasn't known for being underhanded and back stabbing I wouldn't worry. As it is I will be pitching a fit about this and all the stupid stuff until it's fixed or I find a new job. 

Uhg.

The Covid

 Please put a mask on.

Just please do it.

Also I am trying to get back into the swing of this. I have so many new work things. My house stuff, when I can think about it, Goes to my patreon & blog. Once it's a little less depressingly frash bloody hit to my wallet there willl be more house stories there.

I'm still seeing so many bad takes about work and other corruption that make me go Yikes.

The 'lets make money on the internet' things will start again soon. Many strong opinions will be had. Also opinions on pretty much everything. Along with my very bad opinion on a formerly good dentist because frustration & bad dentistry.

Also I should actually toss in product reviews and such but probably later.

And one day I'll have a book to talk about! If I ever finish it because magic and stuff or one of the million other plot!bunnies. Just like my fanfiction.

The dream of making money online

I have written a few things about this phenomenon. Yes, phenomenon. It has turned into a cryptid of sorts over the last few years.

Blogging for money has reached a mythical level during this time.

But over all I think that not time, but corporate entities have killed it. I think the deck has always been stacked against blogging. It was a good thing and in some ways it is still a good thing.

It's just much, much harder to make money with it in a casual manner.

The Math post I did was based on other peoples experiences. Looking at it now I can't believe that people could get 100 new readers with each post. That is almost impossible not because of the advertising needed but because no one really looks for home bloggers anymore.

Which leads to the next problem, the evolutionary drift of peoples interests.

This blog has always been my ranting and job hunting release point. It is also a very casual thing for me. If i'm not pissed then I am probably not writing. Do I have posts started and not done? Yes. Do I have time to focus 100% of my attention on this? No.

Do I have a better idea of how the whole blogging this works? Yes, actually.

The big rush in the blogging world is over. The networking needed to restart it can be done. Personally I think webrings should make a comeback. They were seemingly easy bits of code you could stick on your site and be linked with other sites like yours. Blogger briefly had something like that but it seems to have dissapeard a few years ago.

I have a few other blogs that I update on a more regular schedule. They are less to make money and more for me to keep track of what I am doing. Eventually I would love for them to make money but it probably will not be with ads. It will be selling my own products.

This is how you make money blogging now.

I post update notifications on tumblr and twitter. I have an instagram. I have a set up that is mostly automatic but needs work. I have some posts backlogged because I will have good writing days.

All of this helps to get regular updates done.

All of this helps you to reach people.

How ever there is no autopilot. You have to wright and work and interact with people. Companies will make it harder and harder for you to make 'free' money because there is no free money.

But they can not truly stop you from selling things you own.

A popular craft selling site has new ToS that are trying to make as much money off you as possible, but I think when people go back to blogging and making websites like we did in the 90's... Then we will have more power again.

While a lot of the 90's internet was lost, I think there is still so much that wasn't. Personal experiences can never be taken away.

Here is to the new beginning.

Did I mention that I started taking guitar lessons on the spring? If not, I am and it is extremely relaxing. Well, when I'm not hitting the wrong string or such. I am so amazed at how poor my dexterity is these day. This is really helping and I am going to look up some stretching methods and tab when I get the chance.

Or if and when I remember...

But! Yeah, this whole week has been crazy with the Fourth being in the middle of the week. I kept thinking Thursday was Monday and I made a lot of people laugh when I was checking them out. Fun times I tell ya.

This Monday I need to remember to swing by the collage and register for classes. I have to get my Associates because I am tired of just having it hanging in limbo. It needs to be done and it needs to be done now. Which will most likly push back my plans of buying a house but thems the breaks.

This also brings to mind that I need to get out of the house more. I had the whole house to myself and did I do anything different? No. Did I get anything accomplished? No.Am I pissed at my self? Yes.

Time managment is something I have been say that I need to better utilize and this week proved it. Now I jast have to figure out the how, the when and how not to go insane. Oi.

A Break in the Silence

Well, long time no update. The main reason for that is I have been going through one of the longest interview processes in my live. It spanned almost two months with three interviews and one test. Everyone was so nice and everything.
And I got the job. :3

I can't tell you how happy I am about this. All the stress of looking and here it is. I have to say I did not find this job on my own. I did work with a hiring agent and she was very helpful. Two actually, both at different companies and both were very nice and helpful.

I can't believe I don't have to keep waiting to hear back on an interview anymore.

I can't tell you how badly I wanted this job. The people I met were wonderful and it just felt right. They have a wonderful training program. The are also closer to my home so I will have a shorter commute. They also have wonderful benefits.

The only problem is that my new school is now my old school. The advance program was so rigorous that if I had to choose my job or my grades... Well, I chose my job before it got to that point. While this program was not for me I have nothing but good things to say about the people that I met.

