Opportunity Strikes Anonymouslyadd!

[Impetus]

Originally Posted by anonymouslyadd

Honestly, I don't think I give myself the time to process things outloud.

I've been so worried about being perfect though. That and the nervousness probably contributed.

That's probably it, that right there. Anxiety can roll off us like sweat off a gigantic fat man walking up 5 flights of stairs!

Originally Posted by anonymouslyadd

I know you wouldn't Impetus. Yea, it's definitely not cut and dry. I can't control their skepticism and certainly this is another lesson to not look for work to get my needs met.

Healthy attitude!

Originally Posted by anonymouslyadd

I'm puzzled that the interviews I got for my client, EVEN ONE I ASKED MY ******* STEPDAD FOR HELP WITH, seemed to have little weight in their overall evaluations with me.

ah, but it seems that it was enough to put some doubt in their minds about letting you go.



I got multiple interests Impetus this past week, which was a holiday week. Holidays are usually slow so they say, but I don't think mine was. Are they looking for me to get a client on Dr. Oz?

The interests were NATIONAL publications, with a tremendously large circulation audience.

Dazzle them in what way? [/quote]

again, I think you did dazzle them enough to offset the intensity.

Originally Posted by anonymouslyadd

What about trust and people going behind my back? I guess at this point it doesn't matter any more. I have one girl in mind that I seem to have a decent relationship with. Plus, my uncle was her chemistry professor in high school.

Should I tell her the situation flat out? I'm tired of being scared and worried about what I do. I'm about to say f*** it and go all out. At least I'll go out fighting.

Not sure if this is the right way to phrase it, Sandy might be smoother than me.

The essence of it would be, "you've been here for x number of years. How many people have you seen come and go?" and if you feel safe enough, "what do you see that I could improve upon?"



at the end of the day, my biggest concern is that you won't blame yourself if this doesn't come out perfect. There some jobs out there that are nearly impossible to succeed at. I see people "lose" them everyday. and I hope to God they know it wasn't their fault!

[anonymouslyadd]

Originally Posted by Impetus

Not sure if this is the right way to phrase it, Sandy might be smoother than me.

The essence of it would be, "you've been here for x number of years. How many people have you seen come and go?" and if you feel safe enough, "what do you see that I could improve upon?"



at the end of the day, my biggest concern is that you won't blame yourself if this doesn't come out perfect. There some jobs out there that are nearly impossible to succeed at. I see people "lose" them everyday. and I hope to God they know it wasn't their fault!

I guess I could figure out something to say to her.

The tricky thing is that we don't really work together. This is a very independent job, like owning your own business. I would have to provide with some background and what has happened. I'm thinking I would leave my boss and the owner's name out of it.

I think blaming myself is a foregone conclusion. My coach said we (ADDers) tend to blame ourselves, and I see it on this forum all the time.

What I will try very hard not to do, is to lose the confidence I've worked so hard to obtain. Also, I don't want to get down on myself about this. I have ways to prevent that from happening now.

Thanks for caring Impetus.

[anonymouslyadd]

Knowing the power of the employer, I'm wondering if I should go for my Master's Degree in Journalism or Public Relations. I don't have faith in them in terms of giving me a job, and I could not get a single interview when I applied for a public relations position.

Employers want experience, and I don't have that.

This job was special, because they were giving me the opportuinity to work and train without experience. I was hoping to get some decent time in so I could put it on my resume.

This has been an experience and another eyeopener as to taking control over my own destiny.

I'm not giving up on this particular employer, but it's kind of scary and bizarre to hear them say that they don't want any repeat mistakes. How can I gurantee or live up to that?

I can't count on an employer.

[VelvetTiger]

Anon, I've been following your thread with interest because I'm proud of you overcoming doubt and going for the job you want. Whatever the outcome, you will have that feather in your cap.

As you might know, I was recently terminated from a position due to poor fit. Like your position, it had a few aspects that concerned me. One, lack of structure – it was very much like owning your own business. Two, the performance metrics were neither concrete nor clearly defined. When you have an environment requiring a "self-starter," the performance metrics need to be clearly defined from the outset. Also, a learning curve of between 3-6 months needs to be taken into account. As someone in the senior manager/director level of my career now, I can say with confidence that any reasonable employer should expect to lose money and efficiency for at least 3, and realistically up to 6 months into the new employee's term of service. The fact that they have seemingly little tolerance for error, combined with that lack of tangible metrics and blind eye to the learning curve, concerns me.

(Too long, didn't read: You WILL screw up from time to time for AT LEAST the first three months, especially if you have very, very little direction. Any employer who doesn't make an allowance for that is unreasonable and has no business owning a company.)

Side note: As someone who did work in print, and who's hired writers many times before, I'd advise against a master's of journalism. A motherlode of education with little real-world experience will make you less employable. If you want more education, look into one-off courses or certificate programs that focus on Web design and user experience skills. These are the current/up-and-coming skills employers want for writers.

