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Browsing tag: work

  • March 18, 2010

    Paying tribute

    I’ve been employed at my company for just about three years now, with the vast majority of that as a part-timer, fit in around classes. And I would quite possibly be unemployed right now if it weren’t for my boss.

    I was absolutely devastated to hear he was leaving. I wasn’t surprised – a few things had led me to think he might not be with us much longer – and it turns out my instincts were right. Sometimes, though, being right is bittersweet.

    I’ve had a lot of jobs in my time, mostly menial PT jobs, with grumpy or tyrannnical supervisors to match. But for what it’s worth, my boss is by far the best boss I’ve ever had. Easygoing. Flexible. Supportive. Always puts his team’s best interests first and goes in to bat for us. I can safely say I wouldn’t be where I am right now otherwise; he recognises people’s strengths and does his best to accommodate them, and gave me a chance to prove myself.

    So, to my boss: You’re leaving some massive shoes to fill, and you’ll be sorely, sorely missed. You’ve been the best manager anyone could have asked for and our loss is their gain.

  • March 7, 2010

    Working round the clock

    I really enjoy going on holiday, and yet, I always feel uncomfortable being waited on. I know I’m paying to have our rooms made up and our meals made, but I still feel awkward about it.

    They work every day, 7 days a week. They cook and bake, do laundry, help people plan out their trips,

    They provide a service, and they have to be on top all the time or they risk building up a bad name.

    In the same way, I feel sad when we go to a takeaway shop and see a young boy/girl working behind the counter (presumably a family business). Or the council guys who run around town emptying the rubbish bins on footpaths. Yeah, I’m a sop.

    I could NEVER do it. I value my down time too much, and I’m not the kind who can put on a pleasant face and a smile when I don’t feel it. Sometimes T talks about starting his own business one day, but thankfully that would be more along the lines of making and selling things, which would (hopefully) not be all-consuming. I can’t see myself manning a deep fryer every day, but I could possibly see myself helping out with things like marketing and customer support.

  • February 19, 2010

    Job update: Me

    So it’s my turn to update you on the job front!

    I don’t know if this TECHNICALLY counts as achieving my goal of an upwards career move. What I can tell you is I now have the security of a fulltime contract. My title hasn’t changed, but I will have a bit more responsibility, and presumably the opportunity to really prove myself on the weekends. I do get a raise – almost 10% – which seems fair and I’m happy with. Next time around, I’d like to crack 40k – so close, yet so far. I’ll also be salaried, so I’ll know exactly how much I get each pay cycle. No OT, though – boo.

    The big change is my working hours. Wednesday to Sunday, and I’ll be working the afternoon shift on the weekends. But I’m not signing on for the rest of my life. It’s not like I have a roaring social life, and in fact, I think this could actually help me be more social. It’s way too easy for me to come home after work, shower, eat, and then decide I can’t be assed going all the way back to town, for example. Or even when it’s just an occasion in the burbs, sometimes, if I’m completely honest. And it sure beats working the night shift, or the early shift (6.30am? Hell to the no).

    What does suck is having opposite days off from T (no full days to spend together, no spur of the moment day or weekend trips) and different shifts (he starts around 7). We’ll have to organise a schedule that allows us to spend our evenings together rather than doing cooking or housework. And grocery shopping will probably have to be done on a weekend morning before work, or possibly left to him sometimes (eek!)

    Assuming he does 40hour weeks, that should make us a 70k plus income household. Crazy! (What’s also crazy is perhaps the fact his hourly rate is nearly the same as mine, and has been higher in the past. And I have a degree! But such is the nature of the industry… and he’s not unskilled by any means).

    I feel like things are finally, slowly, starting to come together.

    Did I mention that we’ll be moving soon, and I can pretty much guarantee that we’ll be paying more rent wherever we go? Our rent right now is really cheap (shared house) – the downside of course is dealing with flatmates and the resulting drama. So the timing couldn’t be better.

    Thank you, universe.

  • February 18, 2010

    Job update: Him

    Sometimes, things take a long time to come to fruition. And sometimes, they just move ridiculously fast…

    T finished up with landscaping and the likely dead end father/son business and has returned to what he was doing before.

    It’s now been well over a year since he was laid off from a good job, which seemed to be the path toward getting qualified and good earning potential in the trades. Since then he’s dabbled in a few things, and although he still doesn’t have a long-term plan, he’s just happy to be doing something that utilises his skills. Redundancy was a big blow for both of us – he was the main income earner, I was still studying – and because fabrication was something he kind of fell into, he’s floundered a bit since then.

    Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a leech and he’s not lazy. It’s been embarrassing for him to come home on weeks when he’s hardly made enough to cover work expenses like gas and lunches. He’s just as glad as I am that he should now be able to pay the bills. Sure, this is going to mean spending more on gas and food (it’s not as far as his old job, but he’ll be driving our car instead of a work truck), some new clothes and him once again coming home tired, aching and sore everyday, but the benefits have to outweigh the negatives.

    You know the saying “it’s who you know?” In this case, it really is all about contacts. It was an old flatmate of mine (now in a relationship with T’s sister and who has just had two kids with her, funnily enough) who got T his first job in the industry, and who got him this gig. It probably goes without saying that I am incredibly grateful to have crossed paths with him back in 2006. I was NOT looking forward to another round of endless job seeking like the one T went through last year. Even though it wasn’t me on the line, that didn’t make it any easier – the discouragement, the frustration, the disheartened face that would greet me when I got in the door.

    So, whether this lasts, whether this leads to anything more, remains to be seen. Whether he wants to stay in the industry isn’t even really on the cards right now. I don’t think an apprenticeship is going to happen – people seem to think it’s easy to get one, but they be FOOLS – but at least he has the option of paying a few hundred dollars and getting his welding tickets if need be. (The only bummer is that they don’t last long and have to be renewed constantly. NOT cheap.)

    For now, I want us to be able to really get our financial house in order; it hurts me to think how much we frittered away in the past, but we’ve learned to live on so much less now. The priority will be getting his debt paid down, while saving a little for a rainy day, while the money is there. After that, we’ll see.

    As for me, I have a whole post coming up on that. Stay tuned!

  • February 14, 2010

    Career angst (not mine this time)

    (If you’re coming here from my 2011 post, note that this is from a year ago. T has a steady job, the latest in a very long chain of events which goes something like career track/redundancy/temp work/total unemployment/short course/job which turned out to be a dead end – as detailed below – temp work, more total unemployment in which we agreed he would wait for something remotely challenging or with growth potential/full time job.)

    I’ve been the main income earner now for over a year (and for most of that time, I was a student). And I’m tiring of it.

    T has been working – sort of – for a few months. Basically he does tree work and landscaping – it’s a “fun” job for him, and seeing as he only works with one other person, he doesn’t really have to worry about work politics. BUT. There are a lot of buts.

    a) The pay is about as bad as it gets.
    b) The hours aren’t even regular
    c) It’s also kind of a seasonal thing, and obviously winter will be the worst.
    d) And long-term, where is this going?
    e) It’s a company started up by our flatmate’s father, who is essentially the boss of both his son and T. (I just don’t think family and business mix).
    f) For example, T is still on an hourly wage. But I think the boss’ son/our flatmate is now on a salary. This means he doesn’t really care if they don’t have work for a few days, as he isn’t affected. He’ll just take off on a fishing trip or something.
    g) T is adamant that they are serious about the business, but they haven’t even got around to registering with the Companies office, among other things.
    h) Our flatmate is what you might generously call a screwup. He says he’s learned from all his mistakes, but he really hasn’t. It’s only a matter of time..he’s not the brightest crayon in the box. And after two months, he still hasn’t even got around to getting the business cards printed up. That’s how he rolls.

    So for all this talk of really kickstarting the business, getting more contracts, getting more money, I’m sceptical. I know it’s only been a few months, but we can’t afford to keep on like this for much longer. I’ve told him we need to re-evaluate the situation, and he agrees – he wants to start looking for another job.

    A while ago I got my hands on a copy of Refuse to Choose: What Do I Do When I Want To Do Everything? by Barbara Sher (bear with me here, this is related). It casts light on those who the rest of us might call deadbeats or flakes; those who can’t settle down, those who bounce from job to job without committing. Sher says these people are Scanners, “endlessly inquisitive” individuals who are curious about many unrelated subjects with no desire to specialise in any. Rather than valuing money or “success” in the traditional form of the word, Scanners have their own “nectar” and once they get what they need out of a project, they’re ready to move on.

    She identifies nine types of Scanners, including the Sampler, Wanderer, Jack of all Trades, Serial Specialist, Plate Spinner and Double Agent. Whether you find yourself returning to the same things time and time again, or are always seeking new challenges, she offers advice on finding ways around that, balancing multiple interests and devising paths toward finding a career that works for you.

    When I hit the Jack of all Trades chapter, I knew we were onto something. Jacks don’t value career success. For them, what’s important is usually something in their personal life – family, music, whatever. For them, the “good-enough” job works and it works well. It works even better because they tend to excel at whatever they do and rise rapidly through the ranks. According to the author, these kinds of Scanners can literally do anything, and shouldn’t waste time chasing the mythical perfect job (odds are it doesn’t exist).

