Ok, I am working for a company in a long term / temp to hire basis. I have been working for said company since October of last year. Traditionally, it takes 3 months to become permanant. That would have been around January or February. Well, both months passed, I was doing great, everyone is very happy with my work, I learned 3 new programs to help support the Controller / Vice President of the company and everyone was saying that I should be made perm. any day now.
So, yesterday my supervisor comes to me in tears and says that the owner of the company has decided not to bring me on full time because “he has other ideas for my position”. (I am an Executive Assistant who does a little bit of everything for everyone and answers the switchboard to boot).
So, they want me to stay on until they find someone else. So, I came in today, not too happy. Everyone is treating me weird because they know my days are numbered.
My question is, should I just cut my losses and save my pride and make today my last day, or should I suck it up and can my pride and stay until they find someone else? In the meantime I am looking for another job by the way.
Otherwise, I’d write a long letter listing everything you did and how committed you were to the company, but since they have chosen not to respect your work or your help, that you intend to immediately look for work elsewhere. Respect and commitment are a two-way street.
“he has other ideas for the position” sounds a lot like double speak for “my daughter/son/wife/mistress needs a job.” If you’re up against nepotism, it’s time to cut and run. There’s just about nothing to be done about nepotists. At least, nothing legal.
No, no, no, no, no. Do not under any circumstances write a letter in which you tell your employer that they don’t value or respect you. See, your employer is also your reference for your next job and if you leave them with the impression that you’re an ass, you will (if they give an actual reference when contacted) get a bad reference or (if they don’t give a reference beyond verifying employment) find a way to communicate it to your potential employer. I cannot stress strongly enough what a bad, bad, bad idea the above advice is.
My advice is, if you need the money, stay. If you can get by without it (or can go on unemployment), leave. Either way, you have nothing to be ashamed of and the people who are treating you “weird” are jerks.
I am assuming this is through a temp agency. Therefore, the agency is really the reference, not this employer. I still wouldn’t write a letter. And, if you want to stay in the good graces of the agency, don’t do anything outrageous. Also, give at least one week’s notice when you leave.
Sorry Otto, I respectfully disagree. You are assuming that the boss is right/correct/the man. If she has done good work, and she has tried to show them how committed she was, but they are going to nudge her out anyways, then by writing a self-preserving letter that documents her positive points, she leaves with a modicum of respect. Of course if she is going to use this as a reference she should keep it professional. But letting them walk all over you is no way to go through life.
Just leaving without saying a word is a great way to earn a bad reference, which is what she is contemplating. Explaining your decision, respectfully, and then leaving on a point of honor wins respect. I did this exact same thing and had the owner (not my direct boss) thank me for pointing out problems. Plus the other employees backed me and they were the ones I used as a reference, not my ex-asshat-boss.
Living life fearing what will “go down in your permanent record” is no way to live. Not letting people shit on you and taking control of a situation will get you far.
At the same time you are looking for further employment, make sure you go to your boss and request a letter of reference from him/her to further your resume.
Once you have that in your hot little hand, and you have your new job, make sure you DO tell him/her exactly how you feel before you leave. A letter always works best for these types of things because you can lay out your thoughts much more succinctly.
I’m trying to figure out what this means… It seems that they just want to fill your position with someone else, but that goes against the apparently good work you have been doing. Somebody in a position of power doesn’t like your work, or there are some other shenanigans going on.
I agree with the others who have suggested start looking immediately, and get a letter of reference from your current supervisor, who apparently would like you to stay on. I would suggest you give notice when you land that new job, rather than just up and leave right away.
New employers might not look kindly on the idea of you leaving the old job immediately upon getting the offer. They might see that as the way your job with THEM will end.
Thanks for all the advice. I am with a temp agency who was also very surprised to hear I am not being offered a perm. Position. My immediate supervisor is writing me a letter of reference as we speak, and has given me a few prospects of those who might need people.
My hypothesis is that the owner wants a Barbie doll that will sit at the front desk and answer the phone and have no brains and get paid accordingly. The do not want an intelligent person with a degree in this position because they know that they will have to pay a more “premium” rate.