I'm sorry things are turning out like this. My advice? Ask for a meeting with your supervisor and ask for a bulleted list of clearly defined performance metrics. Prepare for this meeting with a one-page summary of what you've achieved so far and where you wish to be in 30, 60, and 90 days from now. In that meeting, adopt the tone that you and the manager are a team, and want to work toward the same goals. That sort of preparation should handily impress a reasonable employer. If the supervisor gets annoyed, you'll have hard proof right there that it's THEM, not you. (Which I already think is the case.)

[anonymouslyadd]

Well, I sent them an email putting myself out there in terms of my interest level and tried to reassure them as to how I would do my best to prevent future mistakes.

My email was forwarded to the owner, who responded with something like "there seems to be some confusion." It said that he expressed his concerns with me and that they were not going to give me multiple clients. Therefore, they were not offering me a full-time postion.

I took the advice that many people gave me, and it didn't work. The owner wants to meet with, I guess, to discuss continuing my employment with them part time?

I don't not have much time left collecting unemployment (~two months), and I so I will have to find a place to live or something. I don't know what's going to happen.

I know I did a good job for them, and I really think there concerns shouldn't stop them from giving me the opportunity to take on multiple clients and go full-time. I ran a good campaign, which they agreed with.

It just goes to show that you can do a great job, and it still might not get you a job.

[Impetus]

Originally Posted by anonymouslyadd

Well, I sent them an email putting myself out there in terms of my interest level and tried to reassure them as to how I would do my best to prevent future mistakes.

My email was forwarded to the owner, who responded with something like "there seems to be some confusion." It said that he expressed his concerns with me and that they were not going to give me multiple clients. Therefore, they were not offering me a full-time postion.

I took the advice that many people gave me, and it didn't work. The owner wants to meet with, I guess, to discuss continuing my employment with them part time?

I don't not have much time left collecting unemployment (~two months), and I so I will have to find a place to live or something. I don't know what's going to happen.

I know I did a good job for them, and I really think there concerns shouldn't stop them from giving me the opportunity to take on multiple clients and go full-time. I ran a good campaign, which they agreed with.

It just goes to show that you can do a great job, and it still might not get you a job.

*hugs*

I'm so sorry Anon. I just don't know what else to say.

It can't hurt to go in to see what he's got to say or offer you. But I get it probably won't feel good either.

again, I'm really sorry this is playing out this way!

[anonymouslyadd]

He's really busy this whole week, but he's willing to talk to me on the phone. I obliged even though I'm going to be pulling an all nighter working on a paper.

I was hoping to meet with him face to face.

I have no clue what he's going to say. Is he going to tell me that they will give me another shot at it with another client to see if I'm less hard on myself?

I guess it's just about getting what I ultimately want. I'm going to try to do the best I can to make that happen. I just don't want to be abused along the way.

[Impetus]

Believe me, I hear ya!

[anonymouslyadd]

Well, we talked on the phone, and he's looking at trying me out in three to six months. I'm thinking this will be a part-time gig, and it'll be another opportunity for me to prove myself. He offered praise to me, and that might be the first time in my life I didn't really care about it.

He said he's going to give my email account over to my supervisor. He'll be emailing me some of the key points we went over in our face to face meeting. I told him I really appreciate that.

My confidence has been challenged, but it is not broken. I have too much factual evidence that says I did very well, and he agrees.

You see, usually when you do a good job, you don't get let go unless something drastic has happened. My supervisor said I ran a good campaign, which to me says that I did a good job.

Maybe I won't understand my current situation until much later in life. For now, I'm going to move on.

It's really hard to believe how this has turned out. Thanks for all the support guys.

Love you,

Anon

[Unmanagable]

Sorry you're going through such a hectic/stressful time, anon. My thoughts are with you.
(((((((((Hugs))))))))))

[anonymouslyadd]

Originally Posted by Impetus

Believe me, I hear ya!

I know. I really know.

[anonymouslyadd]

Originally Posted by Unmanagable

Sorry you're going through such a hectic/stressful time, anon. My thoughts are with you.
(((((((((Hugs))))))))))

Thank you. I could use a billion of them right now.

[namazu]

Originally Posted by anonymouslyadd

Thank you. I could use a billion of them right now.

[Impetus]

Originally Posted by anonymouslyadd

Well, we talked on the phone, and he's looking at trying me out in three to six months. I'm thinking this will be a part-time gig, and it'll be another opportunity for me to prove myself. He offered praise to me, and that might be the first time in my life I didn't really care about it.

He said he's going to give my email account over to my supervisor. He'll be emailing me some of the key points we went over in our face to face meeting. I told him I really appreciate that.

My confidence has been challenged, but it is not broken. I have too much factual evidence that says I did very well, and he agrees.

You see, usually when you do a good job, you don't get let go unless something drastic has happened. My supervisor said I ran a good campaign, which to me says that I did a good job.

Maybe I won't understand my current situation until much later in life. For now, I'm going to move on.

It's really hard to believe how this has turned out. Thanks for all the support guys.

Love you,

Anon

sorry to belabor this.... did he mean he'll have you work for him again, three months from now?

or will he let you work part time for three months?

[anonymouslyadd]

Originally Posted by Impetus

sorry to belabor this.... did he mean he'll have you work for him again, three months from now?

or will he let you work part time for three months?

The former. He'll let me work for him in about three months, at the earliest.