    You know what? That’s him! He’s quick to learn and has impressed people in everything he’s done. Athletics. The army. His two years in engineering and fabrication. Coaching kids sports. His university course (he now has uni entrance qualifications, should he decide to enrol in the future). He’s got an aptitude for cooking, for working with his hands, and just for learning in general. It’s almost annoying just how good he is at anything he tries.

    After wading through all that, I think I feel like I have a little more understanding of how he ticks. But at the end of it all, neither of us can help but feel the same as we did before: Why can’t he find something and stick with it?

    So: what advice would you give someone like him? Where should he look? What should he do?

  • February 6, 2010

    Let’s talk about drinking

    Here’s a question. How often do you have Friday (or any day) drinks at the office?

    Drinking is such an integral part of Kiwi culture, whether it’s beers by the barbecue or beers in the boardroom after hours. Any excuse for beer’o’clock, really. I’m constantly getting alerts notifying me to the fact that someone I know has joined the I’m not an alcoholic, I’m a New Zealander Facebook group. Sad, but telling.

    Epic drinking stories are a sign of pride, to be told and retold and elevated to legendary status. We had drinks this week for a colleague on his last day. Out came a story about literally crawling home after a particularly raucous evening at work (not long after joining the team…) I’ll admit I’ve had a few benders in my time, but not for a looong while, and me falling asleep at the end of it is about as exciting as it gets – I don’t get rowdy, I just get incredibly drowsy. I’m the most boring drinker EVER.

    I actually kind of dread work drinks, because after a couple I’m hammered enough to call it a night. That’s why I generally stick to juice or something similar…because it’s REALLY obvious once the alcohol takes effect.

    But sometimes it makes me feel slightly uncomfortable being the odd one out, you know? Sometimes people think you’re uptight or boring, and it’s ten times worse if you’re already feeling awkward. I tell myself that choosing not to drink really doesn’t affect how others perceive me, or my career, but it feels like sometimes being a team player means being a drinker.

     

  • January 9, 2010

    What if, what if…

    I mentioned the other day that I was worried about my job stability. And when I start to get worried about, well, anything, I tend to go overboard to compensate. Freaking out about lack of cashflow? I overload on mystery shopping assignments and waste far too much time looking at ads for casual/one off jobs.

    There may not be enough FT positions currently advertised for me to go all Rambo on, but I am applying for one role – basically coordinating publications across my university. As far as I can tell, it’s a permanent position, and though I’ve been putting off compiling my app, I’m at the stage where I just need to copy, paste and hit send.

    Now I’m starting to freak out. What if I get offered it? The position starts almost immediately, and I have a fairly long notice period (although I’m sure we could work something out). Can I do the job? What if it’s a bad move long term, because it’s a move slightly off the journalism path? Do I even want to take it? Should I just stay put, cross my fingers and hope for the best? As much as I love my workplace, as much as my manager might like me and want to see me shine, there certainly are no guarantees.

    I’m just going to press enter, and forget about the whole thing unless I hear anymore back from them.

  • December 22, 2009

    Leaving the big lights

    Our class of 2009 has done well. There’s a fair number of us with jobs – in our chosen field, no less – but for every one of those, there’s another who’s moved back with their parents, jobless.

    This weekend I caught up up with one of my classmates, who was tossing up between going on a planned overseas trip, and staying here in case she gets a particular job. Basically, it’s a toss up between a holiday, and the possibility of a stable, FT position – one that she’s applied for, but won’t hear back from until after she leaves the country. And it has an immediate start, so carrying on with the trip would disqualify her assuming she’s successful. It’s about as sucky as a choice can get.

    I found myself telling her even if she does go, it’s not the last job in the world. There’s plenty of opportunities – just in the last few weeks I’ve seen a handful of entry level PRINT reporting jobs advertised, and who knew those still existed? But she was adamant she didn’t want to leave Auckland, and after all, she still lives at home.

    It’s definitely got me thinking, though. Am I a hypocrite? Here I am, telling others there are jobs around if only they were open to leaving Auckland. But how would I react if I was offered my dream job – IF it meant moving to the middle of nowhere? (Unlikely, but I’m trying to make a point here..)

    Right now, if T was given a great opportunity almost anywhere, I think I would happily relocate without much of a struggle. Today it really hit me that I could be out of a job in a month or two. Once this project is over, there really is no place for me anymore. It’s unlikely that I’m going to be able to move up into the kind of position I want, and my current role is somewhat redundant.

