Waiting for the axe to drop
I have a new boss who is very different than the one I had for 5 years at the same organization. Needless to say one of my boss’ peers and I had an issue earlier this year, I shared a project experience with some industry peers that cast him in a negative light. The things I said were factual however I did not use the best presentation to describe it and he took huge offense.
For whatever reason I wasn’t fired on the spot and instead have been stuck in a strange twilight zone for months. During the initial meeting with him I explained my reasoning for sharing my experience and I was assigned a coach. Nothing was ever documented in writing that i know of, if it was it was not shared with me. Needless to say I have been actively job searching because this person has made my life difficult, he has the power to fire me at any moment and my boss doesn’t want to cross him so he goes along with whatever he says which makes for incredibly uncomfortable meetings (the three of us meet regularly). The coach is very nice but I have no idea how long these coaching sessions are supposed to last, if I am being graded on them or what. I asked the coach and she just replied “it depends”. The coach reports to him.
Meanwhile every day I worry I am going to be called into an office and fired. I am trying to continue doing my job well but it’s difficult knowing he is lurking and may have a plan to get rid of me. Hirings and firings are generally made by him even his peers don’t have the ability to pick their own direct reports or fire them.
The comments he made to me during the initial meeting with my boss have made me bitter, it is very obvious he hasn’t liked me for a long time
but he didn’t have the same leverage over my old boss to get rid of me. He apparently dragged up every negative thing anyone has ever said about me and threw it in my face, things like “No one here likes you”; “I know you said X about Y and I told her you said it” and “You have a terrible attitude you are negative about everything” generally just embarrassing me in front of my boss all the while smiling at my boss. Awkward AF right? oh and telling me I am great at my actual job function.
I think the plan is to make me uncomfortable enough that I quit, I was denied a bonus for work completed last year without explanation, I get the cold shoulder from this guys staff (I assume they were told) and it’s just damn uncomfortable but I can’t speak to anyone at work because I feel like people are always listening to report back to Big brother if I say anything negative.
Aside from taking a stiff drink every day at work any advice? (I am
joking of course I don’t drink at work) I don’t have work friends/confidants so i cant share this with anyone because I don’t know who his allies are. Everyone I explain the situation to outside of work can’t believe the power this individual holds when they are not the CEO (that person has no time for small stuff like this) I am using my network and applying for new jobs but my field is specialized and I feel like everyone is on vacation so I am not getting call backs.
And one last item, the coaching has been valuable in helping me to better chose how/when I share experiences so that I don’t get into a situation like this again. It’s funny and sad but a number of folks have told me it sounds like I work in the White House because this man’s behavior is similar to what we hear in the media.
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Apply to yourself everything you enjoy about it and pay no mind to the things that are bothering you.
Once you break the cycle of negative feedback in your mind, you can create a positive environment in your surroundings.
Let the good things happen.
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Ghosting is Real
I am bothering a recruiter who has ghosted me so many times I cannot remember all of them. Maybe one of these times something will work out.
We were supposed to speak tomorrow at 10am, now it is 1030. We shall see!
Good luck to all job seekers!
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Hi everyone!
I saw someone post a Google document for all the different types of positions!
It made me think to leave a doc that I am in, too, which is all remote positions that are updated every month!
https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1IUUwdEw0RjTftvJv3LTA-7XIICaufCB1-7hmSVmzP28/mobilebasic?pli=1&usp=gmail_thread
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Starting to think it's time to retire...
I've been searching for a new job for the past two years. I am a senior-level program manager with more than 25 years of experience. I've posted my resume on LinkedIn, Dice, Indeed, Monster, Careerbuilder, Glassdoor, you name it. In the two year span, I've had about four interviews. Three have gone to the second or even third round just to be told I was not selected, or never to hear from them again. Some of the interviews have gone well. I never get a reason for the no. I recently had a recruiter call me and say he was sending over a job, but he never sent it. That happened a few times after a phone call. I know you're thinking, 'Is it possible that I'm not professional over the phone?' I assure you that is not the case. I worked for many years as a receptionist, answering the phone and providing customer support. I've updated my resume as asked by multiple recruiters, I've used the AI tools recommended by LinkedIn. The only thing I have not done and refuse to do is pay $5000K to hire someone to find me a job. If I am looking for a job, I can't imagine spending money to get money. Maybe if the salary I am after was $500K or more, but I am not there yet. I thought it had something to do with the salary or the rate, but I am asking the market rate for my experience and the role. At this point, I honestly believe it has to do with my race. I've watched other PMs with less experience, from the same companies I've worked for, who I trained, get jobs. I am happy for them of course but there is no reason for me to be sending my resume to the recruiters and not even hearing back at all or not getting one offer. We never want to believe race has anything to do with it, but I had more luck when I removed my picture from LinkedIn, and I did not answer my phone, but forced recruiters to email me. But then came the video call, and I never heard from them again. I am not sure what I am doing wrong or what is wrong with my resume. This has become so frustrating. I am not at the age to retire but I am ready to give up. I love what I do. Support customers, teams, delivery all of it, but I cannot keep trying and adjusting for a world that refuses to accept me.
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Did HR skirt their job?
I had an issue come up recently where a consultant, and former colleague of our CEO, made an inappropriate and insulting comment to me on a call. I offered to share a study to help his brand and his response was "See , you do have some helpful knowledge in that brain of yours." I felt it was demeaning and obviously insulting my intelligence, especially in front of two other coworkers.
I went to HR after a week of deliberating what I should do, confront the person on my own or have HR deal with it. He had done some other passive aggressive actions around the call which made me feel I did not owe him a 1:1 discussion. But after speaking with HR her response was, "how would you like me to deal with it." Because the person is a contractor I asked her how should this be delt with? I didn't get a real answer outside of she will talk to him and it's up to me if I talk to him first. I guess my question is, how should this be dealt with? Our HRBP is a team of one and tends to avoid responsibilities, is this one of those cases?
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How long do hiring managers typically take to respond to an email?
I had a phone interview for an HVAC company not too far from where I live last week on Tuesday for an Installation Admin Specialist. I came across their job posting on Indeed and followed the directions on how to apply. Basically I emailed them that I was interested and attached my email to the address provided. I get a response later that day saying they are interested in interviewing me, and they gave me a call after work because they mentioned that the position is very competitive. The interview went well, even though I did not have experience working at an HVAC company, I was willing to learn new skills. It's been a week and I haven't heard anything. I emailed them yesterday (Monday) asking if there were any updates. I haven't received a response unfortunately. I've been looking for another job for so long and I'm just fed up.
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