Well, that solves the ‘how to quit’ issue; no one is going to try to talk you out of it if you get another job now.
Um, you should dress really nicely and suck up, er, be very helpful, to any trustee that wanders through the office.
And under the circumstances, you can ask the nice director for a written recommendation now.
You can ever present her with a letter she can use as an outline, just to make it easier for her. (A lot a bosses will ask you to write your own letter of recommendation, and then edit it.)
Kelli, I think you may be hearing a bum story on how the bankruptcy trustees take care of past due employee wages in a Canadian bankruptcy filing. By all means, look for another job, but in the meantime see if you can contact the bankruptcy trustee to get a straight story. My understanding (which, admittedly is more in the Canadian corporate bankruptcy realm than your (presumably) non-profit comany) is that employees have a priority claim for earned but unpaid wages and benefits up to a certain amount which it’s doubtful you passed.
Lemme do some more research and see what else I can find (I once had a bankruptcy attorney in Calgary, believe it or not), but see what you can do about contacting the trustees directly, if they don’t contact the employees (which they usually do).
I don’t have any great advice on what to do now, but I just wanted you to know that I feel for you, and I certainly understand what you are going through (to a degree). I quit a stable job I liked for a job with the same pay that offered me promotions. I would have been promoted, but it seems people at that place get promoted as other people QUIT! They have such a high turn over, they could always tell people interviewing “There is much room for you to be promoted!”.
WELL DUH! But is that an environment you want to be promoted in? I think not.
Anyway, didn’t mean to bore you with my own story. just wanted to offer support. Here’s a little word of advice: Maybe in this transition period, working as a waitress would be the best idea. That would give you cash in your pocket on your FIRST day of work. Sometimes just knowing that you have a little cash coming in will make all the difference. You can always interview for places and send resumes in while you are waitressing.
You are in my thoughts! I’m sure things will start to look better!!
kellibelli: What field do you work in at your college? If it’s fundraising, I know some people who work in Canada who may be able to give some advice.
If it’s not, is there a national organization which may be able to supply advice? I’m not sure of the situation in secondary schools, but there is a federation of college and university employees, I believe.
I don’t know where you live, but here in Missouri, you may receive unemployment if you quit a job because your working conditions are ‘intolerable’. I suggest you talk to your local unemployment office to see if this is true where you live and get their definition of ‘intolerable’.
Bounced paychecks and canceled medical insurance sure seem intolerable to me. Good luck!
Bouncing paychecks, huh? What about this slightly underhanded way of dealing with it: cash your checks at the local check cashing agency. In the Philadelphia PA area they are everywhere, I can cash a check for about 1% or 2% of the total, or a few dollars as long as it is a payroll check. Can’t bounce on you then since they give you cash right away. This is of course not the best way to deal with the issue long term, but at least short term you’d get paid and have money to eat for you and the kids. Let the assholes writing bad checks deal with the consequences.