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I was laid off 2 yrs ago and it seemed to take forever to find a job. Finally, after sending out 100's of resume, 8 months later I got a temp in the billing dept of large tech company. (They called us "Contractors" but really we were temps).
I had never worked for such a successful company, and being around bright, talented people was going to be a new experience for me. They had free food in the kitchens, a ping-pong table in the mail room. Their stock was constantly going up.
But there was a problem. I was a temp and they kept saying that they couldn't make me full-time because it wasn't in the budget. I found out later that people often "temped" for a year before being hired.
The other problem was that the department was very disorganized, lots of fighting between departments, and the job was extremely boring. The training was weak and disorganized. Everyone who trained me told me a different way and had different rules.
Also, even though I was a temp, they really wanted me to "audition" for the job and this meant that while I didn't get health benefits, vacation pay, or holiday pay (Thanksgiving, etc). I had to be upbeat and happy all the time.
I just felt used. The job was so boring I would come home and fall asleep. While some people in that company were probably pretty brilliant, the people I worked with were very average. They gave us antiquated software, old computers, it felt cheap. It was dirty.
To top this off, after 9 months of temping, one Monday I went to work and the "manager" told me that I was being let go because I had an attitude. She said this in front of everyone. I was mortified but remained calm and got my stuff (a box of kleenex and my reading glasses) and she walked me out. All the while, continuing to tell me that I didn't belong there.
I was mortified but I had to be careful of my actions because I knew however I acted would get back to the agency and could be used against me.
I did find a great job 4 weeks later, full time with benefits, vacation, days off, and the work is engaging.
Still, I find myself thinking back to how I was treated at this "great company" and worried that it will happen to me at my new job.
It's like I was assulted and am reliving it over and over. I wanted to stand up for myself but I was afraid of ever getting another job again.
This "manager" should not be in her position but I don't know what I can do about it now. I feel like writing the HR department of that company and describing what happened that day and that they should know that "manager" is unprofessional.
Any thoughts on what I am going through? Insight? Help?
I'm sure you're smart enough to realize that dwelling on one bad experience prevents you from moving forwards and is very unhealthy. Life is full of pitfalls and potholes. Better to put it into perspective and learn from it. The manager was lousy at her job, so use her example of "leadership" as one to be sure not to follow. That way you make it a positive.
HR and senior management are obliged to back her up, no matter what kind of letter you send to them. You need to regain some sense of control, but trying to alert them can only hurt you. All of us get damage like this along the way, but we have to deal with it.
They are well aware of any shortcomings she may have, but apparently the positives outweigh the negatives.
There's a principle called 'statistical independence'. It means that when you roll the dice once, the chances of rolling the same number again are not dependent on the first roll.
Luckygirl15,
My suggestion to you is simply to follow the advice of the previous posts and just let go of the bitter taste left behind by your last job. Even though you may feel that something should be done about such a terrible manager, you will only come across a disgruntled worker, and you may not be taken seriously. It sounds that you have a good job now and it would be better to concentrate on your performance on this position and not the latter. Good luck to you.
I know what you are both saying however this woman is a terrible manager and shouldn't someone tell her superiors about what she did?
If you know what we're saying then you know the answer. You're talking about something which ended up with your being let go 7 months ago and you now have a new position which you enjoy. It's seriously unhealthy to be so preoccupied with one past incident. Trust me (and I'm assuming you're quite young) your future is going to be filled with pockets of adversity of one form or another, people who tick you off and probably even more "terrible managers".
Any sort of retaliation on your part will be met with derision at best and, let's say just for the sake of argument that something you say resulted in her being dismissed. What on earth sort of satisfaction would you derive from that - a gleeful rubbing together of hands and an "I showed HER" delight? You have to know how totally unproductive and childish that is. Get on with your current job and focus on what's ahead. Good luck.
What I really want is an apology from the manager and adminission from the company that their manager was out of place.
I'm not young (at all - middle age actually) and I have had many, many (at least 20) managers. Most have been really professional people, some not so, but none have ever treated me this way. I think that is what bothers me the most. The way she treated me. I could have cared less about the job, I wasn't planning on staying anyway, it was being fired in front of everyone and her telling me it was my attitude. I'm smart enough to know that even though you don't like something, you keep working and doing your best. The think that I did wrong was telling someone, in another department, that I was looking for a different type of job and this probably got back to her.
The temp agency was upset too because they had no idea this was coming. In truth, the way it should have been done, was the temp agency should have called me and told me not to go back to work. It was the temp agency responsibility and not that stupid manager. Sorry, but stupid is the correct word in this situation.
That manager had it out for me because I was on to her and it made her insecure. I was nice and did the job but I knew she was a not a good manager and I guess she knew that too. I never said anything to the people in that department about her, since I knew everyone talked, and I was nice to her to her face even though I knew her skills as manager were lacking.
Well, I'll just try to chalk this up as a working experience and know that what goes around, comes around so at some point she will probably be let go by her manager once they realize that she is a stupid manager. As more people leave her department (since I was there she lost 3 full time people, one left to go to a temp job!) the company will soon realize and then she will be let go but she will probably get a severence package.
Ahh female manager working off emotions and a grudge. It is quite clear.
Let it be, you have a better job now.
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