I’m almost an MBA. I don’t want to be known as just a nanny!
January 6, 2009 – 9:01 pm
Dear Office-Politics,
I am currently 4 classes away from earning my MBA and earned my Bachelors degree a little over 2 years ago. And I have a dilemma.
While working at a temporary position over the holidays, I began to network with some people. One of my new contacts originally approached me looking for a “nanny” but once we got to talking further, we realized that this new contact of mine had a full-time professional job opening in the career that I was looking to begin. It seemed like great karma!!
After our initial contact, I followed up with her and reemphasized how anxious I was to hear more about this opportunity or other opportunities within this new contact’s corporation. About a week after the follow-up, this contact inquired if I was interested in ‘nannying’ and didn’t mention anything about the professional opportunity.
Do I help out and take the nanny position temporarily and hope this contact still considers me for the professional career? How do I establish my self as a career-oriented professional and not just a kid? More…
My boss is talking about me to everyone!
Dear Office-Politics,
I have been with my company for a little over 1 year and I love my job. My boss, however, is a different story. He has been with the company for over 15 years and has been pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. I have caught him in several lies, stealing and harassing. He has generally just been exhibiting unethical behavior for a very long time. I went through my chain of command and requested to be pulled out from under his supervision because I just could not take it any longer. My request was granted. I now report to his boss.
Now he is talking about me to everyone. He has been going to other managers/co-workers and making very nasty and just untrue statements about me in a professional capacity. It is just gossip, pure and simple.
What does she do all day long?
Dear Office Politics,
I work in a small group of four people—one manager, two professionals, and myself. My position is a cross between professional and support duties. The manager and myself are assigned to multiple programs. The two professionals belong to one program. These programs serve a tremendous amount of external clients (over 7,000). I can never keep up with my professional duties much less providing adequate office manager functions. My manager understands. He pitches in when he can but often asks the two professionals to assist me with the professional work in the program.
Recently one professional revealed that the other professional has been making negative remarks about me, comments such as “what does she do all day long?” Normally I wouldn’t put much stock into such hearsay, except the one professional is known to be critical, brusque and controlling. (Fortunately, she also has good qualities!)
Job Seekers Biggest Obstacle? Many job seekers reluctant to relocate
As the slowing economy forces employers to put the brakes on new hiring, job seekers have seen their searches lengthen by nearly one month. However, job seekers’ understandable reluctance to relocate may be inflating the time it takes to find a new position.
BY JOHN A. CHALLENGER
The median job search among those winning positions in the third quarter lasted nearly 4.4 months. That was up from a median job search of 3.6 months among second quarter job winners. The findings are based on a quarterly survey of approximately 3,000 job seekers in a wide variety of industries nationwide.
The latest job search times represent a significant increase from the recent low of 2.8 months recorded in the fourth quarter of 2007. While the longer search times come amid a weakening economy and job market, the increase may be seasonal in nature.
Forecast: Heavy job cuts into early 2009
Uncharacteristically heavy job cutting over the summer months could lead to the largest post-Labor Day downsizing since 2002. Furthermore, the surge in layoffs is expected to extend into the first three to four months of 2009 as retailers, airlines, consumer products manufacturers and other sectors of the economy absorb the impact of significantly lower holiday spending by consumers.
(Plus How To Rebound From A Job Loss and How To Survive Mass Layoffs)
How do I tell my fabulous bosses (who let me bring my baby to work) I’m leaving?
Dear Office-Politics,
Hello and thank you for this forum. My question has to do with three really fabulous bosses. I was hired this February doing office work for the municipal government of a small town (VERY small, under 1,200 people). They hired me without knowing I was pregnant. I had decided (after much ethical dilemma) not to mention my pregnancy in the interview process since it would be illegal for them to take my pregnancy into account in their decision of who to hire. I’m also aware that even though it is the law not to discriminate, other people become much more qualified when you are pregnant.
After I was hired, I told them about my pregnancy and they were disappointed that I did not tell them during the interview but mostly, they were OK with it. A month after they saw my performance, they all voted to let me have the baby in the office until she was not exclusively nursed or when she started crawling (if she wasn’t a disruption). Four months into the job, my pregnancy became complicated and I was hospitalized for a month and forced to have my baby 5 weeks early. They were 100% supportive.
Holiday Hiring Forecast: Weak
BY JOHN A. CHALLENGER
Bleak conditions for retailers as the holiday selling period approaches are expected to keep seasonal hiring well below last year’s level, according to the annual holiday hiring forecast by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Retailers are facing an uphill battle this year. Consumers are tapped and credit is increasingly harder to come by. Meanwhile, retailers’ shipping costs are ballooning thanks to gas prices, and the weak dollar is raising the price of imported goods. With profits already getting squeezed, most retailers are going to be reluctant to take on the additional cost of extra staffing.