The good news? Tomorrow I have an interview! I am taking the whole day off so I can have breakfast with my husband and I will begrudgingly come back friday. If I am offered a position tomorrow then I will give a weeks notice. Not because I want to, but because that is good Karma and I need the cash.
And if I were suggesting that she live her life in fear of her permanent record your criticism might have some merit. Your initial suggestion was to “write a long letter listing everything you did and how committed you were to the company, but since they have chosen not to respect your work or your help, that you intend to immediately look for work elsewhere.” That’s what an asshole would do, is how many (most?) bosses would react upon being handed such a letter. If an employee of mine handed me a letter as you describe it, any positive feelings that I had toward that employee would vaporize. Any interest I might have in assisting that person would vaporize. Any attempt by that person to further his career by invoking my name or company would fail. Why would you hang your pride on what an asshole ex-boss thinks of me? Why would you spend time composing this letter, which is going to have zero positive professional effect and quite possibly could come back to bite you in the ass?
I’ve been in this position before in my career as a temp - stayed at a job for 20 months once, expecting it to go permanent, and it never did. If I were you, I would do what I did - quit. If you stay on at this position, you will get the incredibly crappy task of training your replacement, and that is very bad for your soul and dignity.
Ethilrist, in the temp world, there are temp jobs and there are temp-to-perm jobs. It sounds like preacherswife is talking about a temp-to-perm job here, and by temp work conventions, she is getting screwed.
There are a couple of things that I would think about:
What will this do with your relationship to the temp agency? If you just up and leave, it will make the client (the company) unhappy and put the agency in a spot, which may make the agency unlikely to want to place you again. If the agency has good placements, this could be a problem.
What will this do to your eligibility for unemployment? As I understand many unemployment laws, if a job (including a temp job) ends, you are eligible for unemployment, but if you voluntarily leave, you won’t be.
I would certainly talk to your temp agency before doing anything.
I would continue to take their paychecks for as long as they’re prepared to pay you… and at the same time look for work. Hell, use their internet connection/newspaper subscription/phone lines to do it. What do they care? They’re already gonna get rid of you! Once you get another job, tell them you’re OUTTA there!
Otto is correct. If this was some middle management scrum a letter CYAing yourself might be of some use, but if the owner of the company is looking to replace you it will do little good to generate a polite FU letter to him that will leave a bad taste. Fighting the good fight is one thing, but whacking the hornets nest when leaving a temp job is not wise.
There wouldn’t be any point talking to the temp agency - all they will tell her is to finish the assignment. Temp agencies don’t have their workers’ happiness in mind - only their bottom line. It doesn’t matter to them if you are not happy with the assignment - what matters to them is that you continue to make money for them and do everything in your power to keep the client happy.
I’ll concede the point on this to an extent, as the above makes sense. BUT…(you knew there would be one, right!?)…I am an owner of a business and if I were to let someone go and they accused me of not respecting their work after pointing out their accomplishments, it would come down to two things:
A) They are wrong, I did respect their contribution and I will endeavor to point out to them the real reason and ensure them that I will help them find a new job better suited to them. Sorry for the confusion.
B) They are correct, I don’t respect them and I probably wouldn’t help them anyways. The letter will go in the file and if asked to comment as a reference I would stick to the facts. And sticking to the facts is what all angry ex-bosses must do or else they open themselves up to litigation.
But the letter might color my initial perceptions. Were they taking on responsibilities that I did not know about? Maybe they are the right person, wrong job, and I would think of them for another position if one came up later.
My experience in this has shown me that writing is often better than bowing out. The first time I did it was when I was 18 working for Burt Toyota in Denver as a lot lizard (clean cars, move them, prep for sale, etc.). My lowly position was getting shat on and I wrote a lengthy scathing resignation letter and left after a few day’s notice. When I went back to pick up my final paycheck the owner brought me into his office and told me how he read my letter to the weekly managers meeting and thanked me for pointing out problems and offered me my job back (but I turned it down so I could party before college that summer). I earned respect by telling them off. And since then I have made it a point to write a lengthy letter, even when fired.