While talking about school and degrees at work they asked me if I was going to make this job a career. At first I didn't understand what them meant but upon asking they said that this company values experience over degrees. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to hear this. They also said that if I do feel that I want a degree that there was another, far cheaper, school that I could go to and that the company does tuition reimbursement.

I really do love this job.

Right now I am starting a 6 month training program. Barring the whole IT department disappearing my first week, things are going well. I have a while before I will be able to pull my weight but I have been reassured that this is normal for this position.

So. Happy.

A Voice of Reasion

So... Even though I said I would be calm I wasn't. I sent a few panicky Facebook messages to my friend in CA and then a few more apologizing to her. She called today and we talked and I'm pretty sure that she rolled her eyes at me a few times. She also laughed at me. This is a good thing.

First she nixed the idea of me getting a hotel room. She also think renting a car would be a waste of money but she agrees that it would give me more options to get to possible interviews. She defiantly thinks it's about time I moved to a new city.

She is very reasonable, my friend.

She is going to e-mail me when she finds out which month would be the best month to go out there. She is doing this ASAP because the gas rates are making the price of airfare skyrocket. This way we will be able to have the most time to go do stuff. And if I happen to find a job while I'm out there? Even better.

This puts me in a position were I have to have a plan. I admit I like this and ironically it calms me down a bit. Digging through my finances is going to be fun... ick.

One Year Older

Yesterday was my birthday and I am now 29. Woop-dee-do. This weekend I am dragging my parents to a few store that I have been wanting to check out and then for Dim Sum. The tasty-ness will be mine! Mwahahaha!

On the college front I am waiting for my acceptance letter before I can go any further. I did find out there is part time dorms. If I can get into it I won't have to pay as much nor have to commute home at 10pm. Which in my opinion is totally worth the money. Woot.

The job hunt is going slow. I'm staying in touch with my agents. One let me know about an opening that was almost twice as far away as my current job. I politely declined it and thanked her for thinking of me. I hope no bridges were burned.

During my own searches I jut poke around and if something really catches my eye I'll toss out a resume to it. Providing I remember. I haven't been spending too much time in front of my computer at home, which is a good thing.

On the future front, I realized while driving into work that if I was going to be out of work while looking for a job in NYC then why don't I take a few months and look in San Fransisco first? My friend and my sister both think I should move back there because it would be good for me. Cash would be tight but it could turn out ok. Even if I wasn't in the city itself but in the general Bay Area it would still be good.This will definitely require further planning.

So, the waiting and planning game is getting old. One day I'll be free to a different waiting game but for now this works.

Check in with your Hiring Agents

I called my two new local hiring agents.

One is going to send me a test to do and the other hasn't mentionedany tests. Interestingly they both told me to call and check in with them every week. I find this interesting because that must be a lot of calls coming in to them and I didn't want to add to that. But I was going off old information.

Back in the day when I last used an agency, I was told not to call in more then once every two weeks and that they would call me. And they did call me. With this new economy I thought the rules would be the same. I am actually really happy to see that they are not the same.

With luck they might find me something after I have started my college classes. To add to that I hope it is close to the college. Then again I would not turn up my nose at something near my house.

Fate is such a fickle mistress.

Job Hunt Update

So Monday morning I got a call from a company. They were all happy and nice and then when I asked what city they were in they told me they were in New York City.

Ok. . .

I had stopped applying to jobs in New York City about a month ago. From what few responses I did get no one was looking to hire remotely for my qualifications. I figured until I was ready to move out there that there was no reason to waste peoples time. So I politely and nervously explained this to the person and they were all 'when will you be in the city?'

I answered this poorly and said I didn't know. So if this wasn't them looking for just an interview I royally screwed up. Live and learn is a painful way to go.

The good news is that I now know what a possible wait time could be in New York City for a response. I never expected it to take that long. How ever it did re-enforce the belief that no one actually pays attention to cover letters.

I need to look up the email I sent them so I can try and send a thank you letter to them.

Saving Money

Back to the saving money bit.

If, like me, you are looking into getting a job in another city/state you will need at least $10,000 - $15,000. Why? Because some leasing companies will not rent to you unless you have that much saved up. They want to make sure that should you loose your job that you will be able to pay them. It also shows that you can pay them.

Makes sense? I didn't think so.

To them you are an investment. If they have to evict you that will cost them a good deal of money and they do not like loosing money. (I heard locally there is about 3 months of non-payment prior to eviction.) So they want to make sure that they won't have to evict you. They will possibly also run a credit check and background check. So don't be surprise if they present you with these forms.

If in 6 years I end up getting a better job locally(fat chance but a possibility) I might use my saved money for a down payment on a house. The housing market here is not all that good right now. But in a few years? who knows. It's a possibility I have to keep in mind.

What to do?