While Challenger anticipates some holiday hiring this year, it is expected to fall well short of the 727,500 seasonal job gains averaged over the previous decade. In fact, if spring hiring is any indication, this could be the weakest holiday hiring season since 2001, when retail employment grew by only 585,300 jobs, as consumer and retailer confidence plummeted in the wake of September 11th.
Sweet Sammy — the ambitious backstabber
Dear Office-Politics,
I need your expertise in dealing with what I believe to be an overly ambitious backstabber. I am my boss’ longest employee, love my job, very loyal, dedicated, and love my co-workers. My boss and co-workers are like extended family to me. Almost 2 years ago, a woman (I’ll call her Sammy) joined our team without team members’ consent and she has been a problem for me ever since. The team members were not consulted on our opinions, Sammy was hired by my boss without us ever interviewing her.
Sammy acts very sweet in front of everybody, but most importantly to my boss, then she backstabs them. She is very ambitious and will destroy anything that stands in her way. That first thing in her way, is me. I am more of a body language and facial expression reader than pure listener, so when she is emotional or lies about anything, I know.
Jobs Will Be Job One For New President
BY JOHN A. CHALLENGER
OUTLOOK: POST-ELECTION JOB CREATION
Jobs are on the forefront of many Americans’ minds going into this election season, especially job seekers. Each candidate promises to enact policies that will help ignite a recovery and new job growth, but where that growth occurs will depend heavily on who wins in November.
A McCain win will likely mean job gains in oil and gas, aerospace/defense, nuclear engineering, insurance, automotive and financial services.
Meanwhile, an Obama win could help spur job growth in education, telecommunications, manufacturing, alternative energy industries and construction.
It is impossible to say which future president will succeed in delivering an economic recovery and job growth, primarily because so many other factors will play a role in determining the outcome of their policy initiatives. All we can forecast now is where the job growth should be, based on each candidate’s policy objectives and priorities. For example, Obama has stated his intention of funding more research associated with alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power. Meanwhile, McCain wants to lower our dependence on foreign oil by tapping our own resources and relying more on nuclear energy.
Dream job or deal with the devil?
Dear Office-Politics,
11 months ago I landed my dream job. I doubled my salary overnight, and gained a “Director” title as a 26 year old. Of course, nothing is too good to be true, and at the time I realized I may have made a deal with the devil. I decided I would counteract all challenges by putting in extra hours, being extremely compliant, taking on more than was asked of me, and absorbing everything I could to maximize this incredible opportunity.
After 6 months, my lone employee resigned, thus, I had to take over her job responsibilities as well. While I was adept at managing her process, I was not familiar with her procedures and the time allocation necessary to execute her more administrative/procedural job tasks. As a result, my primary role suffered as I tried to finesse her role.
I’m a cookie monster on my own birthday!?
Dear Office-Politics,
I work in an office where there is a double standard. I feel as if I am being “picked on” by the boss (who is old enough to be my mother). It has been going on for a long time; I won’t bore you with past details. My most recent frustration came when “Boss” blindsided me with a “Can I see you in my office?” email.
Back story – “Boss” was out of the office for 3 days, so our dept Lead was in charge. The “Lead” was stressed, screaming at her computer/e-mail, slamming things on her desk, etc. while in charge. When I asked the lead a question that I knew she would have an answer to, she replied with, “I don’t know,” and a bad attitude. Needless to say, I had to call someone who used to work with us to get the information. Lead’s behavior/attitude caused added stress unto me and others, so I copped an attitude back.
So, when I went into Boss’ office, I was told that my attitude was unacceptable and my behavior (i.e. slamming things on my desk, sighing, making minor comments, etc.) was a distraction to everyone in the dept and did not make for a good environment. The day after I was reprimanded, I heard the Lead scream at her computer, “Oh, great. Thanks _____, thanks for telling me that NOW that I’ve processed your damn order.” The Lead has continued to exert the same behavior/attitude that I was reprimanded for, yet she has not been reprimanded as it still continues to this day.
Oldest Americans Gain Jobs Even As Other Age Groups Suffer Losses
The slowing economy has dampened the demand for older workers, but not much. The number of workers 55 and older is still growing significantly while those younger than 45 struggle with widespread job loss.
An analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. found that employment among those 55 and older grew by 3.7 percent from 25,686,000 in July 2007 to 26,631,000 in July 2008. The number of employed 20- to 44-year-olds declined by an average of 1.3 percent during the same period.
The new report shatters the myth that older workers are particularly vulnerable in this economic downturn.
The fact is pared down companies may increasingly rely on seasoned veterans to get them through the downturn. They may cost more in salary and benefits, but their experience and knowledge make them highly valued.