    But if I was to move (and especially, move by myself) I’d have to get a car. And learn to drive it properly. I’d be away from everyone I know, and be making trips back home to Auckland. I’d be cooking for myself again (ugh) and possibly still be helping out T (although things are picking up – theirs is a seasonal job for sure).

    I suppose I’d have to give thought to it, but it wouldn’t be a decision to be made lightly. Obviously. Financially, it would be really hard, combined with the fact that I’m more likely than not to take a pay cut should I move to a small town. Rent would be cheaper, I guess, but the second car would kill us. Honestly, at this point I think I’d be better off staying here, working freelance or in an admin job, whatever, until the right opportunity. Things have already started picking up in the last few months, going by the number of job listings around, and hopefully the new year will bring more.

  • November 26, 2009

    What are you worth?

    I came across a really interesting post on the TradeMe message boards not long ago on the subject of pay raises. This person was a qualified tradesperson on $20/hr, and had just had a request for a raise rejected. Not having had a pay rise for years, he was worse off in real terms because of inflation. His company also contracted him out on close to $90/hr – sounds about right, that’s what T’s employer used to do.

    It turned into a pretty heated debate, with commenters telling him he was grossly underpaid and no qualified professional should be on a rate less than $50, and others railing against greedy employers failing to keep workers up with the cost of living.

    $50 an HOUR!!! My god, that is a LOT of moolah. That’s $2000 pretax a week or $104,000 a year. I’m right in the average range for an entry-level journalism grad ($30-35,000), and even if I one day work up to a more senior role in subbing or editing I don’t imagine I’d be breaking the six-figure mark. It’s not a particularly lucrative field – maybe I should transition into PR one day? – but to be honest, I have trouble believing my work would ever be worth $50 per hour.

    I do, however, believe everyone is entitled to at least a raise to keep up with inflation. In my entire life (marked by a series of short, casual and part time jobs to date) I received ONE payrise, at the worst waitressing stint I ever did. It was a 50c increase. I was overjoyed.

    Hard work deserves recognition and raises should be based on merit. But we shouldn’t have to work doubly hard to gain a big enough raise every year just to keep up with the ever-increasing cost of living.

    Now that I’m a newly graduated, FT employee – may the situation continue, touch wood – I should have performance reviews and all that jazz along with everyone else. Wages and salaries were frozen last year, but with things looking up, perhaps they’ll see fit to melt the ice a little bit.

    Because otherwise, I’ll have been here 2.5 years, albeit parttime, without one. If I was on the collective contract I would have had two small raises by now. A lot of people at my workplace are represented by the union, but when I moved from evening to daytime hours after a year I switched to an individual agreement as the rate was higher. (For all those who do weekends and shifts, though, the union has a great thing going on with several different allowances and extra payments. It’s all a tad complicated – but at least they get compensation for their odd hours. I think Sundays garner double the pay!)

    What about you – what do you consider a “professional” rate for your industry? Do you think employees deserve cost-of-living raises?

  • November 20, 2009

    Success, careers and selling yourself

    I caught up with a handful of other journo majors a couple of weekends ago. Out of all of them, I was the only one with a full time job. Don’t get me wrong – a LOT of others (albeit not in attendance) have found work, and in journalism. Even, surprisingly, in print. Something we discussed – in between bits of juicy, scandalous gossip – was that it’s funny how many of the people who got jobs right out of university are the ones who you least expected to. It just goes to show: you don’t need to be wildly successful at school to be successful professionally.

    As time goes by, I think I’m starting to realise that where I’d really like to be is in subbing and editing. There’s nothing I get more satisfaction from than honing a piece to be the best it can be; spotting errors, fixing them, tightening up sentences. As much as I’ve learned this year, and as much as my skin has thickened (which admittedly is still not a lot) I still often find interviewing daunting. I’m not the most graceful of swans, socially speaking, at any given time. And when I’m facing people who don’t want to talk to me…

    Right after I shook hands on the two projects I’m lined up to assist on (both technical in nature) some writing assignments came up. A few other grads from my class were brought on for those. The big boss apologised for how that panned out to me, and said my direct boss had been lobbying on my behalf and really believed in me. He’s the one who suggested me doing more writing, without even having to ask. And is giving me every opportunity to write as they come up. Can I just say how great it feels to have someone on your side?

    And yet, I know I should be pushing for myself, you know, on my own. Except I’m not sure how to do that exactly. And as I said, a typical reporting job is something I’m slightly ambivalent about. But I guess I gotta do my time first, and surely the idea of my fellow grads being hired and surpassing me here will be enough to spur me on.

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