While looking at placement adds for New York City (the main city I would like to live in) it occored to me that I would have to pay rent while I'm out there. I thought 'ok, no big deal. How much could it be?' so I wasn't all that worried. I know people out there and they have said they would put me up for a month or so.

So I did a little math.

A studio, just you, in a decent area would run about $2000 a month.
Assume:
$200 for food
$300 utilities + cable + cell/blackberry
$350 current car payment
$350 parking garage
$100 car insurance
$100 fun money
$90 gas

That's $3,190 a Month or $38,280 a Year. So I would have to make at least $40k a year after taxes to survive and have something saved up incase of an emergancy. Even knowing my numbers are higher because I'm not sure what the utilities would be, this is still a good punch to the gut.

Rehashing the numbers I took out the parking ($34,080yr). Then the cars payments ($29,880yr). This is assuming that I can park on the street and don't have to get my car  Which gave me a much better number. Until I looked at the average pay for someone like me ($20,000 - $45,000yr).

As of right now I don't have very much saved up. I defiantly do not have enough to attempt to move to the city. Maybe if my family put me up for half a year I could make ends meet but do not want to do that to them. To successful I think I would need at least $10,000 - $15,000 in the bank. Unfortunatly right now there is no way I can save up that kind of money at my current job and with my car payments. My job is the harder part to fix, no one is hiring right now for my job position. My car payments will be done in three years, so that's right out.

Right now, assuming I stay at my current job, it will probably take 6 years to save up what I need. That is a long time and I will be 34 years old. This is not a happy thought. Perhaps if I skip out on family trips I could shave a year off that total... maybe if I got a second job I could save more faster. I'll have to look into it more.

Thinking Back & Forth.

I'm happy for what I have, yet I can't help but be sad for what could have been. But lately I have been thinking back on things I should have stuck through and it hurts.

Unfortunately no matter how much help is out there, if you don't have the will/knowledge to use it it doesn't do you a lick of good. There is no simple answer to anything. Nor is the need to accomplish things easily obtained.

This is also known as 'procrastination' and I am very good at this.

I have an e-mail that i sent my self chock full of links to jobs that I may or may not qualify for. I do this so I won't have to go back and search job sites with the hope of finding it again. I do this all the time. But mostly i do it so I can avoid writing cover letters right on the spot.

Because cover letters are the bane of my existence.

The secondary problem I have is most of the job postings I am looking at right now are out of state. Unfortunately most do not say if they are or are not accepting non-local applicants.

I have been spending a lot of time reading Ask a Manager because there is boat loads of information and advice.

Sometimes she links on her blog to articles she wrote that were posted on other sites. This one she wrote in USNews Money titled What to Do When You're Frustrated at Work because I am totally there right now.

Right now I am perusing her blog looking for cover letter advice. So far I have found these:
marital status in cover letter Which is not strictly what I was looking for, but I love the woman's wording about why she is looking for a job in another state.
How a Cover Letter Can Make the Difference
What does a good cover letter look like?
Objectives: Leave Them Off Your Resume It's over a year old but I think I'm going to try it unless the company states that they want an objective.
the point of a cover letter


I also need to try the advice in her article the #1 question your resume should answer. Because right now I should go over that to try to find what I have done wrong.

Eagerness Vs Desperation

Eagerness Vs Desperation in the search for a new job can be a little hard to tell apart. I find that while I sound desperate, I am really just eager. I have found that his can be a very tricky thing to explain to anyone.

At one point, just prior to the economy taking a dive) I had been desperate to find a new job while I had been working at an old one. I had been put in a very bad situation that ended with people burning bridges that I had hoped to keep intact after i turned in my two week notice. I had known that a particular person was doing everything they could to passively get me fired. while he did a very good job of it, one person did see this and support me. Their confirmation that 'this was actually happening' made me feel much better and she encouraged me to start looking.

I am positive that had I not gotten a new job that they would have fired me. From here-say and Linkedin I have found that two people involved are no linger at that company. Knowing that did and does not make me feel good. I have a sinking suspicion that the main manager did not get my letter talking about my two week notice. Even worse, he was a gentlemen that I loved working with. Now he has doughts about me and will never let me be hired back.

The job that I switched to? I took a pay cut, travel farther and they have stated that they think they are paying too much for my position. which is almost saying that I will never get a raise. Which I haven't.

But... It's stable.

It's very slow, and has been getting slower, for the business right now. which leaves me with far too much time to think on 'what if's' and other less happy things. There has even been talk of closing an office.

I know from listening that they go through people in my position like water through a siv. One fellow employee has actually asked me on more then one occasion why I was still here. I will admit, this is not the type of setup that I want to spend my life in.

I think that I will have to try a recruiting agency. I have worked with two employment agencies before. I am leery but I will try. With luck I will be able to meet with them after my shift is over.

So, while there is a darkness looming in the distance, I do have some hope.